TLDR: Have brake questions? Call me...

As mentioned there isn't a one size fits all solution unless you are running PCCB or Surface Transforms "ST". A lot of customers are running the DS3.12 and feedback on the street has been pretty good. In most cases, the DS3.12 doesn't make much noise on the street, and performance is fine when the pads are cold. There are exceptions to this as sometimes they do make noise, with no real rhyme or reason to it. This will also come with increased rotor wear/dust when running this compound. In most cases of heavy use, the rotors will crack before you reach the minimum thickness, so wear isn't as important necessarily. Yes, the pads will wear quicker as well, but this is the price you pay for not swapping between a race compound and a street compound.

Each owner has to decide what they value the most. Is it cost, performance, noise, dust, simplicity, longevity, or a combination of things? You then have to factor that in with how/where the car is being used and your driving style. I go through this almost daily with customers, and every situation is different.

A few general recommendations:

• For street only, I would stick with stock pads.
• For owners that don't care about noise/dust, but do care about track performance, I would install the DS3.12 and be done with it. To note, the DS1.11 is a bit less aggressive and will wear better, but will make more noise. (FCP4664G Front / FCP4665G Rear)
• If you do a ton of street driving (mostly city) and only a handful of track days a year, it may make more sense to run DS3.12/DS1.11 on the track and DS2500 on the street. The DS2500 is quiet but you will still get dust. (FCP4664/5/H)
• If you only do a handful of days a year and aren't chasing lap times, you might also be able to get away with the stock pads. The track, driver, tires, etc.. will all factor into this. In most cases though, the stock pads will eventually overheat...these cars are just too fast. We all know by now that the newer OE pads don't perform as well either. I haven't heard much about an OE Performance pad option from Porsche, if these exist, perhaps someone can chime in on their experiences.
• If most of your street driving is on the highway (less braking) or in the canyons, but you track the car then I would still recommend the DS3.12/DS1.11
• I keep referencing the DS3.12 as it offers extremely high levels of performance and typically are quiet. These are the only pads I've come across that accomplish this the majority of the time. There are other pads that will perform similarly, they just all make noise...
• If you track the car alot and can't stand noise/dust, then maybe it's time to consider upgrading to Surface Transforms @ $12.5K for a full set. You get superb track performance with no dust/noise on the street along with outstanding disc life.
• Others have mentioned there isn't a solution to cover all the bases, but installing ST rotors is that solution, you just have to pay for it...their value is different for each individual.
• What about wheel sizes? Need more clearance? Maybe a brake kit is the answer.
• You can also switch to an Essex/Ap Brake kit which makes brake pad swaps much easier if folks have an aversion to removing their calipers before/after events. This solves the noise issue on the street, but not so much the dust issue.
• Caliper studs can also be installed for those who are weary of removing their calipers all the time and stripping the threads in the wheel carriers.
• For hardcore track guys who only care about the best brakes and performance, I would recommend the PFC Brake kits.
• *PFC is also working on a street compound right now for their brake kits and I should have test pads here in a few weeks, more on this soon.* Their 380 kits can run 18" wheels as well.

For PCCB owners:

• If you have PCCB and only track a few times a year, don't be worried about trashing your PCCBs, they should be fine.
• If you aren't happy with the performance of the PCCBs, I would recommend trying the Pagid RSC1, RSC2, or RSC3 compound (most aggressive) Shape 4927 Front and 4925 Rear.
• If you bought PCCB for all the benefits they offer but are worried about disc life from (or plan on) extensive track usage, ST carbon rotors may be the answer (paired with the RSC compounds).

These are just a few examples and every situation is different but hopefully helpful to some. Any way you slice it there are going to be trade-offs. Your perfect solution may not be available, but I can try to help get you close to it.

Give me a call/text/email and we can talk through options. Rennlisters get great discounts as well...

 

Hello Carl, I am not a seasoned track junkie. (Just a want a be…lol.. hopefully one day I’ll become a seasoned veteran of the sport) but so far I am extremely happy with them.
They are just as dusty as the 992 OEM Pads.
Wear, they seem to be holding up very good.
For street driving, very little noise. Less noise than the OEM pads on the 991.2 RS I previously had.
Track modulation is good. Bite is good
Every time I push the car a little harder, I am amazed at how it handles with braking and turning.
I would buy them again.

 

 

Gents,
Here is an article I wrote on the current popular Ferodo pad options: Which Ferodo Brake Pad Compound is Right for Me?

The article rates each pad compound on numerous metrics ranging from durability to street-friendliness. Just keep in mind that pad choice is all about tradeoffs. A pad designed for one environment (chasing lap times) isn't going to be ideal for another (chasing groceries). A street compound will have limited fade resistance and durability at track temps, while an endurance racing pad will tend to make noise and eat your discs when run cold. Again...all about tradeoffs!

 

Link is broken

 

You computer is broken!

Just kidding. Try it now. Sorry about that.

 

Fantastic write up. Thanks

 

Received my DS2500s from Rick @ HINZ, very good customer service btw. Had them installed, I find the initial bite quite good, drove around town a bit, no noise at all. I do feel that I need to warm them up a bit before can feel the difference between these pads and OEM pads.

After cleaning up the wheels (ugh I miss the PCCBs!), went for a good 45 min drive, with mix of Highway and City, there are barely any dust (vs the OEMs).

 

Can you verify that for a 992 GT3 RS with stock PCCB's, Pagid's RSC1, RSC2, or RSC3 compounds are all compatible?

 

I would go with the RSC1 compound on OE PCCBs. The other 2 compounds are more aggressive and can reduce PCCB life. Surface Transforms are more durable and can handle more aggressive compounds, but for the factory PCCBs I would go with RSC1. RSC2 is hard to find now and RSC3 is really hard on the discs, so stick with RSC1. Noiseless and dustless on the street, but lap record capable on track with great wear. If you want to run a more aggressive pad but keep ceramics then switch to Surface Transforms. Then you can run RSC1, RSC3, RSL29, or RSL1, along with the PFC compounds (11/331/332).

 

I'm trying to reconcile your advice above with the following info from Pagid's RSC pad brochure (link). It says the following for RSC1, RSC2, and RSC3, respectively:

RSC1:


RSC2:


RSC3:



RSC2 says it's for rotors with high content of fibers, while RSC3 says it's for rotors with low content of fibers. My question is: how can both RSC2 and RSC3 both be recommended for the same rotor? It seems like either the RSC2 or the RSC3 (but not both) would work for a particular rotor.

And this raises the question, do our PCCB rotors (992 GT3 and GT3 RS) have a low or a high content of fibers? Does anyone know the answer to this? It seems like fundamental info to make the correct brake pad decision.

 

mthreat it seems you and I are the only one that noticed that.
When I was thinking about buying RSC1 or RSC2 or RSC3 pads, nobody mentioned that whereas it's written on Pagid's website.

For me : RSC2 is NOT for our PCCB, it's design for discs with high content of fibers whereas our PCCB are low content of fibers.
It might be nice to have someone to confirm that PCCB discs (and also surface transforms discs) are low content of fibers but I am pretty sure this is correct.

Anyway, after a set of RSC3 I am now using RSL1 and it's much better for track use.
Better feeling, better modulation so better for trailbrake.

 

How are the RSL1's on the street (if you drive to/from the track). Any noise/squeaking? Finally, how is rotor wear with RSL1's?

 

Check message #31 from this post :
https://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3-...or-pccb-3.html

That said I am not quite sure to understand his numbers.

In my opinion the wear is still OK but it's too soon for me to judge as I am only close to half wear on my first set of RSL1 pads.

About noise/squeaking on street : Not at all for me.

 

interesting that on 2023 Surface transforms owners manual, ST only recomends using pagid's RSC1, RSL29 and RSL1 pad compounds with their discs