Changed front brakes on my 987.2 this morning.....

911hillclimber · Feb 4, 2020

Long over due, bit the bullet and bought new Brembo discs and pads, sensors and anti-squeal inserts, and with the sun shining and the wind blowing did the change outside.

Job went well until I got to the pads and the sensors. The pads were ATE that were supplied (should have been Brembo) and the new wear sensors were Brembo.
After some re-work the anti vibration clip fitted the backing plates and the sensors are fitted although the deign imho is a bit Micky Mouse compared to the Porsche design.

The front brakes had little friction material left, maybe 4mm at most and the sensors were worn about 1mm but nothing on the dash board lights...
The discs were truly cream-crackered, so rusty as can be seen, all caught just in time, yet the car stopped well, true and square.

Some time ago I bought a wheel guide screw-in pin to allow easy 'effort-free' (ish) replacement of the very heavy 19" wheels and this is a tool all modern Porsche should have in the tool box.

A gentle drive this afternoon and al is well, just needs a few hundred miles to bed them in.
However, the two front tyres look rough, any thoughts?

Briggy · Feb 4, 2020

Did the same job on my Cayman at the weekend. Satisfying when it all goes well. Mine were at the point where they'd take a while to bite properly, so was very pleased I'd changed them as I had to do an emergency stop today from 50mph.

With regard to your tyres, I'd change them if they're under 3mm, even if that's not the legal limit. As proved above, you never know when you need maximum stopping power.

Cheers,
Bryan

hotfrog1 · Feb 4, 2020

Have no comment about brakes.
A wheel fitting guide pin was part of a 986 original equipment. Should be in pack on spare wheel pouch (if you have a spare wheel).

Motorhead · Feb 4, 2020

Looks like a job well done Graham, and overdue I’d say from the state of the pads and discs. From the condition of that tyre I’d get the geometry checked when you get new tyres! Too much wear on the inner (?) side.

+1 on the wheel guide - 19” wheels and tyres are heavy. I‘ve got two.

Jeff

911hillclimber · Feb 4, 2020

My 2009 does not have a spare so I presume no wheel stud for easy mounting?

Zuffenhaus said it would need brakes, tyres and geo when they serviced the car last year, and here I am.
need to find a good alignment specialist, but have one in mind.

cobnut · Feb 13, 2020

Getting the front disk and pads replaced on my 987.1 during her service next week, which makes me strangely excited. They were an advisory on the MOT back in December so will probably be in a similar state to yours, and I do think I can feel a slight drop-off in stopping power. We'll see.

I had similar wear on my front tyres at the end of last Summer after 3 months of ownership, that turned out to be the tracking which, according to the garage, was "way out". New tyres are 5 or so months old now and not showing any signs of the same wear so I'd get the tracking checked out (and replace those tyres!). Not sure how susceptible to geometry "adjustment" the Boxsters are but I wince every time I go over a pothole (so, about once every 10 seconds in the UK).

J

911hillclimber · Feb 13, 2020

My fresh brakes are bedding in a real treat, 100 miles so far good and gentle and already feel much keener that the rusty ones.
I understand the feeling of doing the change, I feel the same.
Pot-hole hell is everywhere and I've caught a few in my 3 years with the car. It will be interesting to see the geo when they start the checks at Zuffenhaus.

Looking forward to cleaning the fresh tyres tomorrow and the finish of the bedding in.[8D]

kitchens · Feb 13, 2020

I fitted Brembo to a Fiat abarth I had they where not drilled ones as yours ,but after just fitting then went out in the rain and within an hour the hub face had started to rust looked terrible against the new face of the disc ...so had to paint them with a type of grey Hammarite paint ,sorted it so just check yours best done before you put the wheels back on .