997 Carrera S Brake Feel/Performance
Discussion
I picked up a 997 Carrera S a couple of months ago. It's a fantastic car but i'm convinced there's something wrong with the brakes. Initially the performance seemed poor and progressively got worse until it was almost dangerous to drive. I took the car to Porsche who confirmed the front disks were badly warped and they replaced both the front disks and the pads.
It is now better than it was but the performance and feel in the brakes is still far below what i'd expect from the car. There's very little initial bite, then the pedal firms up but doesn't get any more progressive. Unless you really stand on the brakes hard the car doesn't slow as much as it should, and even then the braking performance is worse than my Focus ST.
Anyone experienced anything similar?
By the way the brakes are steel, it's low mileage (30k) and the car doesn't look like it's seen track use
It is now better than it was but the performance and feel in the brakes is still far below what i'd expect from the car. There's very little initial bite, then the pedal firms up but doesn't get any more progressive. Unless you really stand on the brakes hard the car doesn't slow as much as it should, and even then the braking performance is worse than my Focus ST.
Anyone experienced anything similar?
By the way the brakes are steel, it's low mileage (30k) and the car doesn't look like it's seen track use
Bleed the brake fluid.
Car should pull up from 60 in about 30 metres.
Funny you mention the Focus ST, I had one and the brakes were terrible, ABS use to cut in all the time and the setup was very primitive.
No qualms with Porsche brakes, in fact its the only car I've owned were I've been truly happy with the performance, on the road that is.
Car should pull up from 60 in about 30 metres.
Funny you mention the Focus ST, I had one and the brakes were terrible, ABS use to cut in all the time and the setup was very primitive.
No qualms with Porsche brakes, in fact its the only car I've owned were I've been truly happy with the performance, on the road that is.
AMart said:
I picked up a 997 Carrera S a couple of months ago. It's a fantastic car but i'm convinced there's something wrong with the brakes. Initially the performance seemed poor and progressively got worse until it was almost dangerous to drive. I took the car to Porsche who confirmed the front disks were badly warped and they replaced both the front disks and the pads.
It is now better than it was but the performance and feel in the brakes is still far below what i'd expect from the car. There's very little initial bite, then the pedal firms up but doesn't get any more progressive. Unless you really stand on the brakes hard the car doesn't slow as much as it should, and even then the braking performance is worse than my Focus ST.
Anyone experienced anything similar?
By the way the brakes are steel, it's low mileage (30k) and the car doesn't look like it's seen track use
Funny enough I was thinking the same over the past week. I too owned an ST for 4 Years, a few months ago I bought a C2S from Porsche. Initial bite isn't there in the C2S compared to the ST but I just put this down to being less servo'd. I prefer the lack of initial bite. I think there is more feel and progressiveness in the pedal (I may be on my own with this). It is now better than it was but the performance and feel in the brakes is still far below what i'd expect from the car. There's very little initial bite, then the pedal firms up but doesn't get any more progressive. Unless you really stand on the brakes hard the car doesn't slow as much as it should, and even then the braking performance is worse than my Focus ST.
Anyone experienced anything similar?
By the way the brakes are steel, it's low mileage (30k) and the car doesn't look like it's seen track use
Previous only experience was my brothers Lotus Elise. After jumping out of my RS4 and in to the Elise for the 1st time. I was approaching braking areas in the Elise applying the same brake pressure in the RS4 and I was thinking ' God these brakes arnt good '. However when he took me out in it they were mega, it was just me not use to the brakes. Hence why I've come to the same conclusion with the C2S.
Will be interested to hear if braking performance increases with your New Discs and Pads?
Thrugglevalve said:
I prefer the lack of initial bite. I think there is more feel and progressiveness in the pedal (I may be on my own with this).
Definitely not on your own. Over-servoed brakes are one of my pet hates (and one of the reasons I just can't get-on with the 991)SkinnyPete said:
997 and earlier Porsche brakes feel great when slowing down from big numbers especially on demanding roads, pure progression and control.
Corrected this for you. 
You're absolutely right about most Porsche brakes though. Proper weighting gives you control that's totally missing from Audi-style brake setups.
PorscheGT4 said:
"You do have to stand on them but after practice on a closed road it was possible to activate ABS and come to a swift stop"
the skill is not to activate ABS and come to even a quicker stop :-)
oem pads have no bite either imo.
I absolutely take your point but I was merely trying to demonstrate to myself that the brakes were capable of locking the wheels and therefore working to their best ability............... The pedal feel on my C2 initially reminded me of a VW I had in the past with a failing servo and as it gradually got worse it had a hard pedal feel with little braking effect. the skill is not to activate ABS and come to even a quicker stop :-)
oem pads have no bite either imo.
Steve Baker said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
+1 
It took a while to get used to my C2 brakes (smaller discs than S too). You do have to stand on them but after practice on a closed road it was possible to activate ABS and come to a swift stop!
Don't forget new brakes also need breaking in .
It could well be your braking technique - try and spend some time developing this with a professional driving coach (like Andy Morrison or Don Palmer). Several people I know (who have come from BMWs) have driven my Boxster S and initially thought it had poor brakes - side by side, it is easy to prove they are much better than a BMW!
Bumble SV said:
Steve Baker said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
+1 It took a while to get used to my C2 brakes (smaller discs than S too). You do have to stand on them but after practice on a closed road it was possible to activate ABS and come to a swift stop!
Don't forget new brakes also need breaking in .
It could well be your braking technique - try and spend some time developing this with a professional driving coach (like Andy Morrison or Don Palmer). Several people I know (who have come from BMWs) have driven my Boxster S and initially thought it had poor brakes - side by side, it is easy to prove they are much better than a BMW!
Yes the car is under warranty although it doesn't apply to braking components.
It's not my braking technique, i've spent time with Andy Morrison and Michael Caine (the carrera cup driver not the actor!) on a number of occasions. I'll do some more 'testing' over the weekend, it could be that i've been spoilt as I had a M3 CSL with AP's before the Porsche and an Exige before that but then again I had a new Cayman S for a few days when the car was with Porsche and the brakes on that were mega and they looked to be a similar setup...
I'll check to see when it last had a brake fluid flush and I might take it to an Indy near me and see what they think.
The brakes are fantastic. Probably the best of any performance car I've driven. I think most petrolheads would know about partially servo assisted brakes so I'd think something is wrong, stuck caliper, glazed pads or fluid flush required.
You will be impressed when fixed. I love good brakes
You will be impressed when fixed. I love good brakes
Edited by Rawhide on Wednesday 11th February 11:20
Yes I had to pay for new disks and pads. There was an improvement but not as much as I was expecting
Good suggestions but I'd really have expected Porsche to spot a stuck caliper - i'll try a fluid flush and see if there's any improvement. I hear a lot of people saying the brakes are one of the best bits of the car and that really is not the case at the moment unfortunately!
Good suggestions but I'd really have expected Porsche to spot a stuck caliper - i'll try a fluid flush and see if there's any improvement. I hear a lot of people saying the brakes are one of the best bits of the car and that really is not the case at the moment unfortunately!
anonymous said:
[redacted]
That was my problem: coming from 16 years of BMWs I at first wondered if there was a problem. Then I learned to use them.I also have the issue that I'm probably a classic IAM driver on the road - I almost never wear out brake pads and discs corrode long before they reach their wear limit (happens on my bikes and cars). So I tend to end up with glazed pads and have got into the habit of getting some heavy controlled stops in on any drive just to clean things up and that's helped a lot.
Hi
I was searching the forum for exactly the same thing. 3 Months into owning my 997.2 S and the only issue as I thought was the breaks. Have owned BMWs for the last 13 years.
Took the car back to the RSJ where I bought it to be told they were exactly as they should be. Was taken on a test drive where Joel demonstrated just how effective they were. Have now stopped doubting their effectiveness and braking differently and have got used to them and quite like them.
I was searching the forum for exactly the same thing. 3 Months into owning my 997.2 S and the only issue as I thought was the breaks. Have owned BMWs for the last 13 years.
Took the car back to the RSJ where I bought it to be told they were exactly as they should be. Was taken on a test drive where Joel demonstrated just how effective they were. Have now stopped doubting their effectiveness and braking differently and have got used to them and quite like them.
AMart said:
Yes I had to pay for new disks and pads. There was an improvement but not as much as I was expecting
Good suggestions but I'd really have expected Porsche to spot a stuck caliper - i'll try a fluid flush and see if there's any improvement. I hear a lot of people saying the brakes are one of the best bits of the car and that really is not the case at the moment unfortunately!
When working properly they are as good as any set up out there - on the road at least - including your past cars.Good suggestions but I'd really have expected Porsche to spot a stuck caliper - i'll try a fluid flush and see if there's any improvement. I hear a lot of people saying the brakes are one of the best bits of the car and that really is not the case at the moment unfortunately!
The thing with most Porsche car brakes is that they are very progressive in operation, and deliver a proportional near linear feel to pedal application.
Which means you have to push them quite hard, but they certainly do work.
The Mrs was a bit concerned about this in our Panamera, when braking at high speed (she is used to a WRX STi)
To demonstrate their effectiveness at braking from high speed I performed a threshold (near ABS intervention) brake from 190MPH down to 50 MPH.
She had to peel her eyeballs off the windscreen
(this was on a closed track )
Dont talk to me about the 997 cup car brakes - hated them !
Which means you have to push them quite hard, but they certainly do work.
The Mrs was a bit concerned about this in our Panamera, when braking at high speed (she is used to a WRX STi)
To demonstrate their effectiveness at braking from high speed I performed a threshold (near ABS intervention) brake from 190MPH down to 50 MPH.
She had to peel her eyeballs off the windscreen
(this was on a closed track )
Dont talk to me about the 997 cup car brakes - hated them !
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