ysiysiyksi

Putting in my build for my allocation and have to decice on the brakes.

Without tracking the car, will the brakes squeal like they did on 991.2Gen? I had steels on my old car, and it was embarrasingly bad, and didn't get much help from high speed braking.

Do the 992 gen steels still squeal, what about the PCCBs? I am leaning towards the steels as I don't plan on tracking the car, but need them to be more quiet. Do the PCCBs work well in normal street use and is the pedal firm?

dsteding

I have a 991 S and a 991.1 GT3, PCCBs on the GT3 and steel brakes on the S. The PCCBs worked well on the street, firm pedal, quiet. A bit less bite when cold but excellent brakes on the street. I also found them to be excellent on the track. I'd absolutely spec a new car with PCCBs.

Squealing with stock pads and iron rotors is probably a bedding issue. It can be fixed with some careful work.

Porsche911GTS'16

I have steels on my 991.1 GTS and PCCBs on my 991.2 Touring. I know some will argue that the brakes' ability to stop are comparable and the big difference in the brakes is the lack of "fade" in the PCCBs but I have not found that summary to be the case. The "bite" of the PCCBs is far superior to the steels, to me. It is not even close.

My PCCBs squeal sometimes but it doesn't bother me. My steels squeak when they are wearing down. I have had to change the brake pads on the steels several times over 7 years. From what I have read here on RL, the brake pads on the PCCBs, with street driving, can last many years. I will not be tracking my car, so I am not worried about burning through the PCCBs on a track.

In hindsight, if I had known how much better the PCCBs are (to my taste, anyway), I would have spec'd my GTS with the PCCBs as well. Not to mention the decreased unsprung weight of the PCCBs. More expensive? For sure. Worth it? Every penny.

There have been complaints about the brake pads on the 992 GT3 PCCBs. Some are even swapping the 992 pads for the 991.2 pads. Something to consider.

AceVentura

I have PCCB on my 991.1 GT3 and have very bad squeal so it's not limited to the steels. I'd say it's worse on ceramics than in other 911s I've owned.

merc5326

It's got nothing to do with PCCB vs Iron, it's not steel, just like not everything else is a "sofa" if it's not a LWB. So many misnomers on this platform. Both brake packages are phenomenal. Big reds are much more commonly used on the track due to running costs. It's unfortunate the PCCB's are such a rip off, as every GT owner would want less of both sprung and unsprung mass.

jkob5

Strange. My steels have never squealed under street or track driving. The few cars I've driven with PCCB all squealed. The PCCB's have a very aggressive initial bite, while the steels have a little more modulation. My two cents.

Palting

I had steels on my first GT3, PCCB on my second. Both 991.2 generation. Both taken to the track frequently.

PCCB. Excellent initial bite, rotors last "forever" if used exclusively on the street. Absolutely horrible when wet, as in coming off the car wash or in heavy rain.

Steels: Excellent brakes, as Porsche has always been known to have excellent brakes, whether on the street or on the track. Not cheap to maintain, but certainly cheaper than PCCB..

My .02 cents. If you track frequently, go with steels. Iron, actually. You won't regret it. If you never track the car, go with PCCB. They are just so cool to have.

Cay_PI

The real difference is 4kg less per rotor with PCCB! If you can feel it... I doubt. But its the same like having 40kgs of additional weight in the car.

catdog2

@palting completely agree...

PCCB's horrible in cold and wet conditions, to the point where you need to be careful driving in cold winter/slush/wet conditions
Dry cold is no problem at all...
Nice initial bite on PCCBs and clean wheels/look better/potentially lighter feel to car but is it a placebo effect for non-racers (including myself)

Overall Porsche irons are impressive all around, minus brake dust; can't go wrong with them and they're cheap to replace/also red calipers are classic, yellow works awesome in some colors but clashes with others...

Perimeter

I had PCCBs on my prior 3 GT cars and loved them but heard so much forum talk that "they're no better than steel at grip" so ordered my Touring with Steels.
Upon delivery and throughout my first 4k miles of ownership I was continually disappointed with OEM Steels for road driving around Phoenix, AZ - You need to have six serious braking events to warm up the steels before you can expect full braking
I sourced a Seller here on RL, bought the complete OEM PCCB conversion and was absolutely amazed at how superior the PCCB braking s for the road.

My PCCB initial bite on cold start was secure just as on my prior GT cars PCCBs. Steels were dodgy until those first 6+ braking events to warm them up
**** Note this is exactly opposite of what I have heard as a caution in the forums "PCCBs don't grip until they are warm" ****
Perhaps that was true on earlier PCCB formulations, but I was so much happier removing the OEM Steels/pads.

I would always recommend selecting PCCBs for safety and consistency when your goal is road driving, IMHO they are far superior and I regret buying OEM Steels

Berjar

I went with Iron on my Touring and after 24,000 miles the Discs were done. I switched to Surface Transforms carbon discs. 3lbs lighter than the Porsched discs and they can be refinished 3 times. $17,000 with pads and install. They are a vast improvement in every way. Steering is better, braking bite is more powerful and no dust. I ordered my car with steel brakes to get red calipers and planned on upgrading down the road. I will say that both are incredible which is why I waited so long to upgrade.

https://www.surfacetransforms.com/product-finder/

James88

I would never get PCCB's again, there's not enough clearance between the calipers and wheel barrels.
Stones get caught in between and do lots of damage to the calipers and wheel barrels, I'm talking about very deep gouged grooves. Some have reported piecing the wheels and not holding air pressures.

Edit; check out my post with photo of damage-

post #21 here
https://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3-...earance-2.html


And post #61 here
https://rennlist.com/forums/718-gts-...-raging-5.html

And another one here
https://rennlist.com/forums/gt4-spyd...nd-wheels.html

ysiysiyksi

Thanks for everybody chiming in. One worry remains…

Is the initial bite now soft and spongy on the PCCBs due to the new pads? Or is this an issue with both steels and pccb brakes alike?

I drove a 458 some years ago and the brakes felt like they werent even there, damn near blew through a stop sign as they just wouldnt bite

AlexCeres

no. The brake feel and bite have a lot more to do with how the car is set up. It’s not strictly a steel vs ceramics thing. Porsche likes a lot more bite at the top and a linear flow. McLaren wants more racing style leg work out. A lot more control at the top of the peddle. The absolute performance of the brakes is incredible either way. It’s a feel thing.

the Porsche likes their ceramics to bite hard and fast.

Porsche911GTS'16

My 991.1 GTS has steels and my 991.2 Touring has PCCBs. For me, the difference is stark. The PCCBs are far superior. My steel pads have been changed pretty much every other year since I purchased the car in 2015. The bite of the brakes cannot compare. I not infrequently drive both cars, back-to-back in the same day. The firmness of the PCCBs, even cold, are far superior to the steels (which had their pads changed, AGAIN, not too long ago). If I had to do it all over again, I would have spec'd my GTS with PCCBs. And that is not even taking into account the lack of brake dust with the PCCBs (in the the 991.2 generation, anyway) and the decreased unsprung weight. Win, win, win.