Best street brake pads for a 89 951
#16
Three Wheelin'
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Tulsa Oklahoma
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I run Hawk and I love them. I'm pretty easy on my brakes, but sometimes I need to slow down quickly, or I'll be on a fun back-road. In any of those conditions, I've been satisfied with the feel.
#17
Rennlist Member
Pagid Blues are good for the street. Don't squeal, no dust, and decent all round modulation.
Blacks for the track are pretty good too. My preference is PFC for track.
#21
That Guy
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Rennlist Member
Well I am talking about the brake booster vacuum line (the big hose that goes into the black cylinder the master cylinder mounts too). If that is not holding vacuum it will feel like you have manual brakes. If you have a vacuum pump just get a reducer. If it holds vacuum, it does. Check to see if that 90* that goes into the brake boost wiggles a lot or doesnt.
#23
Rennlist Member
#24
My favourite dual purpose street/track pad by far is the Ferodo DS2500. I've had other "dual-purpose" pads crack, pit, fade, and generally self destruct from the heat of track usage. An excellent track-only pad is the Ferodo DS3000, but they are pretty aggressive on brake rotors. I'll be trying Pagid Yellow for the track next (expensive but well reviewed). My favourite all around street pad is OEM Porsche.
Your Porsche pads should be providing excellent cold bite. Are you bleeding them with a power bleeder? On my '89, perhaps because of the extra brake fluid lines associated with the ABS unit, I can not flush all old brake fluid out of the system with my Motive power bleeder alone. For years I thought it was doing the trick, the fluid comes out clear. Then for fun I tried the manual method and some nasty old brake fluid came out that the power bleeder had not been able to get. What I do now is a combination of power bleeder and the traditional "pump-pump-hold" manual method with someone sitting in the drivers seat. I've had excellent success this way - braking noticeably improved and less pedal travel. My Motive power bleeder is attached to the reservoir feeding in fresh fluid at 15psi, and I recruit someone to pump and hold the brake pedal while I bleed from the rear right up to the front left.
If you're still not happy with OEM Porsche pads, try Ferodo DS2500. They have good initial bite, a high friction coefficient, and keep working well when they get hot.
Your Porsche pads should be providing excellent cold bite. Are you bleeding them with a power bleeder? On my '89, perhaps because of the extra brake fluid lines associated with the ABS unit, I can not flush all old brake fluid out of the system with my Motive power bleeder alone. For years I thought it was doing the trick, the fluid comes out clear. Then for fun I tried the manual method and some nasty old brake fluid came out that the power bleeder had not been able to get. What I do now is a combination of power bleeder and the traditional "pump-pump-hold" manual method with someone sitting in the drivers seat. I've had excellent success this way - braking noticeably improved and less pedal travel. My Motive power bleeder is attached to the reservoir feeding in fresh fluid at 15psi, and I recruit someone to pump and hold the brake pedal while I bleed from the rear right up to the front left.
If you're still not happy with OEM Porsche pads, try Ferodo DS2500. They have good initial bite, a high friction coefficient, and keep working well when they get hot.
#25
Advanced
Thread Starter
I've tried both methods when bleeding. The Motive power bleeder and the traditional way. When I use the power bleeder I usually bleed the clutch slave cylinder also. I get a nice firm pedal after I'm done bleeding. I've done the bleeding procedure several times. I even drove the car several miles with hard braking and then re-bleed the system again. Still the brakes don't stop as well as they should. They are not awful but given that they are considerably larger than the brakes on the 911 or even my wifes Mazda I would expect a greater rate of deceleration. I'll pick one of the recommended pad options and see if it is any better.
#27
Rennlist Member
I would try bedding in the stock pads again before you give up on them. That said, I've found that metal masters work very well for street only pads. They also dust a whole lot less than the stock pads and they're cheap. One of the few real deals in this life.
#28
Advanced
Thread Starter
I switched over to Pagid street black, basically the OEM version. Braking has improved. Much better cold performance. Now I have to bleed a few times.
#30
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