Wondering how much weight savings you will get with the ceramic brakes.... I've heard about 45KG (~100 lbs)... so can we assume that we will save 25 lbs per wheel? a weight savings light that would certainly make the car much much quicker as you are reducing the rotational mass no?

anybody with ceramic brakes feel free to chime in...


!P

 

remember, the weight savings is called unsprung weight.

1 pound of unsprung weight saved is equivalent to 1.5 pounds of sprung weight saved.

 

Don't know the weights but I think you are in the ballpark. They are awesome brakes, and no brake dust either. I think and hope the re-engineering of ceramics introduced in 2005 will avoid the pre-2005 problems with some GT3's (racing use problems). They are awful damn expensive however, and I'm not sure I would spend the money for them if I was ordering a car (I bought a launch car on launch day when I got a little carried away), and I hope I never have to buy new rotors.

 

jcnesq,

unfortunately the GT3s , even in 2005, did not recieve the new generation of PCCB

thus, this makes the turbo S the ONLY 996 to be equipped with generation 2 PCCBs.

 

37 pounds on the GT3

 

FYI, I have over 10,000 miles on my 997s with ceramics and the master tech at my dealer said that my rotors show no wear and that wear on the pads is nearly indiscernable.

 

Austin,

I read somewhere that when driving at slow speeds the PCCB brakes make an odd noise, have you experienced anything like that?

Rob

 

I haven't heard any unusual noises. And there are no squeaks!!!

I will note, however, that in wet weather, the braking power of the ceramics dramatically decreases until they are warmed up significantly. This really caught me by surprise the first time I drove the car in the rain (as I did not experience the same issue in a '03 C4S with turbo brakes). Another owner was questioned about this on Rennteam but I can confirm it. You really need to warm up the brakes first in wet weather; otherwise, you could be in an uncanny situation if you needed to stop suddenly and the brakes were cold. Hope that explanation makes some sense! Now, if anyone can explain why this is the case, that would be really great.

Austin

 

No squeaks, unusual noises, etc. here. I do fully agree with infestation - when driving in the rain with cold brakes, I was caught very much by surprise a few times when applying the brakes and not feeling much grip - very unlike my previous p-cars with steel rotors. I'd love to see some explanation of that too.

 

I usually get that feeling, of having no brakes, just after I wash the car. It sure caught me by surprise the first time.

 

I don't drive my pcar in the rain to often, but I have never noticed any decrease in braking performance when I have been caught in the rain.

 

I have had no squeaks or noises in 7000 miles, but I was thoroughly bashed by rennteam posters and moderators about the cold wet braking conditions.

The incensed moderators went so far as to edit my post.

jb

 

Whoa, dude that's not cool. But this does raise an interesting question... perhaps it's because steel rotors heat up very quickly so the brake fade you feel in wet weather is over in a second. On the other hand, ceramic brakes don't heat up as quickly or stay as hot, so the water vapor doesn't dissipate under pressure like their steel counterparts.

But I have no idea what I'm talking about so take that for what's it's worth.

Rob

 

Rob,

I think that you are right-on, because once the brakes get warm, it's like dropping an anchor.

jb

 

the thing about PCCBs is that the initial bite is VERY intense. some people don't like this.

it does require a slight adjustment to one's heel toe technique