Turbo brakes.....

[robbosliding]

I previously reported some very minor cracks appearing on my front discs following some ambitious driving. I'm happy to report that they have worn away with a few thousand miles of use so they were very early signs of heat fatigue.
I drive other cars on a daily basis and am being to feel that run of the mill cars brakes seem to be more powerful in pulling up- I'm not sure whether this is due to the weight of vehicles, (comparison is ford focus, astras, octavias) but I am talking normal road speeds. Whilst my C4S pulls up OK I am perhaps expecting it to out perform other cars I drive owing to the comparitive size of discs. They work well from higher speeds but do feel a little "wooden" around town etc- plenty of life on the pads and discs- I wonder whether the period of heavy use on the brakes has degraded the fluid? Any thoughts?

 

[dilloncallum]

I think you should get your brakes looked at.

A) I dont know myself anything about driving a high performance car and cracked disks - But I'm sure the performance must be affected

B) The brakes on my C4S are amoung the best brakes I have had the joy of using, both in terms of performance and feel for such performance.

C) With the above in mind, I would not compare the brakes to the like of a Focus or Vauxhall (amongst my sins, I also run a Focus ST3, which brakes well and Vauxhall - wifes, which doesnt).

Neither compare with the Porsche and I'm sure many independant testers would agree, so I would conclude to get some new disks and pads!

 

[beavercraig]

I agree with you. my 996 Turbo has new discs, pads and fluid and they are still very wooden! I can't say its never stopped but they don't instill loads of confidence

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

I think they all need quite a lot more pedal pressure than other cars, but they all seem to stop OK when you need to. [] []

 

[SCOTJC]

agree with the above, it lacks a little bite at first but theres always enough there and very easy to modulate with it

 

[robbosliding]

Yes, after reflecting on what I first said I think the brakes are deceptive in that they aren't defaulting to ABS like the others I'm comparing them to. The ABS kicking in does give an impression of effectiveness where the 996 is pulling up sooner without the ABS- I take on board they are alittle wooden in feel but with progressive pressure the input is increased accordingly. Strange how something so good can seem inferior at the side of something less able.

 

[sawood12]

Modern cars brakes are over servo'd at the expense of feel and modulation. Fine for normal road driving but if you took the car on track you'd soon begin to appreciate the feel of Porsche brakes. You do need to stamp on the pedal harder and the pedal travel is longer, however they are like that by design. BMW M3 brakes are shot after one hot lap. Porsche brakes will go on and on all day.