Boxster brakes - advice please. - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I test-drove a 2008 Boxster S today. This is the first time I have driven a Porsche. The only issue I had with it was the brakes. The pedal had quite a long travel before anything noticeable happened, and it required a good hard shove to actually stop the car from modest speeds. The brakes really did not inspire much confidence at all. This was the opposite of what I expected, and was quite unlike any other modern prestige car I have driven recently. My current car is a BMW 330d, which has excellent brakes. When you rest your foot on the pedal and think about braking, the car stops. If you apply actual pressure, it stops very quickly indeed. I asked the Porsche salesman if the Boxster's brakes were normal, and he said they were. The discs looked fine, and were not covered in rust. So, I would be grateful for some advice from Boxster owners. Are the brakes really supposed to be like that? Edited by Bradgate on Wednesday 13th August 18:03

yes, it's quite good as you can heal and toe much better imo also you can threshold brake better. the only issue I find the oem pads lack bite, but I don't mind the travel. Some people fit the GT3 MC to the cars which moves more fluid so you don't have to move the pedal as much.

Bradgate said: Are the brakes really supposed to be like that? It sounds like you might be used to modern brakes which tend to be over-assisted, whereas Porsche brake feel is more like how all cars used to be, where you have to apply more effort on the pedal (but the ultimate brake performance will be the same in both circumstances). The greater pedal effort allows you to adjust the braking effort more accurately (whether that is to brake lightly or very heavily).

I had the same feeling when I test drove my Boxster S. Was a bit nervous... That soon passes when you get used to them. On the road they are stunning and I can heel toe whilst modulating the pedal with ease. Beats the s t out of over assisted brake set ups. You'll quickly adjust and you'll be braking later that you have ever done before

Agree with the above. It is a better brake to modulate, but IMHO the travel can get a bit long when they get really hot. Just be careful when you get back in the BMW that you don't get someone run into the back of you.

Yeah, I used to drive a BMW and a Porsche back to back. The BMW is over-servo'd. Once you get used to Porsche brakes they're brilliant.

Thanks for the input, all I guess I have just got used to my BMW doing the braking for me. It also has a 'brake assist' system, which applies the brakes when you move your foot very quickly from throttle to brakes, in anticipation of an emergency stop. If the BMW is over-servoed, the Boxster feels like it hasn't got a servo at all! Looks like I need to drive a few more Porsches....

Porsche brakes are great, when they are in good working order When I bought my 986 Boxster S the brakes felt poor - very wooden feel & needed a lot of effort to stop the car. After I'd removed the rust from the rear faces of the discs, and given the brakes a good workout at Silverstone they were much better - and a completely different feel to them. I've done several trackdays & sprint days with the car now & the brakes have stood up very well just with standard pads & the GT3 cooling ducts.