akinla

How many miles are you guys getting out of your ceramic pads

I am at 7400 miles and my rear needs replacement, shocking.

My last porsche was a 996 c4s and the pads lasted me about 35,000 miles.

SolidRS

My rear PCCB pads were shot after 2,200 miles with 500 or so being track. The fronts were at 50%. The rotors however still appear as new (thank goodness!). Does anyone have input for the rear pad wear bias?

roberga

No but the Porsche motorsport rears for the 996 PCCB are thicker than stock and are the same pad material. P40

crispenigl

I was at the track yesterday and my pad warning light came on for the first time.

I have to take them in and get new pccb pads.

Oddly, I felt no difference in grip being at the lowered pad level... I drove for another 1.5 hours or so as well.

I love the lack of brake fade.

Are people getting Porsche or after market pads for replacements?

Jon70

What do PCCB replacement pads cost?

OldGuy

Geesh I havent even looked but I would be having a REALLY intense discussion with my dealer
if I needed new pads after 7500

Doug23

Pads are about $700 per set. The last set lasted 2.5 track days from brand new to greater than 50% worn. You may want to be careful running the pads with less than 50% pad thickness remaining since it will transfer much more heat to the rotors (which can cause accelerated rotor wear) and it will cause the pads to wear at a much faster rate.

OldGuy

Man thats totally unacceptable they should give you ALOT more than that. I guess the right pads are going to have to be found again. With the 996 Gen ones 4Curves found that the CGT pads worked the best for tracking. He had no problems. I dont know what works with these Gen IIs or IIIs or what ever they are

timothymoffat

At the risk of being flamed, what's the deal with these PCCB's? When introduced several years ago, they were promoted as almost indestructable. Rotors were supposed to last up to 300,000km, pads were supposed to last longer than those fitted to the "standard" rotors, all in justifying their large option price and even larger replacement cost. Now I understand that tracking a car will significantly reduce this but weren't these marketed as THE ULTIMATE? Has anyone actually got high miles on these brakes? I know they are AWESOME for their fade resistance but the price seems incredibly high. Should I steer clear of a car so equipped if I was looking(which, unfortunately, I am not-YET!)?
Tim.

PogueMoHone

I think you do a little more research, and "maybe" not focus on the negatives and myths.

The option costs $8300 or so, not very high really. If concerned, you can replace the front rotors for about $1K to preserve the ceramics for resale.

Or, you can get some professional instruction to learn how to use brakes (and preserve the ceramics as well).

The ceramics are fantastic, off track potential for damage is no more of a consideration than is the cost of a replacement car. I have not yet met a driver who can go off track and limit the damage to the ceramics, so, all in all, you have to consider the cost of the car for an off track excursion (and $120K versus $128,300.. who cares?).

I bought Porsches with ceramics, tracked them. I bought Porsches without ceramics (after being scared about all the negatives), tracked them. I discovered there was a lot of BS posted about the ceramics to justify poor driving/braking technique.

Never having had a problem with either..I will never buy another car without ceramics (assuming it is an option), and certainly will always buy Porsches with ceramics they are that good.

If you have to buy pads after 7500 miles, well I guess you had some fun!

Review your sources and your opinion, and no, you are not being flamed.

timothymoffat

Colm, thanks for the reply. As is the case with many things, research brings up negative accounts. Just like the evening news, it's only worth reporting if it's bad. It's nice to hear your positive experience-this is what I am looking for. I guess what I'm wondering is if a car is NOT tracked, are the ceramics living up to their original claims of longer life to complement their fade resistance and lower unsprung weight? I also thoroughly understand how longevity is driver dependant-I consider myself to be quite mechanically sympathetic-treat the equipment well and it will treat you the same.
Cheers, Tim.

C.J. Ichiban

Tim, from my limited experience tracking the car and driving on street with the pccb- just keep in mind the following:

*you actually can feel the unsprung weight difference
*they stop better because they're of larger diameter and swept pad area than iron rotors
*if you properly bed in the rotors and pads, they will last a really really long time- especially if driven on the street.
*compared to similar technology from ferrari or lamborghini- you're paying 50% less up front...
*if you wear them out, you can bolt on all sorts of different hats and rotors...


if you fail to bed in rotors properly- whether iron or pccb, you're cutting the lifespan on them significantly...if your brakes squeak, chances are you didn't bed them in extensively enough.

I share colm's sentiments- I love the pccb and will get them on my next porsche. If you track the car- as long as you use proper technique, heating up and cooling down, your mileage should be very high.

911/Q45

Thinner pads transfer less heat to the rotors and more heat to the calipers. The pads act as insulators and keep the fluid from boiling.

crispenigl

I will be getting new pads in a couple of weeks and report in on the porsche costs for new pads on this thread.

I will make sure I bed them in properly, because I am pretty sure I didnt do that with the excitement of just getting the car last year, nevermind proper brake bedding Good point CJ.

I have 10450 miles on the odometer and track days included 2 days at cal speed way roval, which is just totally brutal on the breaks.

I would like to learn from Colm or a Pro on how to properly use brakes

Greg

C.J. Ichiban

if you need any guidance on proper technique- I can pass along the method from a former racing guy from the other german company