nicoff

I went to the PDE session recently and I was told NOT to use the emergency brake after some spirited driving (i.e., braking). Apparently if you use the emergency brake when the rotors are very hot you run the risk of warping the rotors. I just wanted to pass this along.

1999Porsche911

I don't know how you could warp the rotors since the emergency break is inside the drum and does not touch the disc surface. However, I have never even use my emergency brake.

MJones

It would be nice to hear a bit more about your trip to PDE!

nicoff

I attended the 2 day event recently. It was held at the Barber Motorsports facility in Alabama. First, let me say that I have never seen a more beautiful track/facility. I was told that it was built with private funds and initially intended for private use only. The attention to detail, the landscaping, the track all speaks of a first class facility. The track is VERY technical which adds to the excitement.
The instructors were excellent and we got more time at the track that I ever imagined. The activities for the two day event included slalon, skid pad exercises, autocross and of course plenty of track time. We drove Boxster, Boxster S, Carrera, Carrera S, Cayenne S. We were supposed to ride the CGT but at the last minute the CGT at the facility developed an electronic malfunction (air bag problem) and were were not allowed to ride in it.
Met a bunch of great people and had a wonderful time.
At the end of the second day, we rode with an instructor who was pushing the 997 to the limits. It was amazing what these guys can do with these vehicles.
Let me emphasize, the instructors were great!

NoSubEDU

I have to do the PDE. Sounds like a great time! Must learn how to drive a rear-engine rwd car the right way. ;-)

JAX GT3

Can you use your own car?

walks357

No, you can't use your own car. PDE provides the cars. From the PDE website:
"We provide the cars for the course. You are welcome to bring your own car, but it will have to stay in the parking lot. "

NoSubEDU

Which is preferred if you ask me. I wouldn't want to bunch my car up on at a track so far away from home.

Why not take their cars out and beat on them. Learn the car and make mistakes with somebody else's $$ and then take the experience and confidence to your own vehicle.

I'm more interested in learning how a rwd, rear-engine car handles. I've had some track experience with a much heavier car and front-engine, AWD. This is going to be quite the experience. Can't wait!

Blue S2

Actually ive been told that after running a DE session not to use the parking brake because when everything cools, the brake will freeze or stick in the brake position. I've always just left the parking brake off.

NoSubEDU

Agreed. I've never heard of anybody warping a rotor due to using the e-brake after some intense driving.

Rather, the rotors and pads are so hot, that if you engage the e-brake, the pad itself can cook onto the rotor. While this isn't going to ruin the car, it will deposit some brake pad material onto the rotor. All you need is a little smudge of the material to cause pulsations in the brake pedal.

It's best to put the car into gear and park her while in-gear. That saves the pads from cooking on the rotors. ALSO, if your really serious about it, it's best to turn the car off while in gear and rolling, rather than using the brake to slow down, you can ease the clutch out and stop the car. (Obviously, from a very slow roll...don't want to turn the motor!)

1999Porsche911

The emergency brake is a drum and shoe set up and never touches the surface of the rotor, so no damage to the surface of the rotor can occur. At worse, the shoe would stick to the inside of the drum and brake free when the car is moved.

NoSubEDU

Weird. Perhaps the Porsche's design is different. I'm certain that on my audi when you engaged the e-brake, the mechanism would apply the rear pads against the rotor.

I'm fairly certain that it's the same way on the Porsche, unless they decided to engineer two different brake systems for the rear wheels.

But seriously, on the audi, it was a hammer-like mechanism. You could press the mechanism with your hands when it was on a lift. It was a lot like "tapping morse code". That's the best way for me to describe it. Anyway, I'd use the mechanism when I was swapping out my rear pads to bring the pads against the rotor so the rotor wouldn't move when I had to put the wheels back on. YMMV.

1999Porsche911

Well, now you can be certain that the Porsche parking brake system is different. It consists of brake shoes that fit inside the drum that is part of the disc. The pads are operated by hydraulics and the shoes by cable.

nicoff

They provide the cars. However, from what I experienced, you do NOT want to use your own car, unless you want to subject your car to threshold braking, activate ABS (several times), red line the car, and leave plenty of rubber on the track. You are better off experimenting on someone else's car.

As to why the instructors at PDE INSIST that you DO NOT use the emergency brakes after driving the car hard, I am just passing along what they repeatedly told us. They were VERY insistent about that, whatever the real technical reason might be.

Alan Smithee

Regardless of e-brake engagement, you can warp the rotors if the brakes aren't cooled prior to parking the car. The pads are close enough to the rotors to cause cooling at different rates around the rotor, resulting in warpage. Always take it VERY easy and avoid using the brakes during cool down laps at driving events.