981WC

Has anyone considered upgrading to the 6 piston front brake kit that Suncoast sells? From what I understand, those are the standard brakes from the 991 Carrera S. Seems like they'd provide slightly better stopping power, be slightly more resistant to fade (since bigger surface area), and may or may not even slightly improve pedal feel.

But the big question is how much more do they weigh than the OEM 981 front brakes? Since we're talking unsprung weight, every pound counts. Or I guess it matters more how much the rotors weigh than the calipers since only the rotors are a factor in the rotational weight.

Anyone have a guess as to how much more the 991 Carrera S front rotors weigh than the 981 front rotors?

I'd be upgrading from the base Boxster's 315mm rotors, which I guess are even lighter than the Boxster S' 330mm front rotors.

So I'm curious if I would have a negative handling effect from switching from the 315mm front rotors to the 340mm front rotors.

http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...OXSTERBRAKESUP

orthojoe

I wouldn't worry about the weight. I have PCCB calipers running iron rotors and the car feels no different than stock other than it brakes better because I can run track pads.

I would, however, be worried about screwing up your brake bias since the system wasn't designed for those large front brakes.

blue44

hogging the middle of the road as usual, I'd upgrade to the S brakes, with some good pads ( and quality fluid ) it'll be a nice improvement. Happy with the Hawk blue pads I installed over the weekend...

Donn

981WC

Trouble with upgrading the pads is from what I understand, more aggressive pads than OEM are either going to squeak at low speeds or require temp to get up to full operating performance, or both. I want my brakes to work 100% from a cold stop and don't want any squeaking. More bite I would like, but not with trading off cold performance or noise.

As for the fluid, what does one gain from switching to a fluid other than OEM?

This is my daily driver, too, so I have to consider than it will be maybe 5% track and 95% street. So I don't want to get fluid or brake pads that are 95% meant for the track.

981WC

Thanks for the input! Supposedly though a number of 981 owners have already done this upgrade and have had great results. I think BRG Motorsports puts these on their 3.8L conversion 981s.

orthojoe

If the car is 95% street, I would save yourself the time and hassle. The stock brakes are more than sufficient. The only reason to upgrade is for the increased thermal capacity of larger brakes to prevent excess heat.

Marine Blue

My sentiments match Joe's, the brakes are more than adequate for street and occasional track use. If you're talking racing then an upgrade may make sense to keep the heat down.

The upgrades I would focus on are fluid, pads and maybe the GT3 Master Cylinder assuming Porsche is still putting crappy MC's into the 981.

orthojoe

Actually, the brake pedal feel on the 981s are MUCH nicer from the factory.

Marine Blue

I can't believe Porsche listened......have you hammered on the brakes to confirm your observation?

orthojoe

Not on track, but the difference is pretty obvious. The owner drove my spyder and mentioned the difference without my asking.

khooni

still not great Joe......

I tried a couple............... sometimes we do get flukes.

skxf430

with such little track time, just invest in some better fluid and brake pads. Either PFC or Endless pads with Endless fluid will help improve braking and feel. Both Endless ME20 and MX72 pads can be used on street and track with minimal brake squeal.

orthojoe

Who are you and what have you done with Khooni?!? Lol

Yeah, the 981 pedal is still not a GT3 pedal, but I think it's much better than a 987 pedal, which is just horrible, IMO.