New brakes advice pls!

I'm off to the Ring in 3 weeks and am consious of the fact that my pads are close to needing replacing even though the warning lights have not come on yet. Have done a search but still have a few questions: where is best to buy pads for 996C4S? What is the recommended bedding in process and how long is needed? Finally, I think I remember somebody telling me ( i think it was Daz) that you should not replace pads and discs as the same time...did i imagine that? Thanks in advance for any help!

Haran, I remember someone saying about not replacing pads and discs at the same time, but then, what about every new car that hits the road? Also, most places won't replace discs withou new pads because the pads are worn to the old disc. They will be well bedded in by the time you get to the Ring, just no heroic braking for the first couple of hundred miles and remember that they won't be up to full operating efficiency until they are bedded.

Dragon You dont have to replace the pads and discs at the same time :roll: but consider the wear of your discs and if they may be due in x miles then worth doing. As for the pads choice, OEM Porsche are good, quiet, effective but a softer compound. An easy upgrade is to pick one from the Pagid Brake Pads range, forget the high end motorpost RS29 & RS19, there are enough mid options that are very effective for your car. Only issue is pads noise which you will get, the squeeling which you dont get on OEM. Maybe Pagis RS42 Blue's or RS44 Oranges. And brake pads are a simple change. Bedding in. - This is from the PAGID website Why bedding? To transfer a layer of friction material onto the brake disc faces to achieve maximum performance. To stabilize compressible materials to avoid a spongy pedal. To boil off volatile elements in the friction compound in order to have the initial 'green' fading during bedding and not during the race. To align the pad surface with the brake disc surface to have full contact. If pads do not get bedded properly and / or used to hard right out of the box will likely lead to pad glazing. Pad glazing is a condition where the resins in the pad crystallize on both, the pad friction surface and the brake disc surface, resulting in poor stopping performance, brake judder and vibrations. Also rapidly escaping volatile elements and moisture from the resin would seek an immediate escape route out of the friction compound, creating small fissures that would lead shortly to cracking and chunking. 1.) BASIC BEDDING IN To initiate some heat in the brake discs and pads. 4 to 6 stops with medium brake pressure from approximately 150 km/h (90 MPH) to approximately 80 km/h (50 MPH). Distance between each brake stop approximately 300 - 400 meters (300 to 400 yards). The pads should not reach temperatures above 400° Centigrade (550° Fahrenheit). No dragging! Blocking of the air ducts might be helpful to reach appropriate temperatures quicker. 2.) IMMEDIATELY AFTER BASIC BEDDING IN AT HIGH SPEED Simulating race conditions One stop with medium to heavy brake pressure, without allowing brakes to lock from approximately 180 km/h (110 MPH) to approximately 80 km/h (50 MPH). No dragging! Recovery stops with light brake pressure 3 to 4 times. (Cleaning procedure) Repeat the high-speed stops including recovery stops 2 to 3 times. Allow a cool-off distance of approximately 500 m (500 yards) between high-speed stops.

Thanks guys. Stu, yes good point re new cars, i must admit i had not thought of that. Sundeep, i did not mean you have to replace both at the same time, more that you should not. i think it was due to both surfaces being smooth so not as much bite... the OPC brakes even with 10% discount are coming in quite hard c£1300 just for parts. I wanted to stay OEm, but that is just too much, so with reluctance i have started looking elsewhere. Stu's "how to save £800" is a very useful guide, Design911 are c£700 and as per Damian's suggestion Carnewal quoted similar but just for the dics and pads, not shims or sensors. Have a contact at Eurocar parts who I'm waiting to get back to me... How can Porsche justify charging double for brakes??!!! just don't get it. They are forcing their customers in to going direct to the manufacturer One question is where would you get the 8 caliper bolts?

Haran, I paid £500 to replace just the front pads, with OEM items from an Indie including VAT. It is a good idea to replace the pads first if you can, and then the discs once the pads are bedded in, so that you increase the performance of your brakes, not everyone agrees with doing that, but the science behind it is solid. Dont replace your disks just for a little cracking though, unless it is severe, I never did, and mine were the origanls when sold, with 35k miles on the car, and about 12 track days, including 2x trips to the ring. Good Luck.

Haran, My indy recently changed my discs and pads all round + brake fluid; costs as follows Brake fluid change (menu) £48 Rear discs (pair) £172 Front discs (pair) £232 Rear pads (pair) £55 Front pads (pair) £160 (?- this not done in the end, but think this was about right) Dampening plates £20 Labour £120 Total £807 Total inc VAT £948 He did not use OE discs, but used Sebro ones, which are the same as OE but don't have a porsche part no.

IIRC Sebro aren't OEM discs At that price per pair (f & r) I'd get Original Porsche ones from Carnewal and save some money.

Well I have recently had pads and discs replaced all round on my 996 TT. I used an Independent but the invoice has Porsche part numbers :? . Parts came in at £725 with a further £200 for labour (3 hours). Both including VAT. Also replaced tyres and clutch at same time :shock: . I am a slightly annoyed as they had recently fitted front pads as part of a major service but then said that I should replace them again when the new discs were added (they had probably done less than 1k miles) as the previous pads would have worn to the shape of the old discs. You have to trust that they have done! This is clearly contrary to the advice above :?

I got my caliper bolts from my OPc - cost £13. Sebro are the OEM for the 996

I should have edited my post to say, not on the wide-bodied cars

You mean a fat assed car needs something more

Excuse me, don't you mean sexy-bummed cars......I miss my C4S, it's lovely bum, it's curvaceous hips etc etc