Archimedes

Schmidts Cat

Benjamin Cherry

+1 to the OP. I'm disappointed with the stock brakes on even my puny base 981.

Suicide Jockey

First complaint I've ever heard about the standard brakes on the Spyder, which we know are shared with the 991 Carerra S, a car which is a few hundred pounds heavier as I recall. If anything, I always viewed the Spyder as overbraked.

Don't recall any reviews of the car -- not one -- finding fault with the steel brakes either. If anything, the car was routinely applauded for its stopping power:

• The brakes (they're also off the Carerra S) are magnificent, as potent as any sport car's. Perfect pedal feel, for real. Forget about them carbon-ceramics. Motor Trend, July 2015

• The brakes, taken from the 911 Carerra S, are outstanding even by Porsche braking standards. Autoblog, July 2015

• It also brakes with more ferocity; there are 340mm diameter front discs, and the overall setup is borrowed from the Carerra S. While all the control weights are sublime, the brakes are astonishingly well calibrated. Top Gear, September 2015.

• The braking setup in the 3,024-lb Carerra S was excellent to begin with. When fitted to a mid-engine car that's 143 lbs lighter, it's even more impressive. Although the Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB) on the GT4 we tested at Road America would likely allow for a greater number of consecutive fade-free stops, the Spyder's steel rotors feel just as strong. Excellence, June 2016.

• Additions? . . . . brakes from the Carerra S. Carbon-ceramics are optional. You do not need them. Road & Track, October 2015

• More power requires more brakes, so 340-mm iron rotors fwith six-piston calipers are found up front, while 330-mm rotors with four-piston califpers are fitted at the rear -- all of them lifted from the Carerra S. These are smaller than the massive, endurance-spec 350-mm iron rotors from the GT4, but they save weight you simply don't need unless you're racing. PCCB ceramic brakes are optional if brake dust is a pet peeve. They are less of an "upgrade" here than in the rest of the 981 lineup, however, and cost just as much: $7,400. Some prefer the higher pedal effort of the standard setup, while the PCCB setup's $20,000 rotor replacement cost is a heart-stopper for those who will track the car. Panorama, September 2015

• Naturally, the Spyder's brakes are up to the job of scrubbing off speed time and again without running headlong into the dreaded wall of fade. The Spyder relies on massive vented/cross-drilled rotors with six-piston front calipers and four-piston units at the back. For the serious, Porsche offers an optional ceramic composite brake package. Frankly, given the anticipated price of the optional brakes and the proficiency of the basic system I doubt the ceramics will be a hot commodity. Driving, 2016

• The 991-1 Carerra S brakes are up to the task . . . . Panorama, January 2016.

Wondering if it would be wise to get your brakes checked out before making a major investment to upgrade. Not trying to talk you out of CCB's, just thinking something might be wrong with your brakes if you're finding fault with their stopping power because this view is definitely in the minority. If you're not tracking the car, then the standard brakes should be more than adequate, even for aggressive canyon carving.

Gbboenda

Pep!RRRR

f4 plt

Several years ago I did the full iron to PCCB conversion on my 2012 Spyder and like a previous poster it is an expensive mod . That said do I regret it NO and would do it again. The obvious item is no brake dust ( that's not a cost efficient reason). The conversion does lower unsprung weight and thus handling is noticeably improved especially when driving an Auto X. On the highway I do notice a slight difference in ride and handling but again you are lowering unsprung weight . I had and still do plan to keep the car for many years as I bought it new so not being able to re-coup the cost when selling was not an issue. If you heavily track the car I would perhaps think twice as replacement rotors are expensive but in normal driving and auto X you are looking at well over 100,000 miles before you have ot do anything. As an aside I also have ( factory ordered) PCCB's on my '15 Cayenne diesel which I frequently tow with and would not change. My wife has a '14 Cayenne Diesel with iron brakes and I notice a pronounced difference in the braking. Bottom line in my book if you plan to keep the vehicle and can rationalize the cost they are the way to go

Besides yellow brakes on an Aqua Blue 987.2 Spyder is the fastest combo

brur

"Besides yellow brakes on an Aqua Blue 987.2 Spyder is the fastest combo"

not happy to hear that. I have a gray car with red.
but I do like the post.

Archimedes

jwade

I ordered PCCB's on my '13 981 S and love them! Look great and no brake dust is a big '+'. When ordering, I also planed to keep my car a while.

While not for everyone, I had the opportunity to "test drive" my first P-car experience with a slightly used '01 986 S for about 5 yrs prior to ordering my '13 back in April of 2012.

It wouldn't take anytime for the wheels to get coated with soot. People say using different pads change it... I have no reason to question, however, it's really hard to beat the look of those monster 6 piston calipers in the front. Especially for the 20" wheels. Really fills in nicely.

And people can say what they want, but PCCB's deliver outstanding bite and performance. Tests may show braking performance between big red's and PCCB's are relatively equal, but from "real world" experience, PCCB's are much better.

To make the conversion will run a whole lot. May be better to sell and find a car that already has them. Porsche ownership is a slippery slope for sure!

f4 plt

Suicide Jockey

I don't think anyone is saying CCBs aren't "better," providing more stopping power and perhaps a preferred feel (at the cost they sure as hell better!). And the reduction in unsprung weight is also an important benefit as f4 pointed out. And certainly we don't want to get derailed on a debate of steel vs. CCB because that horse has been dead beat and we all know the pros on cons on each side.

No, instead, the issue raised by the OP is the sufficiency of the standard brakes. Are the standard brakes subpar for use on the steet due to their inability to slow the car when driven at speed?

On that point I would have to rally to the defense of the standard brakes -- BIG TIME. I wouldn't want anyone new to the game who might be in the market for a Spyder stumbling across this thread and leaving with the impression that the standard brakes are lacking because I think that impression would not only be wrong, but drastically inaccurate. On the contrary, the standard brakes are considered exceptional, even by journos that trash these test cars and drive the snot out of them (and then get out and hand the car over to the next journo to do the same thing!). No reports of fade. Ever. Nothing but confidence-inspiring.

So my own experience and that of other Spyder owners I hang out with, not to mention the aforementioned automotive press, is drastically different from the OP's recent experience where he found the standard brakes to be inadequate, thus my suggestion that something might be up with his brakes. These are the same brakes, after all, which Porsche selected not only for the marque's halo car, but for the upgraded "S" version of that model, a much heavier rear engine car.

Finding fault with the standard brakes on a Spyder is thus a real head-scratcher for me.

2XIPA

Instead of PCCB's what about considering AP Racing Radi-CALS? https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...981-718-a.html

Space Coast GT3

Pep!RRRR