M3SQRD
Ok I got a reply from 034 about my inquiry into the audi's rotor issues, and here is their reply:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by 034Motorsport
"All of our products are designed, engineered and manufactured by 034Motorsport using a network of world wide suppliers in Asia, Europe and the US. We choose the best suppliers for the job, we stand behind the products and we put our reputation on the line with every product we ship."
And in regards to the single Audizine rotor failure, who was a local customer and absolute track noobie:
"
XXX, in talking with our service team, they spoke to you and informed you that you are significantly overdriving your car on the setup you're using, introducing far more heat at a rapid rate of time than you should. This is evident in both the rotor, and in your tire sidewall wear and tire chunking. This was walked through with you at our service department. While you feel that your driving is an "eager grandpa" the wear and tear on your car show much more aggressive driving than you may think.
The factory 8 piston calipers on this car are known for significant heat dissipation issues, and the "Factory ducting" is nearly useless to help with this. You mention that you notice your stock fluid is not boiling, but boiling generally has to do with sustained braking temps vs sporadic and overly aggressive rapid braking maneuvers. Rapid thermal expansion without allowing the system to properly get up to temp and cool down can accelerate wear and cause unnecessary fatigue.
We have tested these internally for years on extremely aggressive pad compounds with actively competing racing drivers and have not had a single issue, and we will continue to stand by their performance capabilities when properly used.
Regardless, out of an abundance of caution, we have already discussed with you that we are supporting you here and replacing the rotor rings free of charge, as well as installing them for free as a courtesy to you. We will of course do a technical dive on these rotors to ensure that there are not any inherent flaws in the design or manufacturing process, but at this time, they appear to have been overworked."
I attached a photo of his wheels for instance. This exact wear is consistent with heavy cars being significantly over-driven. These RS3's also have XDS, which pulses the brakes in all four corners to act like torque vectoring. He also has ESC in sport, not fully off.
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Let's summarize:
1) They likely don't want me to talk about their suppliers and I understand that so I will not disclose anything. But they stand behind their products and you can absolutely see that with them replacing the audi owners rotors and included free installation.
2) So it sounds like the audi driver was abusing his car, i.e. not warming up the brakes before going absolutely crazy hard on the brakes - not great on a metallic compound, and then not letting it cool down after hot lapping.
3) It looks like he also left traction control on, which means the brakes were pulsed to vector torque - again unnecessary strain on the brakes. This is the same thing with our F8x where if we leave DSC on the rear brakes are pulsed to stabilize the car, and it was known for melting rear brakes on the m2.
4) The audi caliper has heat retention issues meaning more heat trapped in the stock braking system.
5) The audi driver was a "noobie", so that explains the abuse and not warming up or cooling down the brakes.
I think that pretty much explains why the rotors cracked on his car and why it was the only case we have ever heard of online. It also explains why we don't see issues on our f8x cars thus far.
I didn't attach the photo because it doesn't belong to me, and I don't know if this was taken by 034 (and I don't know if I was supposed to share it or not) or if it was from the audi guy and well I don't want to post something not meant for outside eyes. But there is a pretty large chunk missing that spans 2 - 3 tread blocks on the tire so yeah not really a good look.