pads with more initial bite

[Topless]

Certainly no need for a master cyl change unless it is dead. Any performance-oriented pad should have more bite than cheapie aftermarket pads. OEM, Pagid orange, Hawk, Raybestos, etc. Make sure to do both ends of the car to retain brake balance. Is your brake fluid fresh? Old fluid can feel soft if it is contaminated.

[schnellman]

Jimko4,

Give the OEM pads a try. It will give you a baseline. If you mostly drive around town the last thing you want is a performance pad because you'll never get them up to operating temperature. If the OEMs don't do the job for you, you may need to take a look at the brake fluid.

[j.fro]

I really liked the Mintex "red box" pads. I've also used the textars, and I don't like them at all: no initial bite. I use Hawk HP Plus on my autocross car, and they are amazing, but there's tons of noise and dust.

[Daniel R]

I used to have Pagid RS5 front and RS 4-2 on the rear of my 986 S.

SERIOUS overkill for street and they were hell on the rotors, particularly the RS5 on the front, but being able to come to a dead stop from a 100mph several times in a row without any fade was rather cool.

I replaced them with OEM which I think was a sensible choice, although they don't have anywhere near the bite of the race pads.

Maybe look at the Pagid yellows, RS19 or RS29. They are the standard pads fitted to GT3's.