C2sideways

Hello all,

My '95 C2 will be needing a complete brake overhaul during next winters storage. This would require new discs (rotors), pads and Caliper overhaul, etc.
I am considering going for a Big Red kit with RS rears. I know this will cost me more than a standard set up overhaul. I expect a performance increase and less fade if and when i start to track it. On the exclusivity and upgrade level i wonder if its worth it.
The kit i intend to purchase is Factory. I would either sell off the salvageable parts to recoup costs or overhaul and refinish the calipers for later use or again to sell.
Opinions please anyone ?

jscott82

Big Reds look great.. Visually they fit the car better.. But performance increase is negligible in my opinion, any way you slice it, you are going to have to manage your brakes.

If you are looking to do a meaningful brake upgrade:
1) Race pads
2) Cooling
3) Cooling
4) Slotted rotors, since there are no slotted options for standard (black) calipers, you will need to go to Big Red calipers and custom hat/rotors.
5) Cooling

Option 4... Best I can tell, may give you 2x the life, but is going to cost 3x as much to replace.

and if I forgot to mention it... cooling.

trophy

I think you forgot to mention cooling.... Thats an important one

How many track days are you intending on doing?
What tracks will you frequent, some are super hard on brakes (need lots of cooling) Some not so much (longer straight sections between braking to cool)?
How do you rate your self as a driver 1.... I use my transmission to slow me down or 10.... Last of the late brakers?

I agree with Jeff, They do look much better,

I got a lot longer life from the big reds than I did with the stock brakes (both using aggressive race pads.) So over time the consumable cost is not that much more.

OverBoosted28

Another thing to consider (if you go with the rear RS calipers) is your cars current proportioning. I think....

C2sideways

As of now i am not tracking the car, just wanted to be ready if and when. My thought is all about future proofing and improvement. On a road car for the time being i did not consider cooling as an issue, larger brakes would already be performing better no ?
I did wonder about proportioning with the RS rears....what is required to compensate ?
For sure looks is better but this is not the real reason for an upgrade.

certz

How stiff is your suspension and what ride height are you running - or will run when you track it. To really take advantage of the big reds/RS setup you need a stiff/track prepped setup, otherwise, stick with the stock brakes. No proportioning needed, btw.

That said, I like the way they look better and I like the pedal feel better versus stock.

NYC993

For street use, save your money and just push the pedal harder.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

JMHO,....

Unless you are doing DE events (or racing) the Big Reds are not needed. For hard street use, stock brakes & pads are just great.

RS brakes have more rear bias and that means a good LSD is a must in order to take full advantage of their capabilities. The factory OEM one is not up to the task (RS cars had Motorsport LSD's which are totally different). I would budget for a Guard LSD if you choose to do this properly.

The payoff for big brakes is much greater thermal reserve and much improved rotor & pad life.

Endoman

I went for Gert's Big Red package several years ago when my brakes needed a complete refurb. Can't say I noticed an increase in brake bias to the rear. Front discs are Turbo (same size as RS but cheaper).
Totally agree with Steve the difference for street use is cosmetic but then you can do that with paint.

boman993

There is already a whole bunch of amazing advice given above, however, I must add, that if you are not tracking the car, the best thing to do is to replace your components with stock, Porsche parts. Any "performance" or aftermarket rotor or pad will squeal like crazy!!!

nile13

I would add that putting race compound pads on the street car would not be a good idea on several fronts. Besides squealing like a pig the car would not stop for the first few minutes until they come up to temperature. This can range from a mild surprise to the involuntary bowel release resulting in extra expense of cleaning the seats.

That is especially true in Canada which, last time I've checked, was fairly far away from equator and, thus, pretty cold.

C2sideways

Thanks so far everybody. Many good points made. For sure race pads on the street are never a good idea. I know the standard brakes are strong on these cars but considering the overhaul side of things to come I wondered whether an upgrade is beneficial. I like the comment about saving money and pushing harder...it makes a lot of sense.
The final decision will be made in the winter.
Thanks again.

Andi_993

I bought my first Porsche a couple of weeks ago, so I'm definitely the least qualified forum member to give you an answer, but...
In the last 15 years I've been to many trackdays with different cars. Two things I've noticed/learned:
- Porsche and Lotus cars are probably the only ones that, in terms of braking power and resistance, don't need huge upgrade investments (I'd even say that they're 100% OK in their stock configuration, but I'm maybe generalizing too much)
- most of the brake issues are not related to braking power, but to braking resistance...
Before you spend a lot of money on expensive upgrades, there's a cheap and rational way to be safe on the track: change your brake fluid with something good (example: Motul RBF 600, it's a DOT4, so totally safe with standard braking systems, but with a high boiling point), and replace your brake hoses/lines with metallic, braided ones.
And remember to use your brakes the right way, I remember than many years ago I was taking part in a circuit driving course, and the onboard telemetry showed that I was reaching only 60% of the max braking pressure... simply because my heel was resting on the mat. Push hard on that brake pedal!

Bill Verburg

For street use 993rS brakes are bling, if that's what you want go for it

for track uses 993RS brakes are the nuts
you get
better thermal reserves
a small but meaningful increase in brake torque
best of all better bias, this moves some of the heat and torque from the front to the back where it can be better utilized.

If you track the car much you will not want to use the factory tt or RS front rotors, the holes cause them to crack out in no time, if you have the oe 993tt hats they can be used w/ Colman slotted rotors, but the hats will eventually crack out too, most of us seem to be having better(at least longer) experience w/ Gyro disk 32x322 floating rotors, still looking for an inexpensive rear solution, you could go to the aftermarket Brembo 355/355 or 380/355 solution but that ain't cheap.

NYC993

Do giros last that much longer?

I was debating getting giros, but 2 sets of giros (set of rotors and a set of rings) = 4 oem tt rotors pricewise.

Intented use: a few DEs a year by a newb.