Been reading a lot of posts in the 6speed and rennlist forums on the PCCB and its performance on the track. There seems to be a lack of agreement whether the pads should be changed to the (Porsche Motorsport) p50 pads before attempting to run the car at the track or are the OEM pads good enough for the occasional DE driver (say 5 times a year)?

Some recommend changing to steel rotors altogether. This seems reasonable if I will track the car every other weekend, but for the occasional DE driver I think the PCCB OEM pads will suffice. I don't think Porsche will design a brake system that is not trackable. Any recommendations based on experience would be appreciated.

 

i have done several track events with my 997.1 RS with STOCK PCCB pads. i am not a super fast driver. i run in white group with PCA and A group with BMW CCA (i used to own an m3).

i have no fading issues with stock PCCB pads so far. they also last quite long imo. the pads seem to be holding up fine -- its not breaking apart or melting in anyway. i change pads when they reach slightly under 50% life to ensure that the expensive rotors stay in the best shape possible.

i think the stock PCCB pads are more than capable of handling a few occasional track days throughout the season. if youre a really fast driver and an all out track nut that you might want to consider going with the P50 pads or switch to steel rotors altogether. i am just not that fast yet and i think i dont put as much stress on my brakes as some of the other guys on the forum. also my track sessions are usually limited to no longer than 25mins. i know some people who run very long sessions (40 or even 50 min sessions).

 

Thanks for your input! Have you tried changing the pads yourself? Since I heard that the p50 pads were probably not safe for street use and squeal a lot, I was wondering if I can switch to the p50 at the track and then go home with the stock pads.

Saw a video of a pad swap on a Boxster, which took about a minute a corner! Not sure it's the same deal with the PCCB pads, I haven't seen a DIY on a 997.1 with PCCBs.

 

I have PCCB with stock pads and tracked my (new to me) GT3 with 10K garage queen miles 4 track events the past two months. I have been shown how to check the pads and esp the lower front ones for taper. I ,however, to be sure just bring my car to my indy shop (Gerber Motosports in Seattle) to have them check. I will replace the pads at the 50% mark, but not even close yet.
I am looking at steel rotors if next season I track > 10 times (or plan to). Meanwhile I will have coolant fittings welded in the off season.

 

How much is 50% in terms of mm? How does the tapering look like?

Also, from what I understand, the inner pads wear faster, somewhat difficult to check unless you take the wheels off or raise the car.

 

changing pads isnt hard at all. takes me about 45 mins to do all 4 corners. this includes moving the jack around the car and removing/installing the wheel back onto the car.

the front pads can be swapped without removing the calipers. the rear pads require the calipers to be removed to change them. not a difficult job at all. might be worth the effort, depending on whether you need the P50 pads or not.

when i first bought my car (i am the 2nd owner), it had P50 pads installed and it does squeal a lot on the street. also those pads are more aggressive so i am sure they wear out your rotors faster under normal street use. would be a good idea to swap them out when youre not on the track.

when i get faster, i would probably swap my pads before/after every track event. not good to keep track pads on there all the time.

 

i swap wheels when i am on track. so everytime i take my wheels off i double check all pads both the outer ones and the inner ones on each caliper.

the pads on the GT3 sometimes wear unevenly.... hence the reason why its a good idea to replace pads around 50% mark to avoid any contact between the pad backing and the PCCB rotors.

no part of the pad should be less than the thickness of the backing plates. this is the guideline i use to tell me when to swap plates. in general, this would give me a little under 50% pad life by the time i swap pads. also if you go to a track day, always always bring a spare set of pads. u dont want to be forced to drive home with insufficient pad material.

tapered pads would look something like this: (picture NOT from a GT3, just giving a general idea)

 

Occasional use on the track is fine with the OEM PCCB setup. Mine are doing great, but I don't track that often and I am slow as all get out. I say run em if you got em and switch to iron when you have to - not when you don't need to. I don't see a reason to put those ceramics in a box in the attic and pay the price for iron.

 

yep. fully agree. those are my thoughts as well... i am going to run my PCCBs until i need to get them replaced then switch to metal rotors.

i think the only reason why some people switch to iron earlier is so that they can sell their PCCB rotors and make some cash on it.

 

No DIY available?

What do you do with the sensors and squeal shims? I thought these tend to get damaged during the process.. do you replace them everytime as well?

 

i do not replace the squeal shims when i change pads... i replace them only if they are damaged. as for the sensors, i have disconnected them and zip tied them on the damper so that i dont have to deal with them everytime i change pads. the car doesnt throw any error codes when you do this.

i dont have a DIY for changing pads but here's a good video that someone else made for a cayman:

 

Thanks!

I'll prob do the same with the sensors when I swap the pads. I assume the sensor only tells you that you are near or worn down to the backing plate (like most sensors), which is already too late for the ceramic rotors.. strange Porsche designed it that way..

 

I have seen a lot of guys zip tie the sensors so that they are out of the way. If you are tracking a lot, then you should be aware of your brakes and their condition.

 

Fwiw I think Porsche issued a bulletin that said stock pads only on pccb

 

Update on the PCCBs.

Did a one day track day (test and tune day) and it's my first time using the PCCB at the track, I must say, pretty impressive. No fade and consistent. Minimally spongy after end of the day. I inspected the pads after each session, so far so good, I may be near the 50% mark. I am having my shop inspect (and replace if needed) including the inner pads also.

My question for the forum is how different is the feel/performance of the p50 pads compared to stock at the track (since if ever I'll probably only use the p50 at the track)? Or should I stick with the OEMs on and off the track?