Brakes - stay stock or upgrade?

[TriGem2k]

You can "upgrade" the fronts of the 986 to the 987 rotors and pads.

[23109VC]

if I upgrade to 987 rotors/pads are they larger/heavier or same size? lighter?

i'd only do it if it was better for performance. the stock brakes are great - i don't need "bigger" blingy looking rotors. i know the 987 has more power than my car so they may have put larger brakes on it..perhaps larger than I even need.

i dont want more unsprung weight. are the 987 pads/rotors bigger/heavier?

i just got a call from the dealer. they want $800 to do the front pads/rotors and $780 to do rears.

i went online and found pelicanparts... i know there are plenty of other places to buy OEM parts, maybe even cheaper..but my first search generated a cost of about half what the dealer is quoting me... so 1/2 the cost is labor.

from past experience on other cars, pads and rotors is a no brainer easy job. it might even be fun. my dad is selling me his car - it's in teh shop now for the PPI. the only thing the car neededd is brakes and tires. my dad offered to help me put on the brakes - fun father son thing.. even at my age of 36 it would be fun to spend the day with dad doin brakes.

i'll probably just stay totally stock. i noted some websites sell generic zimmerman rotors... or cheaper pads...

what pads are considered OEM? pelican had pads by Mintex, pagid, and Textar. they state textar is the OEM supplier. also the most $$

[j.fro]

Do it yourself...it's an easy job. Search around and you'll find complete instructions along with photos. Here's one suggestion: buy a Motive Power Bleeder and change the fluid. ATE blue is a good choice. If you are interested in a firmer pedal feel, stainless steel brake lines make a big difference, and they're an easy swap while you are doing the rest of the brake work.

[TriGem2k]

987 front discs might be SLIGHTLY bigger but they are cross drilled and FELT lighter to me in my hand then the 986. Pads are probably the same however the 987 does have a different part number.

Cost between 987 and 986 parts are pretty much a wash

[23109VC]

anyone know if the 987 rotors ARE lighter?

on the same topic - I was searching online for rotors and found quite a few places that sell zimmerman rotors that come precross drilled. i could get the same "look"but keep OEM sizes,e tc.

my only issue is that I don't know whether it's advised to stay with OEM porsche stuff. on all my other cars i just used gneric stuff and all worked fine.

anyone here swear by the OEM stuff or think that generic zimmerman rotors are fine, and then go with a decent quality pad? i'm not looking for race compound pads or anyting, just a nice pad for street spiritied driving - stock pads or stock equialent generics are probably fine.

any suggestiosn on pad/rotor combos that don't cost an arm and a leg like dealer prices but still perform as well or better?

[Bob O]

I'm a little confused. What are you trying to accomplish? Bigger rotors won't stop you quicker.. they just dissipate heat quicker. Your tires are more important to quicker stopping than bigger rotors. If you're only driving on the street with no track or auto-x time (which you stated), then heat dissipation is no issue for you. I'd stay with oem rotors and mintex redbox, hawk, pagid, axxis, or even oem (except for the dust) pads for the street. All are fine. Some with more or less dust than others. Some with more or less rotor wear than others. But all are good pads.

A 986 to 987 rotor swap, as I understand it, is NOT a straight swap. New calipers and pads would be required. And perhaps other hardware. (I haven't done it but read elsewhere that this is the case... I could be wrong on that) . The stock, straight-from-the-factory brake hardware is world class. For the everyday driving that you state you do, they will never fade, overheat or otherwise lose it. So.. unless you're hitting the abs everytime you brake, and are as a result overheating the pads and getting fade, I'm not sure what "upgraded" brakes will do for you. (Track time not included! My second day ever at the track the stock brakes started fading. I upgraded my track pads to Pagid Orange with stock rotors. Never a hint of a fade since on many many track days.)

And yes.. if you haven't changed your brake fluid you need to... like right now!! ATE Blue or Gold wold be a good choice. About $14 on line from several vendors. Brake fluid is hygroscopic (it absorbs water, which is very very bad for brake fluid since its non-compressible (water that is). Pus it, water, boils at 212F...at which point you have no brakes. And since the temp of the fluid in the calipers gets quite a bit above 212 F during braking...not good..at all). Porsche recommends changing the fluid every two (? could be every) years. (I change mine twice a year so I don't know the recommended change interval, other than its at least once every two years). Change your brake fluid.

Bob

This seems to be the brake question day on the forum!

[shaman1204]

Originally Posted by j.fro

Do it yourself...it's an easy job. Search around and you'll find complete instructions along with photos. Here's one suggestion: buy a Motive Power Bleeder and change the fluid. ATE blue is a good choice. If you are interested in a firmer pedal feel, stainless steel brake lines make a big difference, and they're an easy swap while you are doing the rest of the brake work.

I agree totally. I changed the pads and flushed the brakes on my 01 base and I've never even witnessed a brake job before. I went with Mintex redbox and ordered the Motive power bleeder, brake fluid and pads from Pelican. Not a bad price and got free shipping on the whole deal. Just make sure before you order the brake fluid you check the master cylinder to see what color fluid your are currently using and buy the opposite or you won't be able to tell when the old stuff is flushed out. IIRC the rotors aren't that difficult either, but I didn't have to do mine because they only had 35k on them. Just read and re-read the instructions before proceeding and you'll do fine. Took me a total of 3 hours for all four corners.

[TriGem2k]

986 to 987 FRONT parts ARE a straight parts only swap. Double check your references Bob. I'm on my second round of 987 Discs and Pads on my 2001 986. AGAIN FRONT ONLY ARE A STRAIGHT SWAP.

23109 - If you end up buying zimmerman discs make sure you paint the hats on the disc. The coating from the factory suck and they will rust VERY fast.

[Bob O]

[QUOTE=TriGem2k]986 to 987 FRONT parts ARE a straight parts only swap. Double check your references Bob. I'm on my second round of 987 Discs and Pads on my 2001 986. AGAIN FRONT ONLY ARE A STRAIGHT SWAP.

Glad to know that. As I said, I could be wrong.

[TriGem2k]

Just making it clear for everyone so they don't go buying both front and then find out the rears wont fit.