PCCB the saga continues!!

Here is a pic of my front right PCCB disc...destroyed(at 14,000miles)...odd that the left hand one is hardly affected wouldnt you say.....according to Porsche they have only had 17 or 18 instances of this type of failure..just wondered if PCGB members can cast any light on the numbers or reasons for the failure?...obviously Porsche have rejected any warranty claim.

Pic...!?![ ]

Ooops heres the pic

and the other one

Nope, no pics

try again lol

Still no pic?

Oh dear. I'm not sure which is more of a saga, the PCCB or the pics. [ ][ ] Paul - if you email them to me at [email removed] I'll sort it out.

I can see the pics with no problem. I click on the attachment and the OS works out which prog should open the .jpg (I think I need to click again on the filename).

All I can see is the small white square with a red cross that you get when the picture is unavailable. It seems I'm not alone, so I can't work out how you can see them Dan. Are you using Internet Explorer, or a Mac browser?

Image has some invalid jpg tags embeded. doesn't work on mac either.

I've tried several times to get a pic on the site but always had the message "the file size is too big". After some research I then managed to compress it to well under 200kb until it's so small you can hardly see it, but still it's too big !! no idea how the rest of you clever people do it, but it's funny to see I'm not the only one struggling... LOL

You need to make sure that resolution is 72 dpi. If its more then that (usually 300 or 600 dpi) you'll have those problems.

Just host the pictures on a third party server like Photobucket, then just provide the url links in your thread/post. I to have never been able to post pictures direct unlike some members who seem to have the "knowledge" on how to post multiple good resolution images.

A quick way to reduce the file size of a picture. Right click on the picture. When the menu opens select 'email picture'. It will ask you if you want to make the pictures smaller. Choose yes and then email the picture to yourself. I'm sure there are programs to do this for you, but the email way is an easy method.

Can't help with the pics but found this which may be of interest: Porsche enthusiasts are embroiled in a building row over the longevity of the company's hi-tech and extremely costly Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB) technology. The ceramic discs were claimed in Porsche's original literature to be 'the most effective braking system ever featured on a production Porsche'. Launched on the 911 GT2, the company said the cross-drilled and ventilated discs were '50 per cent lighter than conventional alternatives' and combined with 'an innovative new composite brake pad... temperature is no longer a factor in brake performance'. Most amazingly, Porsche's own literature claimed that each disc would offer 'a service life of approximately 300,000km (186,000 miles)'. However, many Porsche owners - who either bought GT2s or paid the £6000 option price to have the PCCB system fitted to a GT3 - are finding that the discs and pads don't last anything like as long. Trackday drivers are finding that hard use can lead to extensive cracking of the discs and the need for replacement. Replacing four PCCB discs and pads costs over £27,000. A figure that has shocked owners who have been affected. GT3 owners at least have the option of swapping back to conventional steel discs. Owners and Porsche specialists are trying to pin down the reason for the problem, and most agree that excessive heat is the main cause, although some are also blaming gravel damage from trackside excursions. The general consensus of opinion is that the nose design of the 996-series 911 does not draw enough cooling air onto the front brake discs. Porsche specialists are devising fixes for the problem, including altering the angle of the nose-mounted radiators to allow more air into the wheel wells. Special ducting is also being designed by specialists to channel more air to the discs. For its part, Porsche has now changed the wording of its literature, warning brake components must be checked and, if necessary, replaced after track driving. Some dealers have replaced discs under warranty, but others are now not changing cracked discs until the fissures are relatively extensive. The same problems have already been encountered in the US, according to Steve Wiener, of Porsche specialist Rennsport Systems, with some PCCB discs cracking badly enough to physically fall apart. However, he told evo that failures are not consistent and much depends on the individual driver. 'The problems are caused by heat, but each driver is different and some are harder on the brakes than others. Professional drivers are unlikely to cause a temperature 'spike' when driving hard.' Wiener ruled out gravel-trap damage as US circuits generally don't use it. 'We are switching back to iron Brembo or Alcon discs and advising owners of PCCB-equipped cars to take the discs off and store them for when the car is eventually sold.' A Porsche UK spokesman said that while there had been PCCB failures, these were all attributable to 'significant overheating' of the brakes. 'While the ceramic discs can take much higher temperatures than steel, they are not indestructible. We are also quite happy with the amount of brake cooling that the 996 provides for its front brakes.' A number of 911 drivers have also told evo that they no longer place high value on the braking abilities of PCCB. The hot word is that PCCB are not felt to brake better than steel discs using Pagid yellow sport pads, which are Porsche's factory standard. Other owners are now saying that PCCB are actually less effective on the track than steel discs with Pagid orange pads (designed for 24-hour endurance racing).

As I said i can see the pictures. Under the rectangle that has the red cross in it you should see a link to Attachment (1). If I click on that I get presented with a filename, e.g. DSC001511.jpg (and something tells me how many times it's been downloaded). I click on the filename and see the pic. He's put up 3 pics. One shows the pads all broken up, i.e. the pad material has completely come away from the backing plate. The other 2 pics are of the ceramic discs which are in a seriously bad state. If I can find a way of getting the pics displayable for everyone I'll do it (I've never tried to attach a pic myself). Dan. PS - I'm using IE6..

I tried downloading the images, but my imaging program says the files aren't valid jpg files, or are corrupted. Your program can obviously read them, but most people here can't. Edit: Dan - could you save them in a different format (.tif or .bmp) and email them to me? If you or Paul email them to me in the same format, I don't think I'll be able to read them.

I'm sorry to say that the only way I can view them is on the PCGB website. If I right click on the image to save it to disc I can't then view it so I can't change it to a .bmp or whatever. I'll try to take a photo of the screen and email you that!.

In the 'test for turbo owners' thread in the turbo section of the site there are some lovely photos, there's one of a splendid 993 turbo in special blue and unless my maths fails me (and there's a strong chance that it will), this file size is nearly 4meg and I'd have thought the resolution would have been way more than 72dpi .

Let's see whether you can see my medium sized .jpg files

Her's the second pic

Here's the third pic (taken by my camera then resized and uploaded!).

yes, all 3.

Thanks Dan Yes, I can see your camera shots fine too - what a mess!! Edit: Just as a matter of interest, you could probably get a better result by opening the picture as shown in your photo. Then press and hold the "alt" key, and press the "prt sc" key. This will capture the window to the computer clipboard. Then open your imaging program, and click the "paste" button and copy it as a new image. Trim it, and save in the format you want. Not necessary now, but it might be useful in the future.

Thanks Richard, I'd never used the print screen function before.