I decided on very short notice to go to the track on Monday and my dad would like to come with me in his C4S. His car is completely stock and he doesn't have time to change pads and fluid beforehand. Will a completely stock car be ok for a beginner driver or do the stock brakes fade very quickly?

 

As long as the car is maintained well, it should be fine. He will probably begin to experience some fade, but for a beginner it'll be alright. Just tell him to make sure and take a warm-up AND cool-down lap during his sessions, and keep an eye on fluid temps, etc.

BTW, you may want to consider having this thread removed shortly by the moderation staff, PCNA will void your warranty if they find out the car has been on a track.

 

There will be no fade on a stock 997 as long as you have good / new brake fluid - follow the directions of the event's pre-tech form (it may require brake fluid be no older than 2 months). These brakes are incredible, as is the car bone stock. Mine has PS2s and I'm in the Black run group and turned 1:03s at Lime Rock a few weeks ago and 2:17s at Watkins Glen last week (rainy / cold). As to durability (fade), Watkins Glen was on 30 minutes, off 30 minutes, so that's 7 hours on the track in a 2 day period. Zero fade, zero issues (other than my PS2s are looking pretty worn).

 

So track means automatic void to your warranty?

 

Everything worked out great. He had no problems with fade, although he is in the beginner group so he wasn't pushing the car too hard. Before the next event we'll flush the fluid and replace it with Castrol SRF. My car only gets the Motul but the Porsche deserves the good stuff

 

No, I do not believe DEs void warranty - if it did, then my dealer wouldn't be filling out and signing the PCA track pre-tech forms and encouraging his clients to go. As I read the warranty, it suggests that track use can void warranty - so if you abuse your car and it's clearly due to racing every weekend and you toast the car, miss shifts and over-rev, etc., then they have the right to say "sorry, we aren't going to replace your burned-out clutch..." Casual DE use of a predominently street car in my opinion should not be a problem - as my dealer suggests. Perhaps this is one reason why I only do PCA events.