I have been driving a 1979 911SC for a while now and seem to be locking the disc breaks quite a bit under heavy breaking or when its wet out. Does anyone know the proper way to break one of these cars? These 911s do no stop like normal cars with no abs. The majority of the weight is in the back so the discs in the front lock very easily. I have tried stabing at the breaks which is not very smooth but it transferes some of the weight to the front but I can still lock on some occations, and limo breaking and under heavy breaking none of these things really work well.
Let me know what you guys think is the best way to stop this car quickly. Thanks

 

Hi:

As you wisely pointed out, these cars are a little different from others and do require some degree of adaptation to the unusual weight distribution and suspension geometry changes,....

Porsche factory brake bias is purposefully set towards the front to help ensure that the rear brakes cannot lock before the fronts and inadvertently spin the car for you.

When people make complaints such as yours, the very first thing I look at is the brake pads your car currently has since that makes a HUGE difference in brake feel, lockup threshold, and durability.

Take a look and see what brand and compound brake pads you have,..

 

You shouldn't be locking your wheels up in normal street driving, unless you're trying to. My guess is that either one of the calipers is seized (making the other one do all the work), or maybe you need to bleed your brakes? How are your pads, and what kind are they?

Yeah 911s are different under heavy braking, but with normal street driving, there isn't any trick, just use them normally!

 

b-r-a-k-e.

 

One more thing, and, yes, I've personally experienced the problem on more than one car. Lousy, or worn, tires. Without anything wrong with your brakes, they can lock up certain tires. I know of a car that had 75% worn, non-performance type Bridgestones on it. The car would even lock occasionally on dry pavement. A new set of Bridgestone RE 750s were installed, now you can stand that car on its nose, even in bad weather! Of course, that car was mechanically sound and its Bilstein shocks were in good condition. Make sure that your tire pressures are correct (29F/34R cold), then evaluate remaining tread life.
Pete

 

i was about to say the same thing, check your tires too. i know with good pads and good tires i can lay on my brakes pretty hard in the wet with out locking them up and just about slam on them in the dry no problem. it just takes time to get used to the car and how it likes to act under brakeing

 

I definitely agree with Pete on this one, my 84's got decent pads (installed last summer along with fluid flush & new hoses), everything seems to be good all around, but the no-traction Nitto 450's on the 16" C2 wheels are lock-happy. The Kumho MX's on the 17" Cup's are fine.

Check the rubber too, not just the brakes.