PCCB or Steel on your 991 GT3?
 

Ok ... we've started to see all the first drive magazine articles and a healthy discussion on the topic of Porsche Carbon Ceramic Brakes vs Steel Brakes has started.

Some notable quotations ...

Automobile magazine states, "...the PCCB setup has excellent wear characteristics on the road. Still, PCCB components wear at about the same rate as the standard steel setup during heavy track use."

Automobile magazine also states, "...Porsche offers a unique steel rotor and a brake pad setup for PCCB-optioned cars, available through the parts department at Porsche dealerships."

Road and Track states, "...If you’re going to buy the GT3, the one must-buy option is the carbon ceramic braking system. Yes, they’re larger vs. the stock 380mm front/rear steel brakes, but mostly they’re ridiculously confidence-inspiring. In the wet I found that at higher speeds just a soft application was needed to warm them ahead of very hard stopping. The thresholds are fantastically high, not only suitable for racing, but also for daily driving."

Some observations...

We haven't seen a review of a car equipped with the steel braking system. In fact, given the statement by AP that they are a "really a firecracker", we may never see Porsche provide a car so equipped to a professional media outlet for review.

All the engineering and pre-production cars the media have driven to date were equipped with PCCBs.

So this poll is aimed at those that have confirmed orders or allocation.

How are you equipping your car?

Ryan

Presently cast iron for me, PCCBs a distant consideration.

I exceeded 100 characters on an option ... oops.

It's up now.

Ryan

I have done PCCB on the last three 911s and I think that they are awesome. ...been a PCCB preacher for a while...

And I have ordered them on this car as well but I am seriously thinking about saving $9200 and putting that money into a roll cage and other stuff. I am planning on really using this car for a change. I will decide when I hear the final word on the Orange PTS.

I've never ordered PCCB's on any of my P-cars, I really don't see the need. The Porsche standard brakes are beyond adequate for street use.
If I go ahead with the purchase of a 2014 GT3 it will have standard brakes, the PCCB's are a $10500 option in Canada and not worth the price IMHO.

Where did AP state they are a must have? I thought this exchange with AP was revealing

https://rennlist.com/forums/attachme...t3-capture.jpg

To be precise, in the EVO Interview with AP he said,

"option the PCCB system is available as well and this system is really a firecracker."

He also stated that they are a shared component with the 918 as have some of the magazines, though I am not sure what pedigree that brings the new PCCB system.

I'll update my previous post.

Ryan

From the Automobile review: "Andreas Preuninger, head of the GT3 program at Porsche, told us that the PCCB carbon ceramic brake setup is the most important option to add to the car"

Hmm. Contradictory statements.

Again, if they are so important to the GT3 performance why not make them standard as he did with PDK? I suspect that Porsche in monitoring early orders and internet traffic learned that not many were ordering the PCCB's given their assumption that 80% of the buyers will track their car. Thus the need to sell the PCCB's.

I am sure that they make more profit margin when you have to order them. I am guessing there is at least a 100% mark up.

My Porsche mechanic, who is a champion racer himself, advised me against PCCBs for track use. His reasoning is that while they provide excellent performance, they are more susceptible to heat damage and with aggressive track use, the pads and rotors will wear at the same rate steels do, if not faster, and the price difference is not fun. I bought my current car in January and am on my 5th set of pads and third set of rotors (22 total track days so far). The rotors did not sustain damage because of pad wear to the steel plates but because of heat damage and spotting. The last set I just installed is made by Girodisc in an attempt to extend their lives. Haven't tracked them yet.

It's not really the endurance that makes a difference, it's the reduction in unsprung mass. I added 13lb per corner when I switched to steel for the track.

When you did that, did it affect your handling or lap times noticeably? Thanks.

Since the front PCCB rotors are bigger than the steel rotors to begin with on the 991 GT3, the weight difference will be less. 911rox did some numbers in another thread and figured that the difference is more like 6-7 LBS at each front corner, which is where I expect you'd feel the weight most.