Brakes - what's best?

colinbythesea · Jul 15, 2008

The time has come to replace my brake pads and disks on my 2000 2.7 Boxster. I knew they were low when I bought the car a few months back and there was a warning from the last OPC service from the previous owners records. The brakes work well but not as well as other Boxsters I tested. The car was a good price so I am happy to do the work and get my hands dirty.

My questions are:

Has anybody any suggestions for the best manufacturer of disks and pads for normal road use and potential suppliers. There are times when the car might not go out for a few days and the current disks corrode so quickly, are there any a bit more resistant to corrosion, my motor factor ones on my Focus are a lot more corrosion resistant?

Are drilled disks worth the extra?

I would like to paint up the callipers as they are looking tired, is the Porsche logo some sort of transfer that can be renewed because I don't think I could mask it up well?

What brake fluids are good and why would they be better than standard fluid, hence worth the extra?

Many thanks

channella · Jul 15, 2008

Colin, I went through all sorts of thougths and investigations online about replacment options before replacing with the standard discs. Not as sexy maybe, but I wasn't convinced there was any need for the claimed benefits of cross-drilled brakes, and since the holes act as crack initiation sites... The key to remember is that the brakes convert kinetic energy into heat. That heat is inititially sunk in the disc, so there is a perverse kind of argument that says you want as much metal as possible. I suppose the holes allow greater air flow and counteract that and would reduce unsprung mass with notional handling benefits. A number of people have enjoyed good results with the aftermarket cross-drilled items from the usual retailers though.

I have used standard pads and Pagid RS4-4 (orange) although yellow and blue were also recommended. The latter have a higher operating temperature and subjectively better inital bite, but I have never driven out of the standard set up (not enough horses?). EBC were not recommended. And by the way this is for the front only, standard pads in the rear.

I have ATE blue in at present - again slightly higher termperature handling. This and the pagids because of track use.

As I understand it the corrosion issue is because of the higher iron content in the steel used. In part it is what makes the standard brakes so good. Surface dusting of rust comes off easily enough, or just drive it more!

Tony Daniel · Jul 16, 2008

I'm using EBC red stuff pads front and back, these are ceramic and don't cover the wheels in brake dust plus they work very well on trackdays. Stick with standard discs and a normal Dot 4 brake fluid, and its a simple job to do yourself if you buy an Eezibleed kit.

Cheapest OEM discs I've seen are from here:-http://www.marque21.co.uk/parts_brakediscs01.html

Calipers stickers are on Ebay! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PORSCHE-BRAKE-CALIPER-DECAL-SET-WHITE_W0QQitemZ230269221634QQihZ013QQcategoryZ10408QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem,
if not give http://www.porsch-apart.co.uk/ a call.

911sse · Jul 16, 2008

If you are not track driving, buy the packs from Design 911, Textar pads and Sebro disks along with all the fiddly bits.

http://www.design911.co.uk/index.htm?Region=UK

Black80XSA · Jul 16, 2008

For purely road use then stick with what POorsche designed the car to have - they are more than capable.

www.marque21.co.uk are worth a look for the parts. Other places eurocarparts,design911 ans porscheshop.

Zimmermann discs are supposedly OE quality but don't have the matt grey painted central hubs. Sebro are also OE and have the painted hubs. Check with your OPC, they are often not that far out on some of the prices, especially if you have to pay high postage rates to get heavy discs delivered from non OPC sources.

Unless you are driving very very hard on road, or doing a lot of track days then stay away from uprated pads - they more often than not squeal under light use. EBC yellows are a good example of this you've got to work them very hard to get rid of the squealing.

JCB.. · Jul 16, 2008

I've used EBC greens for the last 5 years they work best when warm but they do last well.

I bought the cross drilled discs from Porscheshop and they are still on the car after 60k miles and several trackdays.

sawood12 · Jul 17, 2008

My experiance of EBC reds sounds different from Tony's above. I found their lack of cold bite to be bordering on dangerous and even when warmed up they didn't have the bite and feel that OEM pads had. On trackday's they never faded but the bite and feel didn't improve either. I got rid fairly quickly. I then tried EBC yellows which I think are much much better. Near OEM pad cold bite performance and don't seem to be phased no matter how much temperature you throw at them. However they still lack feel and they do squeal a bit - not too much and only at low speed so it doesn't bother me, but might bother others. I wouldn't recommend EBC pads as I think they lack feel and the reds were simply dangerous. I know of others who have had similar experiences with reds.

I am looking to ditch the yellows early. I might even give OEM another try as I know they are good even on track and with a bit of improved cooling they can withstand the heat of even the most heavy brakers on a track day. Alot of people automatically discount OEM pads, but I reckon in terms of stopping power they are a match for almost any of the aftermarket so called fast/road pads, and only the most aggressive brakers on track will reach their temperature limits and on top of this they don't squeal and they provide plenty of feel. They may generate a bit of dust, but that just gives you an excuse to get out and give her a wash. Porsche seem to have struck a pretty good balance with their OEM pads and though aftermarket pads might be able to improve on certain performance aspects it is at the detriment to others.

Tony Daniel · Jul 20, 2008

Weird how there is such conflicting reports on the EBC red stuff pads. Mine work better than the original Pagid pads straight from cold.

Maybe they have changed the compound they use recently?

Mark_Bennett · Jul 20, 2008

Has anyone tried any of the "floating disc" variants, such as many of the GT3 boys have fitted?

I've not yet met anyone with them on a Boxster, but see that they are available.