orthojoe

Zellamsee, you are going through the same stages of grief that I went through when I first realized the brake pedal problem after a track day. I tried out multiple cars as well and found them all to be mushy except for the GT3.

zellamsee

So true. Argh.

orthojoe

The five stages of orthojoe mushy brake pedal grief:

1) Denial - there is something wrong with the car
2) Anger - why would Porsche do this?
3) Bargaining - ok, GT3 master cylinder will make it all better
4) Depression - Damn it, GT3 master cylinder is better but it's still not a rock hard pedal. I'm stuck with a mushy pedal forever. There must be something I'm missing.
5) Acceptance - There is no known perfect solution. The car stops just fine. It is what it is.

I still bounce between depression and acceptance. I was at acceptance until this thread popped up. Lol

mooty

pete, u need that things called GT3RS.
our irish friend will call u soon and straighten you out

zellamsee

Mooty, you are too funny! I do need another RS for sure. Seriously.

Something strange happened. I tracked the Spyder a couple of days ago (at Thunderhill) and guess what -- the brake pedal is now firmer!! It is almost as if the track day knocked something into place.

Marine Blue

Dealer flushed my brakes over the weekend and they are now rock solid. Not sure if it will stay this way or if they will get soft with some hard braking. Odd

mrd_spy

any news regarding this as it's quite annoying.

zellamsee

No new news that I am aware of. It seems as if the soft brake pedal (for whatever reason) is there by design. I recently put in new OEM rotors and pads and the pedal is now somewhat firm. But, I also took my GT3RS (with PCCBs) out for a drive recently, and the brakes in the Spyder are almost laughable in comparison. The brakes on the Spyder definitely are a weak spot with the car, especially if you track it. I have a buddy who recently had Sharkwerks put in a Brembo kit and GT3 MC in his Cayman R. I got to drive his car a couple of weeks ago, and my oh my, what a difference! The brakes are now world class. Sharky did a really nice job. I am not sure if simply replacing the MC would do the trick. You may wish to search RL on this front. See also the 5 stages of grief (above).

the_vetman

This is purported to be true. During a brake talk by Darrick Dong from PFC, he said that GT3 brake pedals were made firm on purpose. It's so that owners don't slam on the brakes and cause all kinds of issues including lock-up and whatnot. So it was made to require a lot of pressure for appropriate braking force.

If that is true, it appears that Porsche went to the other extreme with 987s - lots of travel in the brake pedal. I suppose it may be good for modulation but sure can be distressing on the track.

p.s. If you want that hard pedal, GT3 MC is the way to go.

mooty

^ with all due respect to pfc guys, i run pfc bads and think they are the best. many ppl keep saying GT3 brake pedal is firm and stiff, espeically the cup car pedal. i was told "dont worry, step on it all you can, you cannot lock it up. it's really stiff" maybe these guys have tiny legs. i and lock up the cup car unassisted brake with just my big toe.

terbiumactivated

I've never been around a track but in street driving I find the brakes to be excellent, as they always have been all the way back to the 1973 911 which was my first Porsche driving experience.

orthojoe

I never noticed the mushy brakes until I took the car to the track.

Marine Blue

I have noticed the mushy brakes and I haven't tracked my Spyder. The pedal is soft when you get on the brakes hard. I've seen it in emergency braking and spirited driving. I will eventually change out the MC to the GT3 version to reduce/eliminate this issue.

Now the horse is dead and we are beating the zombie horse to death.

GVA-SFO

This is a super great suggestion.

My 986 Boxster S has front Brembo big disk kit, (i.e.: large floating rotors and 6 piston calipers), and in my quest to have firmer brake, I ordered a GT3 Master Cylinder.
..But, I found that this is not compatible with the plumbing of a 986, as the two "outlets" of OEM MC are : One with a m10 tube nut and the other with m12 tube nut.
The GT3 MC is different, as both outlets are with m12 tube nuts !!

THE big question : do you know where to get an adapter, that would be female m10 tube nut, and male m12 tube nut, ..to make one of the outlet compatible with the 986 tube ??

I'm in search for this part....