Brakes - stay stock or upgrade?

[23109VC]

I priced the cost on replacing pads/rotors using only genuine porsche parts.

wow...it's almost $1000 in parts.

rotors are $140 each about. and pad sets are $140 front and $132/rear.
that's about $832. then i need to buy a bleeder and fluid.

so basically i'm looking at almost $1000 in parts to get geniuine porsche stuff.

I found a local independent Porsche shop (they only work on Porsche) that will do this job for $1300. all OEM genuine porsche parts, plus flushing the fluid. honestly, if i'm going to use OEM parts, I'd just assume pay the $300 and have them do it.

the only way to really make this a "cheap" job is to go with generic parts, like Zimmerman rotors (whichI then have to paint), and generic pads. I could probably get the ocst of parts down a few hundred bucks going generic.

say $500-600

so $500-600 with generic rotors/pads and do it myself
$900-1000 genuine porsche parts, do it myself
$1300 pay the mechanic to do it and get genuine parts.

I'm all about doing it myself, but only if I'm gonna save a lot of money. if the difference is $300, i'll pay a pro.

if I can buy generic parts and get the exact same pedal/braking feel as genuine porsche parts, do it myself and save $600, then i'd be interested in doing it myself.

what is the consensus...is there really a benefit to using genuine porsche parts? or are the brakes the same? I don't like the hassle of having to paint some generic brake rotor to avoid it rusting...it sounds lke a PITA.

is $1300 for a pro to put on OEM genuine porsche parts a good deal or a rip?

am I stupid to want to pay for OEM genuine porsche stuff and would I never know the difference in how the car drives if I use generic parts?

will generic parts last as well?

I will not track the car. spiritied street driving is all I'll do with it. i'll drive 5k/year at most.

I don't mind doing the work mysefl - but it's not something i'm looking forward to. I'd much rather pay someone else to do it as long as the price is reasonable. if it makes sense to go with OEM stuff, i'll just pay the extra few hundred and have a pro do it. BUT, if buying OEM genuine porsche parts is a COMPLETE waste of money, then I could save quite a bit by getting geneic parts and doing it myself.

what benefit is there to using genuine porsche parts?
is it no better than zimmerman rotors and pagid pads but with a designer label so I pay a premium, or is it really a better part that will work better/last longer/etc?

i don't mind paying for quality - but i don't want to pay for a label.

[ekam]

Dude, listen.

You can find cheaper OEM rotors & pads here.

http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=P&Category_Code=98625brakes

$627 for front & rear rotors and pads, plus shipping of course.

[23109VC]

ekam-

thanks. wow. that is a lot cheaper.

so now I can buy the OEM stuff for about $650 plus shipping.

$650 vs $1300. hmmmmmmmmm. now that's not a very hard one is it....

[Paul]

Here's another Porsche dealer that sells parts almost at cost:

http://www.****************************************************.com/team.php?tid=1

email or call Jeff Clark with your parts list.

[23109VC]

i ended up payin to get it done.

call me lazy.

guy did new pads/sensors all the way around, and only needed new front rotors. excpet i'm not 100% sure they were OEM rotors. they are stamped made in germany, but he hats are not dark like the rears..they are more the same color as the rotor surface and now that they got wet they are slightly rusting.

car stops and works great. guy also did ATE blue fluid and price was fair.

i had to take the car in for a bad vacuum leak so figured i might as well get it done all at once.

[MarkOfZero]

Since this thread has been talking about brake work and rotor hat rust, I thought this would be an appropriate question:

My rotor hats are rusty
Can someone suggest the best/easiest method to remove the rust before I paint them?

Thanks,
Mark

[ekam]

Use a wire brush and tons of elbow grease. You can never get rid of it 100%, so just spray over them.