What brake upgrades do we have for base Boxster?

I am currently considering all these options myself so I am reading with great interest. We all need to remember this: the base Boxster has excellent brakes. I read somewhere once that the monoblock design is one of the first to go in a production car, the same article went on to say the design was derived from a Porsche race car. They never made it clear why monoblock is an important feature, if anyone knows I'd love to know myself. Anyway, for street driving, they are probably excellent as is. I was thinking of just putting the drilled rotors on and painting the calipers red, but that seems like design dishonesty, I don't want the car to look like a poser...

[djomlas]

if you go with larger calipers, you will need larger rotors as well, keep that in mind

[der Geist]

For street driving I think the standard brakes are more than enough. If you want to beef them up try slotted and/or drilled rotors with pagid pads.

[Topless]

If I remember right you are driving a Tip. in the mountains of Costa Rica. Before you spend thousands on a brake upgrade, consider this:

If you are burning up brakes you may have a sticky caliper so the pads do not release completely when you get off them. Or just a bad set of pads. It happens. A lot of my friends use aftremarket Pagid racing pads and they are excellent on hot days at the track but they often squeal like crazy.

My car has stock brakes with OEM pads, approx. 10,000 mi and 6 track days with multiple 15-20 min. sessions. Pads are only about 1/2 gone so far. They are very quiet and very dusty. No noticable fade. The best brakes I have ever owned. And yes I do use my brakes but given a choice I usually choose the pedal on the right. I also shred my tires regularly on mountain roads here. I usually do my traction limit driving uphill and I use a lot of engine braking coming down hill so I stay off the brakes as much as possible so they cool down.

Food for thought.

[racer_d]

I beleive the Boxster S front brakes are a bolt on procedure. Not sure if the rears are a simple bolt on or if more is needed. Given that it is a Porsche, it is likely more is needed.


Monoblock - Creating a caliper from a single block of metal allows for a stonger caliper. Less flex is a good think. Surer feel. Better contol. "Porsche" brakes on the new cars are made by Brembo.

Boxster S front brakes are the same used on the 996. They have thicker rotors that are cross drilled and correspondingly, larger calipers. Cant recall how much (percentage) that are larger over the stock brakes.

The advantage to larger brakes is HEAT MANAGEMENT. The larger swept area and calipers can absorb more heat before fading and boiling of brake fluid.

I think in another thread you were disappointed/suprised that you "needed new brakes" in 10,000 miles.

Brakes are a tradeoff. You can get really ****************ty brake pads and hard rotors to last 100,000 miles, or you can use softer materials that decrease braking distances and wear out quicker. you can't have it all.

You might consider keeping the stock brakes, but upgrading your brake pads to a different material that works with higher heat ranges and higher friction quotients. You might also consider changing brake fluids to higher temp ones if brake fade is an issue.

Sometimes, 10,000 mile brake changes and tires that wear out in the same mileage ARE the reason why the car performs so well. Part of the price of playing.

Also, consider the cost of upgrading (lets say, $1000-2000 in parts, maybe more with outside labor) can pay for a lot of pad changes on your current brake system, especially if you DIY the work.

[motoadve]

Brake fade has not been an issue.
But more braking power will be nice.
If brake pads alone can give more braking power which ones do you guys recommend?

Problem with the tip, is sometimes you need to brake hard, when it just autoupshifts before a turn that I had setup at 7000 rpms and use compression braking, its goes a higher gear bu itself and its time to brake hard.

Maybe that's why they are worn out.

[Topless]

Heat, brake fade, and wear are mostly a function of brake components. Stopping distance is mostly a function of weight and tire grip. Your stock base Boxter already has a stopping distance that rivals the Ferrari Maranello or F355. Upgraded tires are the best way to improve stopping distance. Upgraded brake components are the best way to overcome brake fade and brake overheat problems.

[tboyer]

Originally Posted by xusmnimij

I was thinking of just putting the drilled rotors on and painting the calipers red, but that seems like design dishonesty, I don't want the car to look like a poser...

It's your car! If you want to paint the calipers bright green, go for it! I would recommend sticking to red though