987.2 Track Brake Pad Recommendations
 

I was at a DE over the past weekend and my instructor recommended upgrading the stock pads for future DE events on my 987.2 Cayman S. He had good things to say about the Pagid yellow pads that he used to run on his 987, but could not remember the specs for the front/rear calipers but thought they were different pads in the front vs rear (he mentioned maybe yellow in the front and black in the back?). Is this consistent with what others are doing/using on their cars? If so which pads should I be looking at for my car. Took a look at the Pagid offerings and there were several under the yellow but looked like the RS29 were most appropriate. Not married to Pagid, that were just his recommendation. Any thoughts are much appreciated.

I've used the Hawk HP+ pads and liked them, but will be switching to Pagid Yellows.

The front and rear ARE different. I use PFC 11.

Upgrade your brake fluid also.

Pagid RS29 (Yellows) front and rear, as you said. Switched from stock pads to these last month. Use for track days and autocross.

I *think* we upgraded to Motul 600 brake fluid. That might be wrong though. If someone says that is crazy and way off I can pull my records.

Are you planning to run the pads all the time or just track days?

Very partial to Ferodo DS1.11 pads. Great on the track and good enough cold to work on the street. I would avoid Hawk pads like the Plague as the dust is very corrosive and they are old technology. Clark at Apex Performance will treat you right on the Ferodo’s but you need to call him.

Peter

I'm also in the market for better than stock brake pads. I'm going to be running them all the time so I'm hoping for something that gives better stopping power but is still quiet on the streets. Does anyone have any experience with the Ferodo DS2500 on the 987.2 Cayman S? Would like some feedback on the noise and dust characteristics on the street. I probably go to 3-4 DE events per year. Thanks !

Those are pretty compelling pads. May have to look into them. There are the "R/Spyder" pads as well... stock that do pretty well up to 25min HPDE sessions.

Pagid RS29 front and rear for 3 seasons and counting (Not on the same set lol). Maybe 80+ track days on them.

Brake fluid Castrol SRF. Don't waste time with anything else

I used EBC and Hawk on Nissan 240SX's and they were....okay. Still faded.
On my M4, I used Pagid RS29's and they truly work. Great pads, awesome bite, little fade. Highly recommended with one giant caveat; noise. They squeal so badly that at every stop sign you'd think I was killing a dozen babies with every hover over the middle pedal.

so if you don't mind swapping pads for track days, go pagid. if you care about noise, find another pad but know that you'll need to compromise in performance vs noise.

Clark at Apex is a terrific resource. The new Raybestos pad for 987.2s is out. We have been running PFC 08s, and will give the Raybestos pads a go this year, based upon Clark's suggestion.
Best of luck!

LOL. Exactly why I asked if the pads were for all the time or just track days. They can be (literally) painfully loud in daily use.

Luckily I'm pretty sure the 987 is a simple swap procedure. The fronts on my 981? Not so much. :(

I've been using Hawk DTC-60. They last and are very good for the track, moderately noisy on the street. Much cheaper than Pagids and Ferodo. The biggest knock on them is the amount of dust they generate. Also the dust can get sticky when wet so if you have nice wheels maybe not the best choice. Pagid RS29, being a ceramic based compound, are the least dusty of all track pads.

PFC-08 or Ferodo DS1.11 pads. I have used and like both.

I want to throw this out there since we are talking about brake dust.

Everyone here should buy a can of Armor All Brake Dust Repellent. Yes, Armor All. I know, I know. But this stuff is legitimately AMAZING.

Clean your wheels thoroughly. Let them get completely dry. Spray the wheels. Let it dry for an hour or two. Spray them again. Let them dry overnight. Brake dust does not stick. It's amazing. What little does over time washes right off easily. Just re-coat after each wash.

Just to see how good it works I recommend doing like I did and only treat one side of the car. Give it a week and you'll see a difference between the two. Two weeks even bigger. A month is bonkers.

A can is $8 at Walmart.

There is definitely a strong following for the Pagid pads. I am going to flush the brakes in June after my next track day and will likely commit to the SRF. I've also heard good things about Motul 660 and 600, the downside being that it needs to be flushed more frequently than the Castrol. I guess if its worth spending extra for good pads, might as well follow it up with top-notch fluid too.

I would likely run them all the time just to avoid having to swap them out for every track day. Noise doesn't bother me too much, ironically. I have a C63AMG as my daily driver and those brakes squeal like crazy, especially in the cold. I guess I'm just oblivious to it at this point, people can stare at me all the want.