996 owners,brake question

[bullettneil]

recently bought an 03 plate c4s.its a weekend and occasional evening car for me and lives in the garage all the time.
the question i have regards the brakes. do you guys find that the discs get a rust film build up very easily?its worse if i wash it. even if ive washed it and driven it down the road to clear the discs of water and rust build up it still takes me a good while to clear the discs when i drive it out next.they make a nasty grinding noise till it clears,then its fine no issues at all.
when i put her in the garage i dont use the brake to stop her and i dont apply the handbrake otherwise it sticks the pads to the discs.
they are genuine porsche brakes and were only replaced within two years(front and rear a year apart).

any thing i can do to stop it or is it the norm for these car?

it has the red calipers so i assume the still discs?


cheers in advance

[Martian O]

Oxygen (H2O) + iron/steel = iron oxide (rust).

Normal I'm afraid.

[mr pg]

Very normal I'm afraid. I washed mine recently, took it round the block for a number of brake 'tests', put car away, got in it the other night, and they were locked solid.

[monthefish]

mr pg said:

Very normal I'm afraid. I washed mine recently, took it round the block for a number of brake 'tests', put car away, got in it the other night, and they were locked solid.

When parked up after washing, can you leave the handbrake off but leave it in gear?

[anonymous-user]

Martian O said:

Oxygen (H2O) + iron/steel = iron oxide (rust).

Normal I'm afraid.

Not quite, you also need water or at least moisture. When I wash my 997 I take it for a 5/6 mile run and make sure the brakes are good and hot before the car is garaged. The discs don't rust.

If you aren't making sure the discs are dry at this time of the year, any salt present in the moisture will accelerate rusting.

[mr pg]

monthefish said:

When parked up after washing, can you leave the handbrake off but leave it in gear?

Yes, normally do as it's garaged.

[Pickled Piper]

mr pg said:

monthefish said:

When parked up after washing, can you leave the handbrake off but leave it in gear?

Yes, normally do as it's garaged.

Doesn't make much difference as I believe the handbrake operates with some internal shoes rather than the pads on the disc.

Just make sure you take it for a dive after washing and drive it regularly if possible.

pp

[Stevorocket]

You are not driving far enough or hard enough after washing.

You need to do some heavy braking to get the disks and pads hot - especially with drilled disks which contain water in the drill holes.

I had a 993 which had a rusty track an inch wide on the inner surface of the rear disks for this reason - needed the disks replaced.

Take heed.

[STiG911]

What Stevorocket said: You need to be driving for longer to ensure the discs are clean and dry (well, hot) and is also the reason why I wash the wheels and calipers last, not first, as this gives the discs less time to start forming a surface coating. I usually drive slowly out of town dabbing the brakes until I'm sure they're clean, then go for a blat down the industrial estate with a few big but progressive slow-downs to be certain the discs are nice and warm. Using a drillbit to clean out the holes will help keep the rust down, too - and is a good idea anyway.
Pickled Piper is also right in that the handbrake is on a seperate drum inside the rear brake disc (a la BMW) but still a good idea to leave off in a flat garage as it can still bind

[stuckmojo]

Happens all the time. Mine lives outside, and I am sometimes away for a week (just like now).

When I'm back the discs are all ginger. A couple of keen stops (in safety, of course) and all is well.

Don't worry about it.

[Sunnysidebb]

Had the same problem with my 911 as well. As the car is stored outside even after drying the brakes, a night of rain and they would flash rusty once again.

my problems even worse now as I have 386 AP 6 pots on the Cosworth and there floating. So theres almost no clearance between the pad and the disc. Overnight they can seize on if there wet. It takes a good tug in first gear to break them loose.
But that's the nature of floating discs.

[Hungrymc]

Just replaced the discs and pads on my c4s, was surprised that the inner faces were suffering worse corrosion and wear than the outside faces. I hadn't noticed it braking badly, and it went through MOT - but it's much sharper now.

[Martian O]

Another plus point for PCCBs then!

[Rockster]

stuckmojo said:

Happens all the time. Mine lives outside, and I am sometimes away for a week (just like now).

When I'm back the discs are all ginger. A couple of keen stops (in safety, of course) and all is well.

Don't worry about it.

Avoid bringing the car to a stop when trying to scrub off rust this could lead to uneven pad material deposition and pulsing brakes afterwards.

Do use the brakes to aggressively slow the car down and get the brakes good and clean.

[Steve Rance]

Just drive the t*ts off of it for a few miles and they will clean up nicely.

[bullettneil]

so normal it is.odd as this is the first car ive ever had the problem with.a good few of my others cars had upgrade caliper and discs and pads too and never an issue.

i dont particularly want to take her out on a 5mile drive whne ive just washed her to put her in the garage,this time of year she will get all dirty in that milage.

oh well,i'll just keep putting her away without the handbrake on and without using the brakes and just deal with it.

chees for the replies

[stuckmojo]

Rockster said:

Avoid bringing the car to a stop when trying to scrub off rust this could lead to uneven pad material deposition and pulsing brakes afterwards.

Do use the brakes to aggressively slow the car down and get the brakes good and clean.

you are right, of course, and I expressed myself badly. I wouldn't do a full stop but just slow down.