tonytaylor

JW,

How did you know it was the pads that failed? There are a number of reasons for brake failure but AFAIK pad failure is not the most common. Upgrades for track work make sense though.

JW Hubbers

Yes, I was surprised that the pads were the problem too. Symptoms were
- brakes bite at the same amount of pedal depression as usual
- brakes bite a hell of a lot less than usual when using the usual pedal force
- pushing harder doesn't make much of a difference
- releasing the brake completely and trying again yields the exact same results

In other words, no soft pedal, no ABS intervention that I can recall.

After sorting the paperwork I restarted the engine and drove off, with brakes that felt normal.

Afterwards I went to a respected independent specialist in the area, and they pointed the finger to the pads. Apparantly it's happened before.

My guess is overheated pads, resulting in exceeding the upper temperature at which the pads have a decent friction coefficient.

If you have any thoughts on the matter, I'd love to hear them. The topic has been tossed around quite a bit on a different forum, but the more insights the better as far as I'm concerned.

Cheers,

JW

Roygarth

It is possible I will be corrected here but Matt at Type 911 told me Textar manufacture pads for Porsche - so the pads I bought are identical to those an OPC will sell you but not in a P box and therefore 1/2 the price!

I'm trying to get to 'ring and Spa, when are you going?

Mehari is a '72 and drives like a wallowing tank compared with my '88 2CV!

Greg_L

Johnny

I used Porterfield Carbon Kevlar Race Pads last time i went to the ring. They were fantastic, i felt no fade at all, even during 2 consective laps. They generate far less dust than orig porsche pads too. Pricey though about £100 for the front set. . . I use Textar on the road.

Good brake fluid is essential. I use ATE super blue (£20/litre), but after reading Keith's page (thanks JW), i might try SRF next (as long as it wont eat my brake lines).

There is an art to bedding performance pads in too. If you're too hard on them to early you can glaze them.

JW Hubbers

I forgot to mention that I use Castrol SRF brake fluid. So does about 90% of the people I know who drive fast on the Ring

No doubt there are other good brake fluids, but this one works very well and doesn't need flushing for every weekend. Which is good, as SRF is rather expensive

Cheers,

JW

joey bagadonuts

That's sounds like a pretty accurate diagnosis based on the symptoms outlined.

I guess a caveat for using street pads at the track is to use them moderately--no late-braking heroics, please. But if you want to go deep in the corners, lap after lap, you're better off switching to race pad which will still function under extreme conditions.

Confused now, Johnny?