For changing brake pads. Porsche went away from the old design of being able to remove the pads from the back of the caliper and went to a fixed bridge design that is supposedly stronger and cheaper to produce. The 55 Torx is for the carrier bolts that mount the caliper to the upright, the pad spreader separates them from the rotor and pushes the pistons back far enough to get fresh pads in and the small torque wrench is for torquing everything properly in confined spaces like a wheel well.

It's been rumored and debated that you need to replace the caliper carrier bolts each time you change pads as well but this was refuted by two of my local porsche dealers. They didn't even have any in stock but had plenty of pads and said there is no mention of it in the shop manual. I plan on replacing them every few times as it's cheap insurance just not sure where the truth in this one lies or if it is false where it came from originally.

 

Oh Thanks for this info. How often are we supposed to be changing pads? Aren't the rotors supposed to be turned as well? And while we are on subject, what brand pads are you using?

 

I swap pads before track events to a race compound so I do it pretty often. As far as the normal intervals it depends greatly on your driving style as the need is dictated by a minimum thickness of remaining pad material. If you go to the track or do a lot of spirited mountain driving it will necessitate shorter intervals of replacement in comparison to someone who only racks up the highway miles. In either instance the car will let you know based on the pad wear indicator that's wired into the backing plates on all four corners.

Turning the rotors won't likely be necessary unless you've managed to get an unequal distribution of pad deposit which can happen for a few reasons including leaving your parking brake on after getting your pads really hot with no cool down. More likely though you'll just replace your rotors with every other (or so) pad change.

I'm currently using PFC 11s as a track pad and oem for the street.

 

My wife is a smoking hot blonde with long legs and she is always 3-9 inches taller than me depending on what shoes or heels she is wearing. She is by far my best accessory and makes both me and the car look better.

Make sure to get you one too but mine is already taken.

 

How do you like the PFC 11s? Have you tried them on the street? Do they squeal like you know what? Also, up where did you get them? Thanks.

 

I'm a big fan of PFC in General but have historicly mostly used the 01 compound. PFC is phasing out the 01 and pushing the 11 as its replacement. I've found the 01 had greater initial torque and a crisper release but the 11 seemed to have a flatter torque curve and was easier to modulate although the 01 was no slouch there. Compound wise I prefer the 01 to the 11 and the 11 to the pagid yellows and blacks. The 11 was actually amazing on the street. 01s we're impossible to deal with on the road but I kept the 11s on between events for months and had no issues that would preclude me from doing it again. Slightly louder than stock and less bite when cold but Certainly manageable. I got the 11s from Apex performance and I would recommend them as a vendor. My only issue is the pads are slightly larger than the rotor face so the overlap the edge and wear a ridge on the outside that polishes the rotor lip. PFC is aware of this issue but they've said it's not a problem. Hasn't hampered the performance and may add to the heat absorption and dispersion, keeping the heat out of the caliper but I'd like to see them be able to cut a pad that fits perfectly like they've done in the past.

 

+1.... No better accessory to a fine Porsche than what you described

 

Best accessories: (in this specific order)

1) As described by uhear... a hot GF/Wife
2) Clear LED Side Markers
3) Durametric...