[Bob O]

To answer your question directly....No.. you don't need to get OEM Porsche brake pads or rotors. (OTOH....there's nothing at all wrong with going OEM. The oem pads are fine for everyday driving) And yes.. its an easy DIY job. No special tools needed.

There are quite a few very good alternatives from OEM. For pads...Mintex Red box, Hawk, Pagid, Axxis, EBC, and several (numerous) others. Likewise, zimmerman rotors are very good. However, when I changed my rotors a while back I got OEM from an on=line vender, for a very good price, because I didn't want to go with slotted or cross-drilled. OEM were cheaper and, imho just as good, if not better, than the after-market ones. (No worries about warping or cracking from the cross drilling) Google porsche brake pads, and rotors. You'll turn up quite a few vendors. Shop around for the best deal on what you want and go for it.

How do you know it needs rotors? Did you measure them? Are you changing the rotors just because the pads are worn out? How many miles on the car? What sort of driving do you do? For pads, the question you need to answer is .....how do you drive. Track time? auto x? Spirited street driving? This will determine, mostly, what pad you ought to consider. If you're doing just street driving with no track or auto x time, then OEM (which btw are very good except for the dust) or something like Mintex Red Box or Hawk HPS will do you just fine. If you get it to the track (which you should do) then something a little more aggresive will probably be better suited, at least for the track.

You DO NOT need to spend $1,600 at the dealer for new pads and rotors. (And unless the dealer gave you the measurements of the rotors I'd be skeptical about needing to replace them. You certainly might need them (rotors), but before you do, get an inexpensive micrometer at Harbor Freight and measure them yourself. (The wear limits are in your owners manual)

Brakes are one of the easiest DIY jobs on the car (other than an oil and filter change). Dealers charging $1,600 for this is outrageous!!! It takes as much time setting up and cleaning up as it does to change the pads. Even changing the rotors only takes about an hour or so, if you're taking your time. Ridiculous!!


Bob