At Law

I am looking at an 05 S with PCCB's. Anything I should
know about these brakes?
Do they require more maintenance / higher costs
when they need to be replaced?

wilfred

Much higher cost, iirc, it's like $8k for a pair of rotors! Meanwhile, the steel ones are more down to earth @ $300-$400 i think.

agdamis

less maintenance much, much, much higher cost.

In my opinion they are a gimmick. Very few people need that kind of braking off track and funny enough the new RSR Porsche race car I believe is equipped with regular brakes.

wilfred

And the irony is based on what I read on the GT3 forum, many track guys change them to steel due to the outrageous price! So unless money is no object to you or you have some million dollar racing budget and gotta have the absolute best...

Edgy01

I ordered them on my 06 and they are outstanding. After some 34,000 miles the pads are barely worn. The rotors can easily last 200,000 miles,--easily. Since you would be purchasing the car used, you will undoubtedly benefit by the up front costs of these brakes that the original owner paid. The replacement pads are about $100 more than the standard pads for the cast iron rotor brakes. But, you won't be replacing them at the frequency the non-PCCB drivers are.

There are a few cases of hard-core track junkies going through these things, but for normal (even highly spirited) driving you will get incredible life from them. Ask anyone who drives with me if I take it easy as I drive and they will tell you that I definitely put my brakes to work.

First generation PCCB rotors were problematic but that was way back in 996 GT3 days. The second generation which were released with the introduction of the 997 models are tough. The manufacturer redesigned the cooling vents (internal) and now all these PCCB rotors are performing well.

Two additional big benefits,--no more messy wheels from dust, and significantly less weight to drag around.

MLindgren

The complaints usually come from guys that track the car a lot or from people who don't have them and have never had them.

I got em' on my '05 and wouldn't have it any other way just due to the fact that there is no brake dust. I also wouldn't buy a car without having a proper PPI done that includes thorough inspection by a Porsche mechanic who is familiar with the composite brakes. As stated they are expensive to replace but when driven under normal conditions will last a lifetime.

At Law

So, actually, PCCB's could be considered a negative with regard
to purchasing a pre-owned 997.
I wish this car had regular steel brakes, it is in excellent
condition and 15k miles.
Can you switch the brakes to steel when the rotors needs
to be replaced or is that a difficult task?

Edgy01

The PCCB brake design is substantially different than the cast iron (not steel, BTW) brakes and can be retrofitted later with that antique cast iron stuff! Several other things would have to be done such as reprogramming the car for a different braking coefficient.

AP997S

I've got PCCB's on my 2005 997S and they're super. Great stopping power and very clean w/ respect to metal rotors. They should last a life time if not abused (ie. excessive tracking). Inspect the rotors/pads during your pre-inspection routine to make sure they are in good shape. I hear most damage (to composite rotors) is caused by from wheel removal and rocks/stones from road debris.

I've got close to 16K miles and they look like brand new; no wear at all. I do an occasional AX and some spirited canyon driving and found they (PCCB) perform great.

If you're tracking you certainly should go metal; lower cost for routine replacement.

They were a $8K option when new. I suspect you're getting them for close to nothing in today's used Porsche market.

mdrums

There are tons of threads and posts on this subject.

Basically if you only street drive the car the PCCB's will last a long long time. If you track the car and do not have $15,000 for new rotors every year you will want to get the S (red) brakes.

PCCB Front Rotor Set
Price: $7,856.30


PCCB Rear Rotor Set
Price: $6,990.00

http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/me...e=997SCERAMICS

Also there have been tests to prove that the PCCB brake do not stop any btter than the S brakes.

With that said PCCB are cool brakes, they look racy and trick and maintanance will cost you a fortune.

jcnesq

Good summary.

I have them on my 05 997S and they have been wonderful brakes; at 40K mile service, the original pads were at 50% wear. I just got them on my 09 TT, mainly because they were on the car I wanted; I might not have ordered them due to initial cost if I ordered a car, but I am happy to have them.

I would not be at all afraid to buy a car with them. Unless you will use the brakes very heavily on the track, it is unlikely you will ever have to replace the rotors.

wilfred

In $$$ sense, yes, it can be viewed as a negative. Which is the reason I had to look for one without it when I was buying my 996 GT3. Back then, I read mostly negative comments on them. I don't doubt Porsche that PCCB are better performance wise (whether it stops better or feels better or whatever). And glad to hear the newer generation are more durable now. But like AP997S said above, if not abused or damaged by wheel removal/road debris, or some people are just hard on brakes! So to me, it's a lot easier to spend $8k option on a $100k car. (Hell, my GT3 has almost $20k in options and most I don't care if it had it or not, they just look very nice.) But I would have a heart attack if my service advisor calls me and said that will be $8k for the rotors and blah blah blah...

lig

Gen. 1 = negative

Gen 2 = positive.

I love them. They have held up to use at the track/auto-x and 36K of driving. Slightly noisy but they work beautifully and are DUST FREE!

If you damage them (more likely due to getting into a gravel trap in an off track excursion) you can replace the rotors with the cast iron if you like.

Added benefit - they look cool as hell too.

I'd bet any money that you could buy the car w/ PCCBs and sell them for more than it would cost you to retrofit your car with conventional brakes.

mickfluff

Base model calipers painted yellow have the same stopping power as PCCBs, some say even more:.... the yellow paint makes the caliper breath better.

sws1

If you are not tracking, they are a positive (no dust, better feel, lighter).
If you are tracking a little bit (few times a year), they are a positive there as well.
If you are tracking ALOT, they are still great, but how big is your wallet?