W8MM

Since I'm a tech worshiper at heart, I'm toying with adding PCCB to my new '04 TT Cab order.

I'm curious to know about any clear advantages or problems that any current users of ceramic brakes can point out to me.

Particularly;

1) Are there any warm-up issues in cold weather or during the first stop of the day? I've had a couple of close calls in the old days using race pads on the street -- way scary to the unsuspecting.

2) How's the brake dust? The wheels on my '01 TT Coupe get annoyingly coated with black dust within a few days after I wash it. Less dust could be viewed as a labor saving device. The dealer service manager says that while PCCB may produce less dust, or at least less VISIBLE dust, the aerodynamics of the brake rotor and wheel rim suck road dirt onto the rims quite efficiently. Any comments?

3) PCCB pads and rotors are alleged to last seemingly forever compared to conventional ferrous rotors and normal pads. I'm not looking for the break-even point in cost of service vs. cost of acquisition of PCCB, just some user feedback.

Thanks in advance for any and all info.

Cordially,

GuyR

Short answers in my experience:

1. They work fine from cold, though better when warm.

2. My wheels do not get dirty at all - they are great from this point of view. I don't see how they can suck more dirt onto wheels as they have same wheels (if on TT) and the discs are just slightly larger (by 20mm diameter), rather than a different shape.

3. I guess this can only be proven over time. I would not, however, be wanting to replace these at my own expense.

Guy

FixedWing

I'll present the opposing view to GuyR.

No issues of warming them up. No issues of using them in the wet. No issues of them fading when hot even. In that sense, they are really nice.

However, the pads last almost no time. The rotors fail from ABS vibrations and the brake dust is 10 times worse.

Fact is, your use of the brakes (hard or not) will determine whether you have good experiences with them or lousy.

Do a search on Rennteam.com and here for more on PCCB's.

Stephen

Sun Ra

on a cruiser like a a TT cab, why bother? put the top down and cruise. it's no gain for that car.

Pierre

I second that. A friend of mine recently installed the PCCB on his Turbo X50. In 2 days (on a track), two sets of pads were completely used. Brake dust was so bad that it fully filled the front rotors' holes. No way we could clean them!...

Not very convincing...

--Pierre

pig4bill

You just have to take the wheels off and poke the holes out with an allen wrench or something. The tt that ran the Open Track Challenge had them. It probably wouldn't make any difference in braking perfomance, but they cleaned them out anyway.

SPR

Use a snap on punch set and some brake cleaner that's what I used to release my old chewed pads when they disintegrated in my rotor holes. It's cumbersome but works well. I use about a half sided punch to the hold and then twirled it around in the first and then through both sides - through- good luck, it was annoying!

GuyR

I suggest someone on here asks their dealer what the price is for a replacment set of discs and pads for PCCB. I think you will find that the answer to this will SIGNIFICANTLY influence your decision............

To elaborate on my earlier post.

I have them on my GT2 as standard and am happy with them, but if I was buying a Turbo or GT3 I would not buy them as an upgrade, since they do not offer sufficient benefit as compared to the stock steel brakes for the extra cost and are a huge contingent financial liability in the event of problems.

They are also not up to serious track work. If you want to track the car seriously, get big steel brakes and replace them relatively cheaply when they wear out.

Guy

Greg Fishman

Porsche Motorsports has a track pad for use with the PCCB if you need something more aggressive that will last longer for track use.

Steve N.

I have not had my car on the track, but with street use I get much less brake dust on the wheels than with my previous steel brake turbos.

FixedWing

I've no experience with these pads but I was told that the goal of the race pads was not longevity but rather a better feel and bite. They were for short-distance use.

Stephen

Jared W.

For daily use:

The PCCB brakes work fine cold, wet, etc. Much less brake dust than the standard pads so far.