boxsey911

This is what can happen to normal pads when used on track. These pads looked plenty thick when viewed in the caliper (about 4 mm). But as you can see in the pic they've started to disintegrate.

demonfish

that isnt disintegrating....

Kahdmus

FYI, the 2 pot calipers (rears on MY1991) are slightly different and require you push out the pins on either side. Pelican parts has a good writeup on this however so you're well covered:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...brake_pads.htm

Frank, I don't think you can have too many write-ups on anything DIY related. Great thread!

Crystal Cranks

Thanks for the offer but as I will need to replace some of the hard lines as many of the connections are badly corroded I don't feel up to taking it on myself so will be giving it a mechanic.
After reading the thread on octane about Kirkstown it looked like a great day so I'm very tempted to go on the next one just have to see closer to the time, its a long day what time did you leave at?

Frank 993 C4S

Left from the Coachman's (airport) at 6:00 am and got back around 8:00 pm. It was well worth it for a couple of reasons:

- Fast track with top speed in excess of 120 mph
- Good run-off areas with plenty of space for possible mistakes
- It was a beautiful drive from Newry to Portaferry
- Most importantly - Good experienced people that provided a safe and courteous climate on the track.

Marc Shaw

Well done - added to the DIY section.

Marc

Mark J

i guess this has been covered elsewhere, but what do you guys recommend brake pad wise. I use the car for fast road & touring but with the intention of the odd track day.
Would it be false economy to go for the Textar OEM or Porsche originals or should i spend that fair-bit extra on Pagid Blue/Orange/Blacks ? (or other alternatives?)

Frank 993 C4S

Mark,

you'll probably get a fair bit of opinions on this one. I use OEM for my turbo, which never sees the track and I'll keep it that way. My RSA used to have Hawk HPS pads which I highly recommend because they were great on the road and on the track. If you're doing the odd track day, you can't go wrong with the OEM pads, especially since they are probably a lot cheaper than the Pagid selection. When selectig a non-OEM pads, I'd just be careful that they are usable on the road, without significant warm-up.

reynwerkes

Wanted to throw my 2 cents on this job because there are situations that weren't covered and could frustrate folks.
First, many of our brakes use the factory backing plates that mount into the brake pistons. These have an adhesive back to them and no amount of pulling will get the pads out.
You need to first compress the pistons back a little so you have some working room. If the pads are worn a bit you'll have more room to work with and it'll be much easier. Mine weren't worn much so I had very little space to work with. Regardless, you'll need something metallic that's long and thin so that you can work it between the backing plate and the brake pad. On some you can use a screwdriver to separate it while other times you need to get it started with a razor blade. Once you separate the plate from the pad then and ONLY then can you remove the brake pad. Another way to do this is to completely remove the caliper from the rotor but I think that's more trouble than it's worth.

Secondly, you need to use pliers that will give you ample pressure to pull the spring clips together. Even then, you'll need to find something else to pry the spring up and away from the retaining clip.

Last, a large screwdriver is a great tool to compress the pistons back into the cylinders by bracing against the rotor. But you need to be careful that you don't slip and tear the piston seal. Just take your time and slowly lever it back in.

Hope this helps.

911Jetta

Thanks everyone, I didn't realiize it was that simple...I didn't want to make a rookie mistake in this area so I had the shop replace my pads last year. With all the comments made so far, it looks like another thing I can do instead of paying the shop next time. Threads like this are what this forum is all about!