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If I had a T or a Carrera with the standard brakes, this would be a very interesting upgrade to me, dropping a bit of weight and adding heat sink margin while retaining the stock calipers (agree they are fine).
Have to say I recently drove a T on standard brakes and was surprised to find them up to the task—even if only just—which has me thinking that the Carrera I drove in Tenerife with smelly brakes and the T that I drove on the old Monte route might not have had brakes that had been properly bedded. Perhaps there was enough margin with the old NA engines that bedded or not bedded, it didn't matter. And maybe, even with the factory .2 gear, that margin is thinner now.
I think they offer them drilled and slotted or just slotted. Drilled is certainly better for street use. Less noisy and better in the wet. I'm 90% there on ordering them. Even if I eventually buy calipers, I'll already have awesome rotors....
Do you guys think it would be adequate to do just the fronts? Also would they need to drain the brake fluid to take the caliper apart and put in the spacer?
I wouldn't do the fronts alone. Firstly they would look funny, second the bias would be off. Right now your brakes have the same rotor size front and rear. If you changed just the fronts...
On installation, there is no need to bleed or drain fluid. See below. Simple installation...
I wouldn't do the fronts alone. Firstly they would look funny, second the bias would be off. Right now your brakes have the same rotor size front and rear. If you changed just the fronts...
On installation, there is no need to bleed or drain fluid. See below. Simple installation...
I've done some very effective front-only rotor/brake upgrades in the past, but I am not sure they were what one would call "engineered" to Porsche levels.
With same calipers on larger rotors, one supposes that the leverage of those pads might go up—but their work, too...without them getting "stronger." Then again, new front calipers with piston sizing that is a compromise might be a bigger problem. Would be curious to hear PeteVB weigh in on this. But I will say: The Baer brake upgrade I did on my XR4Ti years ago was front only and transformed the car's braking performance.
I've done some very effective front-only rotor/brake upgrades in the past, but I am not sure they were what one would call "engineered" to Porsche levels.
With same calipers on larger rotors, one supposes that the leverage of those pads might go up—but their work, too...without them getting "stronger." Then again, new front calipers with piston sizing that is a compromise might be a bigger problem. Would be curious to hear PeteVB weigh in on this. But I will say: The Baer brake upgrade I did on my XR4Ti years ago was front only and transformed the car's braking performance.
You're not wrong. The front brakes are certainly the ones that perform the majority of the work, and that's where money is best spent. My comment regarding not doing only fronts was partly about the esthetic of 2 piece front rotors against stock rear 1 piece, and secondly about the change in braking dynamics that may come with enlarging the front rotors alone and throwing off the engineered front/rear brake bias. I wouldn't do that without re-proportioning the bias (or at least knowing that it was within an acceptable spec).
On "work" i'm not a physicist, but I do think that larger rotors means more brake leverage and therefore equal work achieves more stopping power.
Last March 2017, I decided to upgrade my rotors to a larger diameter and GiroDisc seem to offer the best solution. With the guidance from the folks at GirDisc I also increased the surface coverage on my front pads (Same Calipers) by replacing the OEM pads with a GT3 pad. I must add the braking on my Pcar is outstanding. I don’t plan on tracking my vehicle, so I elected for the slotted/drilled rotor configuration. The mod was easy and quick.
Makes sense. I would be all for a larger OEM pad that fits in the 4 piston 991.2 front caliper.
Where did I read that the 991.2 base has the brakes from the 991.1 S? I must've seen it on youtube (which proves how reliable it is, lol). Maybe the S pads fit in the base rotor?
To make it more confusing, the 991.1 base, 991.2 base, 991.1 S, and 991.2 S ALL have completely different pad and rotor parts !!! Just checked Sunset porsche parts...
Last edited by Rennolazine; 06-02-2018 at 06:52 PM.
Judging just from this official Porsche document it would appear 991.2 base and 991.1 S breaks are indeed identical, in fact the rear 991.2 are slightly larger. If the S breaks on the 991.1 S are six piston and the 991.2 base are now 4 piston - it would appear there are other differences as well, and it seems strange it would not have been highlighted here IMHO.
Cheers, -Peter
2017 Porsche Technique Introduction 991/991 Gen II
Thats exactly where I read it... the 991.2 Technik Manual. Thank you!
However, I was getting confused because I think there appears to be an error in that figure. The 991.1 front rotor size was actually 340 mm (see 991.1 Technik manual below). They also were in fact 6 piston calipers on the 991.1 S and GTS. Anyway, the 991.2 base brakes were definitively changed since the 991.1.
Maybe the 991.1 front brake upgrade from suncoast for 2k would work well on the base 991.2 since the rear brakes a little beefed up compared to the .1. I would rather do this than spend 1200 on girodisc rotors alone. https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/PK981SBRA.html
It also fits on the cayman and boxter for christ sake it should bolt right onto the 991.2...
My 996GT3 had 350F and 330R as standard. I upgraded to 350 rotors in rear for improved rear breaking which helps trail braking. Did not change the caliper. Used a 10mm dogbone.
Jordan, great that you are the trailblazer.
I plan to install the Brembo 350mm on the T with the stock calipers. Couple of tips, change the caliper bolts to studs, there is a kit you can buy, makes change out easier.
Get the correct pads, so reasearch alternative pads so you can increase contact area as per pictures above. Maybe call Apex.
Porsche is a master of using other components. For the 996 GT3 I would buy Cayenne rotors because they were a lot cheaper than GT3. We just need to find the correct alternative. I mean, I hope to use rotors I used on the 996 for a 991. Mix and match works.
my car car arrives next week but won’t make this swap until winter.
I wouldn’t spend money for a S brake system. Sometimes I feel my 4S brake is not up to my liking and doesn’t brake hard enough in some situation. Judging from the cost, I would go for aftermarket BBK (Brembo, AP, wilwood etc), better performance and probably cost the same.
Last March 2017, I decided to upgrade my rotors to a larger diameter and GiroDisc seem to offer the best solution. With the guidance from the folks at GirDisc I also increased the surface coverage on my front pads (Same Calipers) by replacing the OEM pads with a GT3 pad. I must add the braking on my Pcar is outstanding. I don’t plan on tracking my vehicle, so I elected for the slotted/drilled rotor configuration. The mod was easy and quick.
Front Rotor
Upgrade to GT3 Pad
Any pic with the wheel on after the upgrade? This looks good!