996 TT BRAKES.....Help!!

[Lawsy]

Guys,
Having problems with the Disc/Pad combination on my 02' 996 Turbo. I have owned the car for just over 2 years and within a couple of months of purchase, I came to the conclusion the brakes wern't up to much. Previously I had owned a BMW e46 M3, with uprated Performance Friction front discs/pads and these were pretty awesome in every way possible. The Turbo brakes seemed very 'wooden' by comparison! So, for the princely sum of approx £800, i bought the Performance Friction discs combined with Pagid fast road(yellow compound??) pads. This stopped the car better, but crikey!...They squealed like a pig!! as i braked, everyone turned round and thought a lorry was pulling up!... also, this seriously started to p#ss the neighbours off, when coming in late at night for obvious reasons. So, changed the pads to EBC redstuff fast road, now these give no noise, but retard poorly compared to the Pagids. I also now have the problem that the discs are pretty shot, which i must confess after only doing 10k miles(admittedly not hanging around)i am pretty dissappointed with!
So, in summary, looking to change both front discs/pads and rear if need be... to something that gives proper stopping power without unnecessary noise... opinions would be greatly apreciated....

[Rockster]

Lawsy said:

Guys,
Having problems with the Disc/Pad combination on my 02' 996 Turbo. I have owned the car for just over 2 years and within a couple of months of purchase, I came to the conclusion the brakes wern't up to much. Previously I had owned a BMW e46 M3, with uprated Performance Friction front discs/pads and these were pretty awesome in every way possible. The Turbo brakes seemed very 'wooden' by comparison! So, for the princely sum of approx £800, i bought the Performance Friction discs combined with Pagid fast road(yellow compound??) pads. This stopped the car better, but crikey!...They squealed like a pig!! as i braked, everyone turned round and thought a lorry was pulling up!... also, this seriously started to p#ss the neighbours off, when coming in late at night for obvious reasons. So, changed the pads to EBC redstuff fast road, now these give no noise, but retard poorly compared to the Pagids. I also now have the problem that the discs are pretty shot, which i must confess after only doing 10k miles(admittedly not hanging around)i am pretty dissappointed with!
So, in summary, looking to change both front discs/pads and rear if need be... to something that gives proper stopping power without unnecessary noise... opinions would be greatly apreciated....

Well, you probably won't like to hear it but the stock setup should be your first choice. My experience with my Turbo is the brakes are superb and quiet which I must have. I can't tolerate squeaky brakes. They also appear to be quite long lived as the car now has just under 70K miles and is on the original pads and rotors.

If the brakes on your Turbo were performing below par I'd have to suspect something was amiss with the brakes that maybe the brake pads or rotors were not factory or were ill-chosen aftermarket, possibly the car came that way.

I have found the stock brakes need to be cleaned and this includes the holes in the brake rotors need to be kept clear of brake dust and rust they can accumulate over time.

Every once in a while, when the brakes develop a mild light squeal under light usage, I visit a local DIY car wash and use the wash wand on soap setting to wash the brake hardware then use the rinse (spotless rinse) to rinse away the dirty/soapy water.

Avoid jamming the wand tip right down against the brake pads/pistons. You might have to pull the car forward some to expose the area and holes in this area of the rotor cover by the pads to make sure all holes are clear/clean.

Afterwards drive the car enough and use the brakes enough to get them hot enough to completely dry the brakes to avoid rusting.

When was the last time you had the car's brake fluid flushed and bled?

Sincerely,

Rockster.

[davek_964]

70K out of a set of brake pads? Wow.

I don't think the OP is the first 996 turbo owner to question the performance of the brakes, and I doubt we've all got non-standard setups. It was one of the first things I questioned when I got my car - and several people then commented that they'd also found the 996 turbo brakes disappointing.

I find my stock brakes adequate - if I brake very hard periodically to make sure they're not glazing over. But I still prefer my 22 year old 964 brakes so I can see why the OP is trying alternatives.

[_gez_]

I would put standard Porsche pads in if you are worried about the noise.

You can quiet down squeaky pads by giving them a good workout (and I mean good). It works for a while.

[Slippydiff]

I'm getting increasingly intrigued by some of your posts Rockster !
No disrespect to your goodself but all this talk of brakes lasting 70K and suspension being in excellent condition on mega high mileage Boxsters and the like, is totally at odds with my (and others) findings on this forum.

In the case of the 996 Turbo brakes, they're broadly similar to those fitted to a Mk1 996 GT3, a car that weighs a margin less and has considerably less torque than it forced induction big brother.

My experiences with my own Mk 1 GT3 tell me that unless the discs, pads AND fluid are all in tip top condition the brakes will be found wanting under duress (on the road) thus the standard 996 Turbo starts off with brakes that are borderline at best.

I'm not sure how you drive your cars in the US, but over here in the UK an average Turbo will be subjected to a mixture of motorways (limited to 70mph, but flagrantly disregarded by most) dual carriageways (the right ones have a limit of well in excess of 140mph I believe) fast twisty secondary (A) roads (limits on these can be as high as those on our dual carriageways . . . ) and narrowish twisty (B) roads.

Whilst motorway driving will not place undue stress on these cars brakes, all the other roads tend to (especially if driven with any degree enthusiasm)

I've driven five 996 turbos, two standard 420hp cars, two X50 equipped versions and one remapped and exhausted standard version. All have had truly appalling brakes. The two X50 equipped cars were dangerous, the re-mapped car was lethal !

Now I guess it could be said that I've driven five cars that have had their brakes abused, and thus the pedal response has felt poor and "wooden", or as I suspect, these brakes are borderline for a big heavy performance car.

IIRC the Turbo S runout cars came with six pot front calipers and 350mm discs (as did the lighter slightly more powerful 996 GT2) One would have to ask why the Turbo S got the larger brakes but the non-S but X50 equipped car didn't ?

If the OP has tried upgraded discs and pads (he hasn't said whether he upgraded the fronts AND rears) then I'd suggest he upgrades to the later, larger six pot calipers and matching 350mm discs from the likes of Brembo or PF (go with Alcon and you'll be using a 362mm disc) Fitted with Pagid RS29 pads or the PF equivalent AND either castrol SRF fluid or Motuls equivalent, you'll find these confidence inspiring with good initial bite AND not least of all, durable

I question whether you previously upgraded the rear pads, because in my experience race compound Pagid pads (especially RS29s) fitted to the rear of a road driven car will tend to squeal because they rarely if ever get up to the required temperature.

HTH

Edited by Slippydiff on Monday 11th July 21:22

[RatBoy M3CSL]

Lawsy said:

Guys,
Having problems with the Disc/Pad combination on my 02' 996 Turbo. I have owned the car for just over 2 years and within a couple of months of purchase, I came to the conclusion the brakes wern't up to much. Previously I had owned a BMW e46 M3, with uprated Performance Friction front discs/pads and these were pretty awesome in every way possible. The Turbo brakes seemed very 'wooden' by comparison! So, for the princely sum of approx £800, i bought the Performance Friction discs combined with Pagid fast road(yellow compound??) pads. This stopped the car better, but crikey!...They squealed like a pig!! as i braked, everyone turned round and thought a lorry was pulling up!... also, this seriously started to p#ss the neighbours off, when coming in late at night for obvious reasons. So, changed the pads to EBC redstuff fast road, now these give no noise, but retard poorly compared to the Pagids. I also now have the problem that the discs are pretty shot, which i must confess after only doing 10k miles(admittedly not hanging around)i am pretty dissappointed with!
So, in summary, looking to change both front discs/pads and rear if need be... to something that gives proper stopping power without unnecessary noise... opinions would be greatly apreciated....

.. RS29's on the road are not a good idea for town work, they do squeel like a piggy, and thats a fact.., you can do a 6 pot conversion for it, but it starts getting expensive to do..

I'm looking for a fix too, best solution so far it get a turbo S or X50 car with 6 pot fronts.. but I know what you're saying ref an M3 with A/P's or Alcons.. I have had both, and the old 996 brakes feel like the pads are made of balsa wood dont they, they do work, but take a lot more pedal effort, and nothing like as sharp as race brakes, so I dont think you will find a fix to replace what you had got used to before.., I had PCCB's on my 7GT3, they felt poor in comparison to my A/P's too.. best pads on the 6 for the road I am concluding are the stock road ones, and get used to the pedal bite / feel..

[Slippydiff]

RatBoy M3CSL said:

.. RS29's on the road are not a good idea for town work, they do squeel like a piggy, and thats a fact.., you can do a 6 pot conversion for it, but it starts getting expensive to do..

I'm looking for a fix too, best solution so far it get a turbo S or X50 car with 6 pot fronts.. but I know what you're saying ref an M3 with A/P's or Alcons.. I have had both, and the old 996 brakes feel like the pads are made of balsa wood dont they, they do work, but take a lot more pedal effort, and nothing like as sharp as race brakes, so I dont think you will find a fix to replace what you had got used to before.., I had PCCB's on my 7GT3, they felt poor in comparison to my A/P's too.. best pads on the 6 for the road I am concluding are the stock road ones, and get used to the pedal bite / feel..

Hi RB, ran my CSL with APs all round, PF discs on the front with RS29 pads, rear AP discs with Ferodo DS2500 pads, for 30K miles, never a single squeak until Simpsons put RS29s in ther rear calipers then it sounded like a London bus (they came straight out after a very embarrasing (noisy) Euro tour)

They were undoubtedly the best brakes I've used in a road car

[daveyb662]

N a recent test drive I was also astonished at how poor the brakes felt on the 996t. When questioning the salesman he remarked that it is a progressive braking system that therefore gives you more control which you would want when driving a sports car, i.e you can control how much brake pressure you apply and if you need to stop quickly you slam your foot (more than you would have to on an M3 for example) but on other ocassion you may want just a small speed decrease and these brakes allow you that control.

Kind of makes senses(!)

[davek_964]

daveyb662 said:

N a recent test drive I was also astonished at how poor the brakes felt on the 996t. When questioning the salesman he remarked that it is a progressive braking system that therefore gives you more control which you would want when driving a sports car, i.e you can control how much brake pressure you apply and if you need to stop quickly you slam your foot (more than you would have to on an M3 for example) but on other ocassion you may want just a small speed decrease and these brakes allow you that control.

Kind of makes senses(!)

It is true, the brakes are very progressive and do allow fine control. In the rain it helps, and in the snow it was an absolute godsend. It's just a shame that most of the time it's not snowing and they therefore feel s**t!

[_gez_]

RatBoy M3CSL said:

.. RS29's on the road are not a good idea for town work, they do squeel like a piggy, and thats a fact.., you can do a 6 pot conversion for it, but it starts getting expensive to do..

I'm looking for a fix too, best solution so far it get a turbo S or X50 car with 6 pot fronts.. but I know what you're saying ref an M3 with A/P's or Alcons.. I have had both, and the old 996 brakes feel like the pads are made of balsa wood dont they, they do work, but take a lot more pedal effort, and nothing like as sharp as race brakes, so I dont think you will find a fix to replace what you had got used to before.., I had PCCB's on my 7GT3, they felt poor in comparison to my A/P's too.. best pads on the 6 for the road I am concluding are the stock road ones, and get used to the pedal bite / feel..

You've summed it up quite well here. It is all about feel and you mentioned it twice in your post. The standard brakes are more than up to the job of road work but can feel wooden compared to the over servoed BMW's/Audi's most of us graduated from (me included).

[Slippydiff]

daveyb662 said:

N a recent test drive I was also astonished at how poor the brakes felt on the 996t. When questioning the salesman he remarked that it is a progressive braking system that therefore gives you more control which you would want when driving a sports car, i.e you can control how much brake pressure you apply and if you need to stop quickly you slam your foot (more than you would have to on an M3 for example) but on other ocassion you may want just a small speed decrease and these brakes allow you that control.

Kind of makes senses(!)

Sound like a typical salesman talking nonsense to me, 996 Turbo brakes are borderline both in initial bite and in their ability to shed heat after several not so heavy stopping requests !
As for their wooden feel and the ability to modulate them, see my comments above with regards to the AP CSL brakes, massively powerful, but once mastered they can be modulated very easily.

[Lawsy]

Thanks for your replys guys. Rockster >> The brake fluid could indeed be part of the problem, so will address that first. TBO tho' i'm actually looking to upgrade the discs/pads and was looking for suggestions of upgrades..... the way i drive the car, i honestly do not beleive that the brakes are on par with the performance and handling of the vehicle. My car has been tweaked by Ray @ West tuning and is circa 500 BHP/LBS...so i guess a 'proper' upgrade is required. Hopefully one that has non noisy pads. The Performance Friction discs & Ultimate Axis pads combo I had on the M3 were incredible. No noise, awesome stopping power and virtually no brake fade, even around Thruxton with 5 flying laps!.... all from a car that had probably the crappiest factory brakes ever!

[davek_964]

Lawsy said:

Thanks for your replys guys. Rockster >> The brake fluid could indeed be part of the problem, so will address that first.

I had my fluid flushed / renewed at my major service last year. Made absolutely zero difference.

[pete a]

I have the 6 pot conversion with PF two piece discs, PF 01 compound pads and braided hoses with SRF fluid all round.
Rears are standard discs and callipers with PF 01 compound.

Stops on a sixpence, well as close to a sixpence as a 1550kg car can!

And I can hammer it around Spa with out any fade for longer than I could keep driving.

[keep it lit]

They also appear to be quite long lived as the car now has just under 70K miles and is on the original pads and rotors.

lol

[Lawsy]

pete a said:

I have the 6 pot conversion with PF two piece discs, PF 01 compound pads and braided hoses with SRF fluid all round.
Rears are standard discs and callipers with PF 01 compound.

Stops on a sixpence, well as close to a sixpence as a 1550kg car can!

And I can hammer it around Spa with out any fade for longer than I could keep driving.

Pete...
Sounds just what i'm after. Where to buy?? how much?? any suggestions as to best price..

[Sunnysidebb]

Part of the problem with our cars brakes is the condition of the discs, I was appalled at the feel on my 550 ft/lb 6tt. When i was fitting my new turbos i had a chance to take off the front discs whilst i hade some spare time. The front face was bright silver. Good I thought. but the rear face was pure black oxide, you could chip the stuff off with a small hammer. It came off in chunks about 1.5mm thick. The car still pased the MOT as well. Hence I replace all 4 discs , pads and had the calipers overhauled. The difference was night and day.
Moral of the story, just because the outer edge of the discs look good you really need to take a much closer look at the inside edges. I was truly appauled to find out how bad mine were. No wonder it didn't brake as well as it should.

There is nothing wrong with standard 330mm 996tt brakes and back in 2001 they were the largest brakes fitted to a production road car, so they cant be that bad and at the time we didn't hear anyone moaning about them however we all know there is better available just do you drive you car that fast on public roads to justify buying them.

If your car had 420 bhp and accelerated 0-100 in say 9 seconds then you slam on the brakes to come back to a legal limit that is no different to having 700 bhp and getting to 100 in 7 seconds and slam on the brakes. I think most of us want power and like acceleration, but, the energy required to stop a 420 bhp car from 100 is the same as a 700 bhp car of the same weight.
So just because you drive an uprated car doesn't mean you have to up the brake size form an already large 330mm. If anyone can race a Porsche on public roads of any power level and say standard brakes are not up to the job when they were deemed to be brilliant back in 2001 should perhaps think style of driving might be at fault.
However if your tracking or Vmaxing your car then that's a completely different argument.
I have found too large a brake can be a hindrance if there not used to there potential.
Just IMHO

Edited by Sunnysidebb on Monday 11th July 22:24

[pete a]

Lawsy said:

Pete...
Sounds just what i'm after. Where to buy?? how much?? any suggestions as to best price..

Speak to James at nine excellence or Ken who is on here, it is not cheap but you will know where the money went when you hit the stop button.....................................

[Slippydiff]

Sunnysidebb said:

Part of the problem with our cars brakes is the condition of the discs, I was appalled at the feel on my 550 ft/lb 6tt. When i was fitting my new turbos i had a chance to take off the front discs whilst i hade some spare time. The front face was bright silver. Good I thought. but the rear face was pure black oxide, you could chip the stuff off with a small hammer. It came off in chunks about 1.5mm thick. The car still pased the MOT as well. Hence I replace all 4 discs , pads and had the calipers overhauled. The difference was night and day.
Moral of the story, just because the outer edge of the discs look good you really need to take a much closer look at the inside edges. I was truly appauled to find out how bad mine were. No wonder it didn't brake as well as it should.

Slippydiff said:

In the case of the 996 Turbo brakes, they're broadly similar to those fitted to a Mk1 996 GT3, a car that weighs a margin less and has considerably less torque than its forced induction big brother.

My experiences with my own Mk 1 GT3 tell me that unless the discs, pads AND fluid are all in tip top condition the brakes will be found wanting under duress (on the road) thus the standard 996 Turbo starts off with brakes that are borderline at best.

So I think we can say we agree on that then !

Sunnysidebb said:

There is nothing wrong with standard 330mm 996tt brakes and back in 2001 they were the largest brakes fitted to a production road car, so they cant be that bad and at the time we didn't hear anyone moaning about them.

Not sure if that's true ? but as I mentioned previously, unless they're in perfect condition their performance isn't up to the job of stopping the lighter Mk1 GT3, on a heavier car that's able to accelerate more quickly, they're rapidly found wanting.

Sunnysidebb said:

If your car had 420 bhp and accelerated 0-100 in say 9 seconds then you slam on the brakes to come back to a legal limit that is no different to having 700 bhp and getting to 100 in 7 seconds and slam on the brakes. I think most of us want power and like acceleration, but, the energy required to stop a 420 bhp car from 100 is the same as a 700 bhp car of the same weight.
So just because you drive an uprated car doesn't mean you have to up the brake size form an already large 330mm. If anyone can race a Porsche on public roads of any power level and say standard brakes are not up to the job when they were deemed to be brilliant back in 2001 should perhaps think style of driving might be at fault.
However if your tracking or Vmaxing your car then that's a completely different argument.
I have found too large a brake can be a hindrance if there not used to there potential.
Just IMHO

I agree, oversized brakes on a lightweight car are not always the ideal solution BUT remember this :
The lighter than 996 Turbo Mk 2 GT3 used the six pot calipers and bigger 350mm discs, as did the 997 Turbo, the 996 Turbo S AND the 996 GT2.

Porsche were most likely penny pinching when they specified the Turbos brakes in 2000, the Mk 1 GT3 lapped the Ring in a world beating time using (supposedly) standard brakes. But as many on here will attest, the Ring isn't hard on brakes, especially when your name is Walter Rohrl and you know the 14.7 mile circuit like the back of your hand.

When those same brakes came to be used at English circuits, problems started to appear . . . .
Whether that was due to poor braking technique (or poor cooling) Porsche decided that with 20hp more, the Mk 2 GT3 required bigger calipers and discs . . . . . .

Whilst size isn't everything (I keep telling her indoors that !) when it comes to brakes, bigger allows increased margins for heat dissapation.

I'd suggest that the major shortcoming of the 330mm discs and four pot calipers fitted to the Turbo is that of heat management. Bigger discs, larger pad area (and thus increased piston numbers) all allow the brakes to dissapate heat more quickly.

In turn the pads run cooler, as do the discs and brake fluid. This in turn leads to a more consistant brake pedal feel under duress and theoretically longer disc and pad life (though in the case of the OE 350mm drilled disc, the sheer mass of the disc being heat cycled to extremes, tends to lead to cracking from the drillings, which in turn leads to the disc itself becoming unserviceable) hence the popularity of the alternative products from Brembo, Alcon and Performance Friction.

Lawsy said:

Thanks for your replys guys. Rockster >> The brake fluid could indeed be part of the problem, so will address that first. TBO tho' i'm actually looking to upgrade the discs/pads and was looking for suggestions of upgrades..... the way i drive the car, i honestly do not beleive that the brakes are on par with the performance and handling of the vehicle. My car has been tweaked by Ray @ West tuning and is circa 500 BHP/LBS...so i guess a 'proper' upgrade is required. Hopefully one that has non noisy pads. The Performance Friction discs & Ultimate Axis pads combo I had on the M3 were incredible. No noise, awesome stopping power and virtually no brake fade, even around Thruxton with 5 flying laps!.... all from a car that had probably the crappiest factory brakes ever!

Slippy said:

If you've tried upgraded discs and pads (you haven't said whether you upgraded the fronts AND rears) then I'd suggest you upgrade to the later, larger six pot calipers and matching 350mm discs from the likes of Brembo or PF (go with Alcon and you'll be using a 362mm disc) Fitted with Pagid RS29 pads or the PF equivalent AND either castrol SRF fluid or Motuls equivalent, you'll find these confidence inspiring with good initial bite AND not least of all, durable

I question whether you previously upgraded the rear pads, because in my experience race compound Pagid pads (especially RS29s) fitted to the rear of a road driven car will tend to squeal because they rarely if ever get up to the required temperature.

Speak to Matt at Fearnsport for costs on the larger six pot calipers, if you're going the Performance Friction disc route I'd suggest you avoid the dimpled items they sell, the slotted/grooved items are far superior.
The RS29 pads won't fit the PF discs without some grinding for clearance and this may influence your decision to go for PF pads instead.

Edited by Sunnysidebb on Monday 11th July 22:24

[Rockster]

Slippydiff said:

I'm getting increasingly intrigued by some of your posts Rockster !
No disrespect to your goodself but all this talk of brakes lasting 70K and suspension being in excellent condition on mega high mileage Boxsters and the like, is totally at odds with my (and others) findings on this forum.

In the case of the 996 Turbo brakes, they're broadly similar to those fitted to a Mk1 996 GT3, a car that weighs a margin less and has considerably less torque than it forced induction big brother.

My experiences with my own Mk 1 GT3 tell me that unless the discs, pads AND fluid are all in tip top condition the brakes will be found wanting under duress (on the road) thus the standard 996 Turbo starts off with brakes that are borderline at best.

I'm not sure how you drive your cars in the US, but over here in the UK an average Turbo will be subjected to a mixture of motorways (limited to 70mph, but flagrantly disregarded by most) dual carriageways (the right ones have a limit of well in excess of 140mph I believe) fast twisty secondary (A) roads (limits on these can be as high as those on our dual carriageways . . . ) and narrowish twisty (B) roads.

Whilst motorway driving will not place undue stress on these cars brakes, all the other roads tend to (especially if driven with any degree enthusiasm)

I've driven five 996 turbos, two standard 420hp cars, two X50 equipped versions and one remapped and exhausted standard version. All have had truly appalling brakes. The two X50 equipped cars were dangerous, the re-mapped car was lethal !

Now I guess it could be said that I've driven five cars that have had their brakes abused, and thus the pedal response has felt poor and "wooden", or as I suspect, these brakes are borderline for a big heavy performance car.

IIRC the Turbo S runout cars came with six pot front calipers and 350mm discs (as did the lighter slightly more powerful 996 GT2) One would have to ask why the Turbo S got the larger brakes but the non-S but X50 equipped car didn't ?

If the OP has tried upgraded discs and pads (he hasn't said whether he upgraded the fronts AND rears) then I'd suggest he upgrades to the later, larger six pot calipers and matching 350mm discs from the likes of Brembo or PF (go with Alcon and you'll be using a 362mm disc) Fitted with Pagid RS29 pads or the PF equivalent AND either castrol SRF fluid or Motuls equivalent, you'll find these confidence inspiring with good initial bite AND not least of all, durable

I question whether you previously upgraded the rear pads, because in my experience race compound Pagid pads (especially RS29s) fitted to the rear of a road driven car will tend to squeal because they rarely if ever get up to the required temperature.

HTH

Edited by Slippydiff on Monday 11th July 21:22

Everyone drives his car differently. I subject my cars to a mix of various types of driving from high speed (I won't state how fast but just leave it at 'high speed') driving to navigating with spirit curvy roads in various mountain (or hilly) in my area and at various other locations about the southwest and midwest areas of the USA. Google Tesla/Corral Hollow Road, Mines Road, Patterson Pass Road (to name a few) in the Livermore CA (USA) area (in fact at one time or another I've been on almost every 'interesting' road in this area south of the nothern portion of SF bay anyway (I don't get north of the bay for some reason)) and various roads in other areas like for instance Highway 20 in eastern Oregon from I-84 to Bend, Highway 7 in northern Arkansas starting south of Harrison Ark and countless roads across the midwest and southwest.

In some cases I've had the chance to really drive my cars in a spirited way to the point I've made myself near car sick in both cars and have never found the brakes wanting.

The cars experience all kinds of roads saved unpaved roads and believe me the UK has no lock on bad roads. It is a bit of a joke but over here every state it seems wants the title of the worst roads in the USA to justify higher taxes.

The bottom line is one can find horrible roads (as well as some pretty good ones) everywhere.

These cars are designed for high speed running on a variety of roads and have as a result superb handling, suspension and brakes. They also have I believe considerable over-engineering in these areas (heck just about every area I come in contact with I'm amazed at some of the things I find or are pointed to me by the local Porsche techs).

Thus my experience matches what I expected. I can pretty much drive the car like I want (within reason with the primary restraining factor being the desire to keep my license) and the car will not be the weak link in the car driver pairing.

But as I started with everyone drives his car differently. And have to add everyone encounters different roads. Now I have encountered some roads (one in particular was a freeway from Illinois into Michigan) that was one of the roughest roads I've ever been on. If I had to drive that every day well, maybe my car's suspension would be shot long ago. Well, check that. I remember now driving 50 highway between Lee's Summit in MO to Sedalia (about a 60 mile drive one way) sometimes as often as once a week) and that highway, particularly in one direction, was quite rough. God these pavement seams!. But the Boxster took it in stride even though my brother the few times he rode with me was cursing the road and its roughness. (Recently was on that road in my Turbo and found the seams had been ground down and the road made much smoother as a result.)

Anyhow, I could envision scenarios that might really tax the brakes over time and could result in accelerated wear, for instance if I had to commute daily back and forth over that Mines Road (for example) vs. using it for pleasure drives when the mood strikes me.

If the stock brakes under street driving conditions are proving inadequate I have to question their condition not that the basic design or implemenation is at fault. The brakes should deliver good, better than good, braking.

Now they do come in for some criticism when wet, some noting a bit of a lack of initial bite but the times I've remembered this and experimented in the wet the brakes quickly (almost immmediately) bite and I do not believe braking distance would suffer any. The tires are the limiting factor in the wet.

Switching to different pads generally is a trade off in that while sometimes one gets better braking performance but generally only when the brakes are being really used, hard, and getting extremely hot. But the trade off is almost always accelerated brake pad and rotor wear (and higher than stock parts prices too) and noise.

Many mod their cars in other areas so it is not surprising that brakes come in for this mod'ing as well. But for street driving even spirited street driving the stock brakes ain't bad, ain't bad at all is my experience.

But everyone is entitled to his own opinion. My input is just one point of view backed with some experience.

If the OP really believes the brakes are inadequate it is his decision what to do.

Sincerely,

Rockster.