993tt Brakes - Pad Choice

[Prawn]

Still trying to sort out my brake woes from previous posts.

I have been talking a lot to Porsche enthusiasts, the 996T and the GT3's also have the same track day braking issue as myself, as their cars are very sililar in weight to the S4 my feeling is that their solutions may be suitable.

They suggest that using harder pads can cause the disc/pads to get too hot, most of them are running Porsche OEM pads on track days and just using fluid with higher boiling point, ie 550~600 deg C.

Any of you guys used the OEM pads on a track day and what were your thoughts ?

[Andiroo]

I have used OEM pads on trackdays before with my 380mm fronts - big problems with the weight of an RS4, bad fade after 6 or so laps [img]images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Currently I use Pagid Yellows along with Castrol SRF Dot4 fluid, and very few problems at all. It seems that the extra weight we have on the front end destroys OEM pads, and obviously cooling issues dont help. I must say though, above all else, good regular (every 1500 miles) deglazing and cleaning, and warm up laps as well as cool down laps have helped me achieve 22k miles now, and they are now just starting to slightly crack [img]images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Andiroo

[Prawn]

Cheers Andy,

Were did you get the pagids from and how much ?

[Andiroo]

Usually from Porsche or AmD, bout £180 a set. I know JR uses these and gets them elsewhere, but same price I seem to remember.

Just from my experience, go for the split pads as these dissipate heat better than the uni-surface, and be sure you make your order clear as they have denied in the past that the splits do exist [img]images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

BTW I also use these for road use with no problems, save for having to clean my wheels more often [img]images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Andiroo

[Joshie]

I have been using standard Porsche pads and during the last trackday I noticed fade for the first time which I thought may have been caused by boiling brake fluid - the calipers were VERY hot.

Frankly I have done about 10K miles since I had the Porsche brakes fitted this time last year. The disks have hairline cracks and I've gone through 2 sets of pads. My brakes get a lot of hammer though but impressed that Andy achived 22K on same disks. I'm changing my disks soon and this time I'm planning to do the following:

1. Don't let anyone skim them
2. Clean the drilled holes regularly
3. Use a harder pad and better fuild for trackdays
4. Regularly deglaze

Let's see how long the next set last.

[Paul-RS]

I got Amd to use DOT 5.1 Fluid when refilling after The Porsche upgrade... better spec for dealing with higher temps.

as for pads .. OEM 993 Bi-Turbo.

[Prawn]

Cheers Chaps,

Re the brake fluid, I have looked at a number of options, SRF is favorite on performance but at £38~40/lt is a bit pricey :

Fluid Dry boiling min. °C Wet boiling min. °C price/lt

Castrol SRF 310°C 270°C £40
Motul RBF 600 312°C 216°C £13
AP 600 300°C 210°C £20
ATE ‘Super Blue’ 280°C 200°C £16
Castrol Response 280°C 190°C £9
AP Ultra 5.1 270°C 186°C £8
AP 550/1 287°C 140°C £10

Looking at the various performances I am thinking of going for RBF 600, this is more hygroscopic than the SRF but at a third of the price I can afford to change the fluid every 2/3 months.

Re the pads I think I will give the Pagids a try, yellows look like a good bet, temp range up to 750 deg C max.