Upgrading brakes

[2something]

My front discs and pads need replacing and the rear ones will by the end of the year. I am looking to do 4-5 trackdays and 8k miles a year, in a 996 Carrera with 18" wheels.

What are the options and costs ?
Is it worth upgrading the brakes ?
Upgraded brakes might reduce wear on the track, how about on the road ?
I see little point in just upgrading the front brakes, is this sensible ?

I have trawled through some old threads but they mostly relate to GT3s doing plenty of track days. Any advice would be much appreciated.

[paulburrell]

To start with I would change brake fluid for ATE Racing Blue and pads to something like Pagid RS29 Yellows. Then go out on track to see whether they are up to the job, they probably will be for a cooking Carrera. Your discs may start to wear, but that seems to happen to all 911's that get tracked. Both pads and fluid are OK for road use as well.

Not sure whether you can or indeed would benefit from fitting 6 pot calipers and ALCON floating discs but that's an upgrade that many MK1 GT3 owners perform(including me).

[richardb.jones]

For the number of track days you invisage doing - the standard brakes are MORE than suitable ! Why people insist on upgrades is beyond me .. they are already 4 pot Brembo's on the front and rear with vented and cross drilled high performance discs.

You will find that you will be able to repeatidly outbrake the majority of the so called performance cars on the track with their sliding single caliper design (M3's, Civic type R's etc) - the brakes on a 911 are Excellent as standard !

Brake fade should also be non existent if you brake late and hard, rather than early and soft ..

Good advice on the brake fluid above, but again, even on standard fluid, the braking technique will be the main factor in boiling your fluid, not the fluid itself.

IMO - stick with standard grade discs and pads - for both the road and the track (for your requirements) they are the best solution (which is why Porsche R&D & Brembo selected them ... ;-) - IMO of course ...

Cheers,

Richard.

[Bull996]

I have to agree with the above. I did Bedford (which is known for being heavy on brakea) and I was braking very hard at all coeners-ABS alot of the time. I was amazed there was NO fade at all-even after 10 consecutive laps.. The brakes performed so well I certainly will not be upgrading.

[robmug]

Another vote for leaving standard and for braking late and hard.

Brake fluid change is a must too; even if it's just for standard stuff as you really don't want the fluid to boil!

Finally, after each track session, don't brake to a standstill in the pitlane (let the car coast to a stop then put the car in gear to stop it moving).

[andy tims]

If you need to change pads anyway Pagid Blues & either ATE Super Blue or Castrol SRF would be minimal extra cost compared with OE stuff. The RS42 Blues need less heat to get them working & squeel much less than the RS29 Yellows when used on the road.

Performance Braking 01600 713117 are very competitive on pricing for Pagid products.

As Rob etc. say braking hard & late makes a big difference.

[2something]

paulburrell said:

they probably will be for a cooking Carrera

Glad that didn't read "for cooking a Carrera"

Cool, thanks for all the advice guys. Think I will stick with the original kit, try and remember to do it hard and late, replace the brake fluid, change the pads and dream of a GT3 with Alcons ....