987 front brake pads in 986S
 

I have been researching brake pads and although I would really like some Pagid RS black or yellow or blue for that matter, the price is a bit restrictive for me.

I have read in a few areas about fitting OEM Cayman R pads as they have a bit more bite than more base spec cars.

My question is that when I look at the specs of the pads, I often see 987 pads listed separately to 986 pads but the same front discs is listed. But from some vendors they list all 986 and 987 the same pad.

Any thoughts or experience?


I dont want an unswept area of disc going rusty if the 987 pads leave me 4mm short!

Base model pads are smaller than "S" pads in both 986/987 series. Don't over-think it. Chose pads sized for your car and choose a pad with the heat and bite characteristics you want for the driving you do.

986 pads and 987 pads are different so are the tension clips ,u can run either on that car but u will need the right clip,i have a 06 boxster s but it had stock 986 pads and clips,i updated to the newer pads and shorter clips,u may not know with after market pads what clip u need until u see them.clip are cheap anyway.

Are you racing the car or is it mainly for the street?

I had Pagid RS-5 on the front and Pagid Blue 4-2 on the rear of my 986 S previously.

The RS-5 pads were HELL on the rotors and I can tell you the Pagid Blacks (RS-14) are much worse. The Blue 4-2 pads were ok, although wore the rotors quite a bit faster than OEM pads do.

Since you mentioned that you are on a budget, I'm sure that the last thing you want is to drastically shorten the life of your rotors as well. They are a wear item also, their life is directly proportional to how aggressive a pad you are mating them with. This is in fact what happened to me, I had to replace the pads and rotors when there was still around 20% to 25% life left in these very expensive Pagids since the rotors had gotten DANGEROUSLY thin. I would certainly recommend anyone fitting aggressive pads to replace the rotors at the same time to prevent this from happening.

It is probably best to stick with OEM. They are more than sufficient on the street. If you find that you are experiencing fade in street driving then you probably should not have a licence. That is assuming there isn't a problem with the brake fluid needing replacement or rotors that have worn too thin and cannot dissipate the heat fast enough.

In short, make sure the rotors have plenty of life left in them, replace the pads with OEM and replace the brake fluid as this makes a big difference to pedal feel.

Happy Motoring