After nearly two years of zero maintenance on my pig, Im going to give her some love as she desperately needs it (and I need to keep her going). I drive her every day....maaaabye four miles (and last year didnt drive for 8 months). So I havent tried to chase things down that I could like that brake light problem, etc. So there will be a few posts coming on this stuff, to not only sound out my ideas with you experts but also get some more updated posts going about these common maintenance sort of things. Thank you in advance.

Anyways...the brakes are horrible, always have been, and havent been changed since I bought it. PO must've put some cheap a$$ **** on there. So Im revisiting some research I did last year trying to figure out what to actually buy, where the deals are, etc. I got some decent maintenance to do (other than this), no job, but a little bit of government money, and some time to figure it all out cause Im not driving anywhere the past month, and dont see going anywhere for another. Shout out to @Brainz for his suuuuper informative post on brake pad grab rating available here: https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-...tial-bite.html . I literally have had this tab open on my browser since 2018, have favorited it and am now acting on it (well, I also didnt turn that computer on for most of 2019, but w/e its still absolutely relevant and awesome).

Im looking for more bite. It sucks at stopping - well, its stops fine but doesnt grab well, pedal almost to floor - and I want it to be crissssp. And honestly, Ive driven nearly 40k miles without new shoes nor brakes. So it time.

Heres what im thinking (all prices from AutohauzAZ but I will do some price matching prior to orders by searching the part numbers)

Front Pads (For 350mm) - ATE Ceramics LD4993. Rated FG - $109.99 @ Autohauz AZ, $145.83 @ FCP (ouch)
OR Brembo FF - P85065N - $85/pair

Rear Pads - Meyle D8978SC - Rated HH - Ceramics for less than $20?!? Is there something wrong with this? Why arent there HH front ceramics? Are they crazy dusty? Who really uses their rear pads?
[if that doesnt work, Itll be these FF rated ATE Ceramic [color=#333333]95535293904 $83 (note: FG ATE non-ceramic available for a few $ less)]

Rotors are where it gets tricky. Save $20 and go with $55 ones? Or spend $70 $80 $90+ apiece? Why TF is a Carrera drilled, beautiful Brembo $90 when for the pig (which there are maaaany more) so $$? Because soccer moms just go to the dealer and bitch at dealer prices on Nextdoor? Whatever. General rule is not to to spend a lot. I want the middle ground - right? Where I never have to worry about warping or anything (the ones I have are warped and need replacing all around, im just gonna do it), and will spend the extra few bucks. Cause theres no way Im putting new rotors on this thing, probably ever. All I know is they should probably be coated.

Fronts 350mm (Red calipers)
High end - Brembo - FL 09A06211 - FR $99
Middle ground - Zimmerman FL 7L6615301K - FR 7L6615302K - $78 each
Middle ground - Sebro - FL 95535140151 - FR 95535140251 $70 each (this one seems like a good middle ground (also slotted is available for ~$100 although this is a pig not a racehorse - right?)
Low end - Original Performance - FL 7L8615301 - FR 7L8615302 - $45 each (hot damn this is cheap - is it too cheap?)

Rear 330mm
High End - Brembo 09A05611 - $69 each
Middle End - Zimmerman CoatZ 7L6615601J - $63 ea
Middle End - Sebro Coated - 95535240131 - $59 each (Ill also probably just go with this unless there is anything significantly less expensive- matchy matchy)
Low End - OPParts, Fremax, $42-32 each

I guess the question here is - difference between Sebro and Zimmerman - these seems to be the middle ground, coated, and name brands. Im sure either would be fine.
Does it make sense to spend the extra $ for high end?
Does it make sense to save $ and go low end?

Extras necessary for this job:
Pagid wear sensors - 355250701- $11 for 2
ATE Squeaky grease - $4
Need to replace the pins and pi retainers? Its like $30 an axle...
Anything else on the list? Ive got recent brake fluid from another car, so thats not on my list, but if youre following my rambling and trying to do this job youll need some of that. And shop towels, a container to bleed to, etc.

Oh, and I just thought - will probably save sales tax by using some of these retailers other than amazon or ebay. Im in CA, so thats 10%. Adds up quick. Sweet.

I appreciate the help this forum provides. Look forward to participating more here. Thank you for your support, and thanks for listening to my ramblings.

 

​​​​I wouldn't be buying online based on forum advice. People have different values of what makes good brakes and most will tell you the ones they have are the ducks nuts but that may not be true for you. Do you have a motorsport brake specialist near you who has results with other teams and who race themselves. These are the people to talk to they have experience with 100's of cars. The lines between race brakes and Street brakes are pretty close now and these guys also supply club cars. IMO, best place to start.

 

This is an interesting idea. Im not trying to race this thing...its a tow vehicle, im not sure where you got that from.
Also, from the shops I have hung around, they typically dont care what parts cost for these things - their customers pay it. So if theyre spending an extra $30 a rotor, they dont care. For me, that add up quickly, and like I said Ive got a lot of stuff I need to address, so need to pinch some pennies where it makes the most sense - hence why Im asking for recommendations between High, middle, low end of the spectrum (also search didnt turn up anything so I figured an updated thread for those performing this work soon is warranted)

And if anyones brakes ARE the ducks nuts, please share

 

Easy, what it came from the factory with

 

I understand that your not racing but I believe that a race brake shop will be the best place to answer your questions including budget and use.

Everyone's brakes are the ducks nuts :-)

 

No. They are too dusty. Im looking for ceramics and peoples experience with rotors in the $50-80 range.

@Dave Waldo I understand but cant really get to shops at the moment as am in stay in place. I used to hang out at the most formidable shop in the PNW. And those guys wouldnt know....they put on whatever. Theyre not the ones driving the cars either, theyre mechanics, theyre responding to customer feedback. And Do they really order $50 rotors off the internet? No. This is largely unhelpful, im sorry.

Im really looking for some real guidance here. Noone has put any of these on their cars? Noone does their own work anymore? Whats happened to this forum?

 

Easy.

Rotors: Coated Zimmerman or Bosch. No rust and look good over the years.

Pads: Dusty AF stock pads (Bosch or ATE?) because they have great initial bite and never fade. If you don't like dust, Akebonos work but are not as good as stock OEM.

Fluid: ATE 200 (get 2 Liters and you will have some extra)

4 brake pad sensors, whatever OEM, they are cheap.

Caliper grease for pins and pads - whatever brand you want. Get a jar and it will last most people a lifetime.

I like eEuroparts and FCP Euro because of the warranty and service, usually competitive prices as well. Look at Pelican Parts also. Support those who support the lifestyle. (not Amazon or Ebay)

 

What you heard from Pillow and I.
Havent seen any pre and post skid pad numbers here ...so anything else is likely to be biased butt -accelerometer data

 

What are you talking about dude?

 

Thanks for the useful recommendations. Akebono doesnt list this car or a Q7 on their site....do you know a product # for 350mm rotors?

 

Jamescoop: Thanks for the shout out.

Here's my other thread searching for a better set of brake pads for the Cayenne:

https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-...l#post15643459

Regarding your search for pads, I personally don't believe there is a true low dust option for the Cayenne (without switching to carbon rotors like Petza). My current setup still dusts, but its not the instant coal black dust the factory pads generate. The dust also seems to clean off easy, which is nice/better, but they still dust.

For your pads, I don't think FF pads are adequate. GG is the minimum I'd go with (which is what the factory Pagids are), and I ultimately found a HH pad for the front made by ATE that's worked well for me.

The Meyle GG pads seem fine and are a good balance with the fronts (and are cheap!).

For rotors, use coated Zimmermann or coated Sebro. Make sure they are coated - - I believe Sebro may be available uncoated which will look ugly fast. I'm using slotted rotors and think they were likely a waste of money.

For hardware and sensors, I use the cheap Centric stuff from RockAuto. Works fine. I also use a thin smear of ultra high temp nickel anti seize on the backs of my brake pads for anti squeal.

Related story: My other car is a 997TT, and the factory pads stop nice, but are dusty as ever. Everyone on RL raves about the Hawk Ceramic pads and how they're "just like stock except no dust". So I got a F&R set of Hawk Ceramics. First observation: edge codes in the Hawks were down one grade from factory (FF or FG vs GG, if I recall). Results: Hawk Ceramics dust much, much less than facory. Not quite dust free, but very good. Stopping performance: Acceptable. They have less bite than the factory pads (just as the edge codes predicted). The 997TT has brakes to spare, so it's fine, but it's not as good a feel as the factory pads - - I put up with it for the low dust. But on the Cayenne, I feel like I need the extra friction rating for safety.

 

 

Actually, my brakes are the bee's knees.

 

I'd have to agree. I've lived and learned. My 911 had the original 1988 brakes until last year, and never had any issues until the light came on. I bought some fancy Porterfield Pads and Stoptech slotted rotors (very inexpensive on RockAuto.) They never felt like they had as much bite and it didn't take long until they started to shake terribly when hot. I recently smoked them on a Saturday morning drive, awful shake and the loss of pedal. We just put them back to coated Zimmermans and OEM Textar pads. Went down the same road with no issue.

That being said we put EBC slotted rotors and yellow pads all the way around on our Cayenne Turbo. We pulled a 6000lb trailer to Banff and back to Arkansas without issue. If I had to do it again I'd probably just use OEM stuff.

 

Oh, sorry to hear that, never mind, you can always dream of an upgrade :-)