991.1 GT3 PCCB Performance?

[ChristianW87]

Hi all!

Owned a few Porsche’s in the past but recently joined the GT Club! Have a 2014 GT3 with PCCB.

Owned the car a few weeks but only used it a few times. Last night I was out ‘pushing’ a little for the first time and noticed the brakes were no where near as good as I’d hoped, stopping from speed.

Brakes feel spongy and really slow to stop. Feels like there’s no real initial bite. IE, I feel like I could stamp on the brake as hard as I could and never feel like the ABS would kick in.

I’m guessing this isn’t normal? Do you need heat in the brakes for them to work best? Maybe air in the brake lines? I’m about to pop out to look at the condition of the discs to see if I can see anything wrong there.

Any advice would be amazing.

Thanks all.

Edited by TheLoneFarmer on Monday 29th April 16:07

[Milnsey]

Might need brake fluid changing perhaps?
Definitely doesn’t sound right

[isaldiri]

I'd try changing brake fluid as mentioned as a first guess.

[ChristianW87]

Had a look, disks look fine, brake fluid was changed in October last year so unless Porsche Solihull messed it up, should be ok?

[Dammit]

I’d run it round to your local OPC, make this their problem. All being well this could be resolved by the afternoon and you’ll be happily charging around again.

[red997]

discs look fine to me.
there is no way they should be soft / spongy
(does depend to a point on what you are used to though)
I have the same car with PCCB - I'd call a good push on the pedal linear and brutal to a stop - from any speed, repeatedly.

[ChristianW87]

Thanks all. Booked in with local dealer Friday for them to take a look. They said if the other dealer messed up a brake fluid change then they will fix for free so fingers crossed it’s just some air in the system. Loving the car, but panicked a little yesterday after expecting it to stop quicker than it did!

[Slippydiff]

Those discs look like they’ve done more than gentle road miles.
I’d say the pads have had a good workout and the fluid’s got hot too.
Some decent fluid and a good bleed should improve things a lot, but ultimately a set of new pads might be needed to restore full efficiency.

[ChrisW.]

I would agree ... the PCCB's can run very hot and this can easily damage the pad material. Especially if you don't do proper cooling down laps.

With the same pad material on the same car (my GT4) but ST discs in place of the PCCB's ... my disc pads are lasting five times longer, just because the whole system is running so much cooler.

[Milnsey]

Did this get sorted?

[ChristianW87]

Porsche technician took it out, said it was fine...

15 mins later, I drove my mates GT3 and his brakes feel totally different and how I’d have expected it to feel. I nearly went back to Porsche with both cars and got the guy to drive both as there’s obviously an issue with mine.

It’s booked in for a fluid change Wednesday with the same guys the bled my mates. Fingers crossed as I really want them to feel the same as my friends car, no reason why they shouldn’t?!

[ChristianW87]

Just to add to this... anyone know the cost of a set of standard pads for a 991.1 GT3? Wonder if I just replace them to know it’s all as it should be. Thanks all.

[Fl0pp3r]

Set of 4 OEM replacement PCCB pads and fitting kit for 997.2 GT3 (ie not quite as big but not far off) were circa £1,145 +VAT last year.

[ChristianW87]

Just got the call from the specialist.

Front pads are corroded and rusty and they recommend changing also with fresh fluid, discs are fine. New front pads with a bleed comes to £720.

They also found that the gearbox has an issue, (throwing a fault code) so it's going to a local Porsche dealer to get fixed in a couple of weeks. (Not the one that said the brakes were fine)...

Little annoyed as the car had a full service in October with brake fluid changed and wasn't noted. The independent dealer said they will try and help with the cost of the pads once they get the full report from Porsche.

Shame it's not the start of GT ownership I'd hoped for!

[blackmamba]

“Front pads are corroded and rusty” - are you sure? I don’t think I have ever heard of pads rusting before.

[APOLO1]

Fl0pp3r said:

Set of 4 OEM replacement PCCB pads and fitting kit for 997.2 GT3 (ie not quite as big but not far off) were circa £1,145 +VAT last year.

The CCBDs on post July 13 cars, that's 991 Turbo S, all had the Ceramic coated discs. These are light years away with regard to wear rates from the ones fitted to the 997 GT cars.

On 991GT cars that have CCBDs, if you are going to track the car the fluid will need changing around every 6 full on track days, and don't let pads go lower than 25% left on them. A cooling lap is also very important. You will get an easy 40 Full on plus track days out of a set of 991 CCBDs, before the wear indicator goes below the 111 inspection window.

[TheLoneFarmer]

Problem has been found... (I think!)

These were the state of the brake pads (Even though Porsche said the brakes were fine...:



It's getting new pads all round this week with a fresh bleed.

Hoping that will solve the issue!

[ChrisW.]

APOLO1 said:

The CCBDs on post July 13 cars, that's 991 Turbo S, all had the Ceramic coated discs. These are light years away with regard to wear rates from the ones fitted to the 997 GT cars.

On 991GT cars that have CCBDs, if you are going to track the car the fluid will need changing around every 6 full on track days, and don't let pads go lower than 25% left on them. A cooling lap is also very important. You will get an easy 40 Full on plus track days out of a set of 991 CCBDs, before the wear indicator goes below the 111 inspection window.

I expect my Surface Transform discs to last a lot longer than 40 full-on track days, replacement cost around £8000 ?

In fact, if what you have said is correct for the latest generation of PCCB's with pads you should be budgeting £500 per full-on track day ... really ?

[IREvans]

TheLoneFarmer said:

Problem has been found... (I think!)

These were the state of the brake pads (Even though Porsche said the brakes were fine...:



It's getting new pads all round this week with a fresh bleed.

Hoping that will solve the issue!

Blimey, they don't look in good condition at all. Puzzled how they could have become so damaged. Did the dealer confirm if they are the correct pad material..?

[HokumPokum]

ChrisW. said:

APOLO1 said:

The CCBDs on post July 13 cars, that's 991 Turbo S, all had the Ceramic coated discs. These are light years away with regard to wear rates from the ones fitted to the 997 GT cars.

On 991GT cars that have CCBDs, if you are going to track the car the fluid will need changing around every 6 full on track days, and don't let pads go lower than 25% left on them. A cooling lap is also very important. You will get an easy 40 Full on plus track days out of a set of 991 CCBDs, before the wear indicator goes below the 111 inspection window.

I expect my Surface Transform discs to last a lot longer than 40 full-on track days, replacement cost around £8000 ?

In fact, if what you have said is correct for the latest generation of PCCB's with pads you should be budgeting £500 per full-on track day ... really ?

still too expensive compared to a good steel setup for TRACK.

I always felt lighter smaller wheels were a better investment and a good steel setup (including calipers)