Disks and pads?

[homesea]

After some nice B road diving yesterday, I seem to have trapped a stone between the front pad and disk. This has caused a big grove right in the middle of the disk. I was thinking of replacing the pads anyway because it doesn't like stopping from 70+ mph. So can anyone recommend a good disk and pad setup?

 

[Fred Hindle]

Nothing wrong with standard discs and pads.
Contact Bert Gear at Berlyn Services for good prices. (In fact ask Bert what he thinks, he is the technical wizard for the 944 register.

Cheers,

 

[John Sims]

I've got a set of medium blacks and drilled 928 S4 discs sitting in my shed (as fitted to late 250 Turbos) You would need radial mounts to fit them though.

I once set light to the brakes on a Lux at Snetterton so can confirm they don't like persistent heavy use.

 

[homesea]

Where would I get mounts from? would they have to come from a turbo?

 

[John Sims]

No. The hub assembly on a late Turbo is different. You need a conversion mount the same as a Big Red upgrade. I believe you can get the mounts by themselves from Lindsey Racing.

 

[rob944s]

My disks were in quite a bad state i thought, i took them to a guy down the road who builds inboard engines for boats he had all the gear to re-scim the disks and i have had no trouble since, he even took the nasty groove out of the rear drum and took the lip off, i am not saying this is your best option but its is an option rather than an expensive brake upgrade........

 

[homesea]

I can see what your saying Rob, but the brakes are rubbish for anything but pottering about. So I was thinking about upgrading them and if I am spending money on new discs and pads for a slight gain I might as well spend a bit more and get brakes that stop the car.

Also I would not be happy just re-facing the discs as discs have a minimum thickness they should be used down too. If the disc becomes very thin it is likely to crack and also it cant disperses heat as well.

Maybe I will look for some standard discs but fast road pads.

 

[TTM]

I seem to remember Wilwood offer an interesting brake upgrade for the 944 2.5 NA that allows keeping standard wheels.

Some info here

 

[Big Dave]

homesea.
What car [model ie S2 etc are you running.??].??
If its an S2 then ive got a "spare" pair of calliper brackets .
If its not an S2 then,???? Are your callipers the same as an S2 / "standard" turbo.??? As the brackets i have are to fit the S2 / turbo...

If you need more info please mail me....

 

[homesea]

The car is an 88 Lux, I guess the brakes are all standard (single pot). I have 17" cup alloys so bigger brakes should fit. I am coming round to the idea of just fitting new pads and discs. So any help with makes etc would be good.

 

[ianreeves]

I'm running EBC yellows all round on my 968. No problem for road use, they are however not at all low dust. [8|] The new coating to bed the pads in does smell like old fish, but only lasts for the first run.

 

[sawood12]

If dust is not a problem for you the Performance Friction pads seem to be the dogs danglies. If you have decided not to upgrade your disks and pads then the best thing to do is to make sure your current setup is working at it's optimum. This means decent fluid and braided hoses. I personally think spending the extra on OEM discs is worth it (the difference in price is not as great as you think), but there are plenty on this forum who are perfectly happy with non-oem disks, but alternatively some have had 'issues'. If you are not tracking the car then OEM pads are probably the best option but if you want something more sporty then the PF pads get great reviews if you can tolerate the dust (but are pricy).

EBC pads get very mixed reviews. I found EBC Red Ceramics didn't work for me - literally! They were simply dangerous. I now have the yellows which are much much better, but still not as sharp or provide as much feedback as i'd like. Next time round i'll probably go for the PF's.

Mintex and Pagid also get good reviews.

 

[ianreeves]

I had Pagids before, but they were too hard for the road and the squeel was quite bad. The EBC pads have changed formulation which makes the yellows a bit more usable. I have braided hoses etc etc they are a good update to old components a well. I also noticed there is more of a trend to move away from the drilled disks and just dimple them, I guess this stops the cracking issues but still allows the gases out ?

 

[bert gear]

with regard to original discs, it has always bean a problem to deturmin what make Porsche use as original. The German made Sebro discs are a better bet than the Zimmerman discs and even come with the centers Zink coated just like the originals, and at the same price as Zimmermans are good value

 

[Andy97]

Its interesting to see people's experiences with different makes of disks and pads.

I had EBC Green stuff and performance discs on my quattro & they were pants - had the discs changed under warranty due to warping and the pads squealed like hell. The replacement discs have also slightly warped although this only noticeable under hard braking. Will go back to original equipmetn disks shortly. Now use Pagid pads with no problem & the performance is good, even on the one track day I have done with the car.

My 944T has the uprated brakes and pads from a 928 as original equipment, I believe. I have changed the fluid and fitted braided hoses and this has given excellent braking performance, even on track, with the pads lasting over 3 track days too.

 

[AndrewS]

Hi All,

My recommendations based on over 10 years of track days and racing is this:

With 944 Turbo M030 brakes, make sure you have the cooling ducts. Use Performance Friction, Porterfield or Pagid Orange. Hawk Blues are the ultimate - but what a mess of your wheels (better for race cars).
With 928GTS brakes, standard Porsche OEM pads are fine (the genuine Porsche ones). Textar and Mintex OK too. I've yet to try an agressive pad with my car (that has 928GTS brakes) as the standard Textar pads are fine (only with cooling ducts)
944S2/968 (and 944/944S and 924S) and early Turbo. Use a goot high boil point fluid (like ATE Super Blue) and any of the above performance pads (I used Porterfield on my 924S in the Porsche Cup).
The most important thing with the smaller disks and callipers is to use good cooling to the front brakes. Otherwise they badly overheat. M030 brakes also need cool air, but don't suffer as badly.
On the road - just stick with Textar, Mintex, Pagid or OEM (all road based compounds). Use PFC or Pagid (high heat compounds) and you may find yourself in squeal city with no brakes when cold! Ouch.

Regards,
Andrew