Manifold

I recently drove a 991 GT3 on track. The car was completely stock and had the PCCB brakes.

The handling and brake feel seemed substantially better than my 991 GT3, which has alignment from a race shop, and front bar at stiff. Suspension felt more composed than my car, ability to trailbrake precisely was awesome, and generally easier to drive than my car.

Odder still, I drove another 991 GT3 late last season which was stock and had the regular brakes, and the handling of my car felt better (my brakes also felt better - I have Ferodo pads whereas he had OEM pads).

One conjecture to explain this is that the PCCB improves not only braking, but also suspension behavior and handling, maybe due to the adaptive damping being better able to cope with the bumpy high-speed brake zones of the track due to less unsprung mass.

Any thoughts? If the PCCB is the reason for these differences, I'd have to rethink my assumption that PCCB isn't the right choice for track use. I do vaguely recall reading something in Pete Stout's review of the 991 GT3 where he noted that the PCCB improved the car beyond just the braking (?).

Mike in CA

I understand the concerns about wear and replacement cost for heavy track use with PCCB's. That said, your experience reinforces what I was told by an insider on the 991 GT3 development team before I ordered my car; PCCB's provide definite performance advantages in both braking and handling and were a "must have" option on the car. FWIW....

Para82

With approximately 40lbs of unsprung weight off all 4 corners you should feel not only a significant braking advantage but also a handling increase.

I've daily driven PCCB's on a 997S for almost 7 years. Now approaching 84,000 miles on the stock pads and plenty of life left - minimal maintenance, exceptional braking, and zero brake dust. For me it was a must have option.

Archimedes

These are the two things I notice in my PCCB C2S versus my steel braked CS and Spyder. The brake feel at speed and the ability to brake precisely when scrubbing speed is much better on the PCCB car.

Jimmy-D

I am certain that the car will handle and absorb bumps better due to less unsprung weight. Hence, why for street driving they are recommended.

I am not sold on PCCBs yet but my GT4 will be here in May and a got them. I want to really see if I can notice the difference and then I will know which was I will go on future cars

kyrocks

I've tracked both PCCB and Steel and didn't notice too much difference. I must suck though.

Jimmy-D

If you say so

Funny that the same debate keeps on coming up but in a different threat and twist but same debate.

One thing - we know how it will end........ - it will not because there will be the next thread

Mike in CA

^^It's simple physics. Lower weight has advantages on both the street and track and I don't see how there can be any argument about that. The question, and it's a valid one, is whether the benefits are worth the associated costs. That's much more subjective.

Manifold

The other question is how much difference in performance there really is.

I don't have the answer, and am just reporting experiences and offering a conjecture, but will note that, if I have any bias, it should be towards downplaying any benefit of PCCB, given that I chose the other option.

Jimmy-D

Created new thread- sorry

OCturbo

It would be interesting to compare lap times of 2 GT3 's, one with and one without pccb, on the same day with the same driver and new tires.

997rs4.0

No, you only notice the difference on the street.

And I'LL show myself out.

Mike in CA

Absolutely. That's part of what I was referring to with regard to whether the performance benefits are worth the cost.

I don't have hard data for an answer either, but it seems pretty obvious that lighter has to be better in this context. How much better, though, is definitely part of the value consideration on PCCB's especially if performance is the only consideration.

ipse dixit

I have PCCBs on my GT3, and I'm nowhere good enough of a driver to even say whether the PCCBs provide an advantage in terms of time when it comes to performance.

But I will say that having talked to a pro driver, who has driven both a stock 991 GT3 on both the iron and ceramic brake setup, he tells me that the difference in time is certainly extant. Just how much will depend on the track and the course layout.

Manifold

One point to reinforce: I compared the cars at a track which the car likes the least among the several tracks I've been to. My car's handling feels great at all of the other tracks.

But I'm fairly convinced already that the brake feel and ability to modulate precisely at any track will be better with the PCCB. The first time I squeezed the brakes of the PCCB car, I was shocked at how good the brake feel was. It was like the difference between walking with socks versus bare feet.