Going back to stock Porsche brake pads on my 2012 Cayman R (replacing the Pagid Yellow pads currently on the car). I'm posting in the 997 forum because the set-up procedure is the same for my 2011 997.2 C2S. After I finish the Cayman, I'm going to replace the pads and rotors on the 911.

So here are my issues for the front:

The part number for the front dampers is: 996 351 088 02. Photo 2 shows the front dampers while photo 1 shows the front pads.



front pads




front damping plate



Is it as simple as removing the 2 dampers from the flat piece of metal and screwing them onto the tops of the pads, or do they somehow go into the caliper (flat metal plate and all) with the pads?



Here are my questions for the rear.

The recommended parts (besides the pads in photo 3) are 30mm and 28mm damping plates. Part numbers are: 996 352 086 00 (photo 4) and 996 352 086 02 (photo 5) respectively. How do these attach to the rear pads, or do they somehow get inserted into the caliper? Does the 28mm damper go on outside of the pad on the car side while the 30mm goes on the outside of the pad on the street side of the car (or vice versa)? Not sure what the sandwich is supposed to look like.







rear pads




30mm dampers




28mm dampers


There are many good written and video tutorials on replacing the brake pads and rotors on our cars, but very few detail exactly how to replace the dampers. I've seen references to folks having to use a putty knife to unglue the dampers from the pads, and then re-use them if they didn't disintegrate. Would love to see a photo, or even better, a video showing the process.


Thanks in advance for the advice and education.

 

The black plate of the dampers stick onto the back of the brake pads (strong adhesive). Just use a putty knife to separate them from the brake pads. Otherwise they will capture your brake pads unless you remove the calipers. Do not try to separate the metal and the black plate. They are riveted together.

 

Thanks Ahsai. The Pagid Yellow pads I'm currently using don't have the dampers attached so I'm kinda doing this in the blind. Sounds like the front dampers line up with the cut-outs on the pads and are glued together. I'll ask my parts supplier about the type of glue necessary, and whether it's included with the front dampers.

What do you know about how the 28mm and 30mm dampers are installed on the rear pads?

 

The front dampers have a sticky backing on them. Peel and stick. Those cylinders slide into the hole in the caliper piston.

For the rears, those are also sticky and also slide into the hole in the caliper piston. They are two different sizes so just find the piston hole that is the same size. You can't miss. I don't recall which is which, but just match up the size and you will be all set.

 

Thanks JW911. If I understand you correctly the caliper piston doesn't press on the back of the pad when you brake, it presses on the damper which presses on the back of the pad.

 

Exactly.

 

So once you get the old pads and dampers out, you put the new dampers in the piston openings, uncover the adhesive strip, insert the pads, and the action of pumping the brake pedal perfectly aligns the dampers on each of the 8 pads?

Any advice on the "bedding in" procedure?

 

I am probably going to be scrutinized for writing this but here it goes. You don't need the dampers/shims, most new brake pads now come with some form of Teflon backing or other type of backing which renders the dampers unnecessary. Also, the harmonic counterweights which come standard on most brake pads offer excellent squeal reduction.

 

If you're using Pagid yellows I'm not sure you need to bother with the OEM dampers. When I swap to my PFC11/PFC08 track pads I never use the OEM dampers with them. I did the first time, and the result was an overly sensitive pedal that would trigger ABS even with a light tap. I read somewhere that track pads have more pad material than regular pads because it assumes you aren't using the OEM dampers and thus, have more room available for more pad material. Anyway, the vibration dampers won't really do anything because track pads will always scream like a banshee on the street.

When I swap back to OEM/street pads, I insert the vibration dampers first, then slide the pad into place and don't bother with adhesive. Don't have any noise issues. I'm sure it makes more sense to use adhesive but if you're constantly swapping pads for track days, it just adds too much work imo. If you want to use adhesive, you're going to have to remove the whole caliper so that you have enough room to insert the dampers with the pads attached via adhesive. Downside to that is the caliper bolts which you remove are supposed to be "single use" and replaced with new ones as per Porsche.

 

Thanks all for the good advice! Rennlist and it's members are a great plus to the joy of owning these cars.

 

I have to agree with you, from what I've noticed is that dampers have been phased out mostly. As stated above though installation is fairly easy. Good luck!