Audi Glossary

Compared with conventional steel discs, ceramic brakes not only last four times longer, but also offer high braking performance, even when driving at the limit, as well as high resistance to fading. Braking performance is not diminished even after repeated braking, when driving down a mountain pass, for example. The unsprung rotating masses at the wheels are reduced by a total of around 20 kilograms or 50 percent compared with conventional brake discs, resulting in noticeably improved handling and agility.

Audi ceramic brake discs are made from a carbon fibre-reinforced ceramic. The raw material used to make this compound – known as composite ceramic – is the very hard and abrasion-resistant silicon carbide. High-strength carbon fibres are embedded in it, and these effectively absorb the stresses occurring in the material. Compared with an identical brake disc made of steel, this material lasts four times longer: the high abrasion resistance of ceramic discs means that they will last for up to 300,000 kilometres. The extreme surface hardness of the composite ceramic also means that the brake discs are unsusceptible to solid and liquid road salts as well as to corrosion and rust.