nice car, and great build--just the way you wanted it....i'm jealous as heck!

 

PCCBs excel when you use them hard enough that steel discs would show fade from heat. Given the huge braking capacity of all Porsche brakes you may only benefit from this advantage on some race tracks, depending on your driving style. Or when you slow down in a panic from 180 mph because you see a car coming toward you and it might be cop with an instant-on. On the other hand, even PCCBs have a maximum temperature above which they start to fail. Once they exceed this temperature limit they fail fast and very quickly need replacing.

Another feature of PCCBs that I personally like is the fact that they always provide exactly the same brake feel, even if used very hard when they're very hot.

What I don't like about them is the worry about putting any scratches on the discs. Any scratch will ruin them. This means, when tracking the car or driving on desert roads one has to be careful to avoid getting into sand or gravel at speed, becausing doing so you run the risk of getting a piece of sand lodged between pad and disc. That would be the end of the disc. If that happens, Porsche makes you buy two new discs (you always have to replace the discs on one axle), at a cost of about $17,000 last time I looked.

Pads cost about twice as much as those for steel discs.

Another problem is uneven padwear. In my experience, pads wear faster on the side closest to the axle. Since the brake-wear warning sensors are located at the opposite side, you run the risk of scraping the disc (deadly) before the wear indicator alarms. As a result, I have been watching brake wear frequently. I've heard recommendations that pads should be changed once they're 50% worn. Depending on your driving you may want to plan on changing pads every 25,000 - 30,000 miles.

 

Hans nailed it regarding the PCCBs. The guys I knew that tracked stored their PCCbs and switched out to the Red brakes. This is great if you own a race team, but for weekend warriors it gets expensive.

Dave

 

[quote]
There it is right there. Whats it matter if it's 50% or 150% of the base purchase price so what. If you can swing it, you swing it...end of story. You're dead a long time.

Congratulations on the car OP. Enjoy in good health.

 

Amazing car...really like the wheels...enjoy!

 

Let me add a few things here...

In this context, his was a welcomed response. BUT - that is now, as the 991S is currently the newest platform on the market. What happens when the Turbo comes out, and is about 50% more than the 991S - the question remains - would you spend that much on a C2S, or opt for the Turbo?

If he had replied with - "because I can afford it, why not?" - it would be perfectly acceptable response (as is any, because personal justification depends on the individual). I was simply asking what his motivation was.

I can guarantee you that more than one other person shuddered a little when he/she saw the option list and the final cost. It appears that almost everybody that posted after his response felt the need to include - "and I don't mean to criticize your car" or "in no way am I criticizing your decision", etc...

 

I've had PCCB's on several Porsches and their equivalent on Ferraris. In my experience, and I don't track them, they are worth every penny. On 911's with and without, I didn't notice anything but positives with them.

Pedal modulation was far superior (especially on the Ferraris) and the ride over undulating surfaces was more planted and less influenced by the irregularities in the road. I'm sold on them. I know they're expensive but they are one of the nicest luxuries you can buy. Top of the line Corvettes have them. All Ferraris now have them as standard equipment.

Some of the criticism comes from ideas planted in the first generation of ceramic brakes. At first, Porsche didn't race them in factory-sponsored events but I understand that now (in their third or fourth generation) they do.

As far as the hot/cold/dry/wet judgements, I can't tell the difference. They do squeak for the first application after a wash, which is startling, but that's two seconds of disadvantages to a full advantage after that.

I'm not saying everybody should have them, by any means, but, if you prioritize the same qualities I do, you will get them. If not, you won't. But I promise not to force my priorities on you if you won't press yours on me.

 

Interesting discussion about how much it's appropriate to spend on options.

Some people need to control that expense because they simply can't afford to spend more. For them, it's good that base models are available and options can be left out to keep the price down. And that still provides quite a nice car, arguably a good value, maybe the best value.

Others can easily afford to spend whatever they want. Some of them will go for all the bells and whistles, but some remain concerned about value and controlling cost no matter how much money they have. I even know truly wealthy people who are miserly enough that they would never dream of buying a car as expensive as a 911.

Personally, I'm not wealthy, but I'm willing to splurge a little on cars at this stage in my life (mid fourties) because I enjoy them that much and I'm old enough to consciously realize that I'm not immortal. But I'm still fairly miserly when it comes to spending on things I don't care about as much.

 

Well said. And I might add that the best way to save money on a Porsche would be to buy a Kia instead. All of us here have "splurged" if we choose a Porsche at all. When we decide we can see that a car this expensive (with or without options) is worth it, TO US, we have passed beyond practicality and entered gratification. That you can gratify your desires anywhere from the sixty thousands to the two hundred thousands new, or even less (and more) with used models that are based more on fun than practicality, then Porsche is an option.

 

Agreed, we're definitely in the realm of 'want' rather than 'need' here. And I do think that a nice CPO is probably a better value than a new one, since the depreciation hit in the first couple years is big whereas a lot of these Porsches have low miles and have been well cared for.

 

Where did you get this information?

 

It's funny that you automatically thought i was addressing you Jasper but to be honest i wasn't. If so i would have quoted you. You should know me well enough by now that i don't let anything slip. My response was just a general observation based on life's decisions that as individuals we choose to make .....for wright or wrong. But we all do what we do because we feel it's the right move at that moment. Re the turbo and its pricing schedule in comparison to a fully optioned C2S: If only we knew the future..... But in reality would it change things that much?

But on the topic of expense it was a bit left field given the OP's obvious intentions of posting......not that it means questions of that nature shouldn't come up for those with curiosity. But one needs to excercise a little sensitivity and caution in the presentation.

For me, when i first looked at the build list and the price, i can assure you there was no shuddering going on my end. Just a wistful dream thinking about just how cheap that car really is and just how lucky you guys are over there for being able to own a brand new highly spc'd car for such little dollars....in an Aussie sense, given what we pay. So it didn't even cross my mind for a second that the price was in any way exorbitant.

 

That show the depreciation of options. Say for instance that I bought a new car with the carbon brakes at 17K as an option package of some sort. Then, I sell the car 2 years later. How much of the 17k dollars is lost? Here is another exmaple. An Aerokit ( wing etc) at almost 9K dollars. Selling the car after 3 years does not seem to add any value to the resale price. So what is the depreciation percentage for options versus the actual base car I wonder. Anybody has some numbers??

 

You lose a lot on many of the more expensive options. it's not a game for an accountant, to be sure. However, the dealers would have you believe that the highly optioned cars are not worth any more than the more conservatively optioned ones, but if you have the determination to stand your ground, they actually will give you much more than their initial offer. And your car, when you check their used inventory prices later is much higher than the others on the list. That is, if it even makes the list since most of them sell to someone waiting for just-that-car.

 

. I am not sure that this really plays out that way. I get to the conclusion that only the right color combinations ( because most Porsches seem to get bought as leases hence the large percentage of bland colors... any color as long as it is black , silver or grey) make any real difference as pundits are looking for the nice "different" cars... nothing else seem to matter and expensive-to-maintain options such as PCCB's are effectively a negative in the negotiations. Just my 23 cents.