Discussion
sorry to bring subject up again,but i need a clear answer on this.if you were going to buy a 996gt3 would it make a difference if the car had ceramics,or would you look only for a car with steels. plus if the car was low milage with ceramics i gather you could change them to steels and box the ceramics. how could you tell if the ceramics were damaged.are they easy to damage.how much would a set of steels cost. thanks in advance for your answers.! paul.
If you plan to track the car much, irrespective of what brakes it currently has, you will be wanting to switch to alcon/brembo steels for economic reasons. It costs more to do on a ceramic car. Budget about 3k for disks + pads + work at JZM machtech. This is probably about 700 quid more than it would cost if you started with steels as the rear alcon disks are more expensive than the OEM porsche ones you could otherwise use. The alcons are better, but the rear brakes don't get worked as much so not sure they are worth the premium unless you need to fit them (i.e. you have ceramics). Otherwise you can change the rear callipers to fit the OEM steels, or try the 997 Cup rear disk which apparently may fit the rear of a ceramic shod 996 GT3.
The ceramics look perfectly smooth if unworn, but start to get pitted as they wear out. I've fitted the alcons, but now question why I am bothering to store the ceramics. Not sure they will add to the resale value of my car over the top notch alcons it is now sporting.
cayman-black said:
Dan H appreciate your comments very much as you have the exact car i will be looking for. blue decals RS . will not track very much at all and would prefer to keep standard brakes,ceramics or steels depending on what was on the car.
Glad to help. I wouldn't fuss too much about what brakes are on it so long as they aren't ceramics on their last legs. I had the same decision when I bought my car, but the price was right and I can always revert to my ceramics later. The steels I have now are amazing. They are race pads though, so squeak a bit if you use them too much in town without keeping them bedded in on track. Of course you can get more moderate pads that won't be so great on track, but won't squeal as much either.
Good luck on your hunt for a blue RS. They are faster than the red ones, but rarer!
p.s. this mailing list is a big group of GT3/RS owners who track regularly. There may be someone selling the car you want (warning: it's not the most work safe though) : http://newtristar.orbitzero.co.uk/mai
In the local Porsche Clubs we have quite a few fellows that have switched back to steel brackes after having payed dearly for the rebuild of the pccb brakes after use. I do not know anybody that would prefer the pccb brake using the car on the track. The advertised long life pccb system is a myth.
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