Performance Brakes

[daxdog]

Alright, my mechanic called me yesterday evening to give me a damage report from the blown head gasket (see post "Overheating 944"). Only going to run me about $1300 to fix warped head, head gasket, etc. Anyway, he told me that I was soon going to need new front pads and rotors. I told him to hold off because 1> I am not sure if I want to upgrade to better than OEM brakes and 2> I might want to replace the brakes myself.

My first question to you experts (and everyone is an expert in the Porsche world compared to me) is should I go ahead and buy the drilled rotors and high performance pads or should I remain stock? My second question is should I do it myself? I have changed brakes on Toyotas, Geos and Nissans. Is there anything unusual about Porsches? Also, what about steel brake lines?

Thanks,

George

[GHEN]

The brakes are very very easy. Do them yourself, take a (small) portion of the $ you save and upgrade to the drilled rotors.

They perform AND look great.

Good luck.

BTW, buy new cotter pins and pad retaining pins before you start (dealer prices on these are cheap) and replace them while you're there since you have to take them out anyway.

Can't say about the braided lines, they are part of my restoration, haven't gotten there yet, but I hear nothing but good things.

Peace & good luck,

GHEN

[fast924S]

Replacing the rotors can be a little bit of a ***** because you gotta take apart the spindle but Im sure you can do it. I would go ahead and upgrade the brakes all around. IF your gonna get drilled make sure you find a good set because drilled rotors if not done right will crack. As for the lines, Im running stainless steel braided lines, I didnt notice much difference but it will make the peddle feel a little harder.

[daxdog]

I've looked at several cross-drilled rotors. Any recommendation for brands that won't crack? Pelican Parts has some, but I don't know what brand they are.

[fast924S]

call them up and ask if the drilled holes have been stressed reliefed

[AllPorsche944]

Daxdog...I agree with upgrading to XDrilled...You will want to go with either Brembo or Zimmerman Rotors..Both are excellent. I just replaced all 4 rotors and pads on my 88 944 and the only real issue I ran into was stuck caliper mounting bolts..nothing that some WD40 could not solve...Do yourself a favor and spray these bolts the night before you are actually going to make the change...do the same with the Hubs as they are usually pretty much stuck into the rotor...

[ernestedward]

Second Brembo cross-drilled, and stainless steel lines. They're cheap, you'll be in there anyway, and I have them and almost NO play in the pedal, amazing response. I also have big brakes though. I don't know what you mean by performance pads, but if you mean racing pads I recommend against it (unless you're racing). Even Auto-Xing doesn't need racing pads. Also, they can be WORSE on the street because they need to get hot before they work really well. Stick with metal-masters or a comparable brand. I have racing pads and the noise and dust is too much, so I'm changing them out to metal masters next week. Also, (I'm sure you know this) use Super Blue (or Super Gold, whichever is your favorite color) brake fluid. From what I've heard and experienced it's the best.

[AllPorsche944]

I agree big time with ernestedward...stay away from the performance pads if not racing...they are noisy, dusty and expensive...Metal Master, Pagid and Jurid are all pretty good pads at a great price.

[GHEN]

Metal Master pads and Zimmerman rotors are the way to go.

[daxdog]

Where (besides eBay) can I find cross-drilled Brembo rotors for a 84 944? TireRack.com has the regular rotors. Also, what about the rotors that are scored, not drilled?

[GHEN]

Slotted rotors are great for the track, but are hard on pads for street driving.

Plus they look nowhere near as cool.

GHEN

[ernestedward]

paragon (www.*****************.com) has drilled, not sure of the brand, you'd have to call. performancerotors.com has zimmerman drilled, but i've never ordered from them before. keep looking, or ask your mechanic.

[fast924S]

For pads I would go with HAWK HPS compound brake pads. They arent race pads they are street performance pads, low noise low dust and they stop better then OEM

[AllPorsche944]

I order my set of front and rear Zimmerman XDrilled Rotors from

(www.stopshopanddrive.com) They where the best price I could find and delivery was fast and well packaged...Good Luck with your search

[ChrisBennet]

Originally posted by AllPorsche944
Daxdog...I agree with upgrading to XDrilled...You will want to go with either Brembo or Zimmerman Rotors..Both are excellent. I just replaced all 4 rotors and pads on my 88 944 and the only real issue I ran into was stuck caliper mounting bolts..nothing that some WD40 could not solve...Do yourself a favor and spray these bolts the night before you are actually going to make the change...do the same with the Hubs as they are usually pretty much stuck into the rotor...

Just a tip; WD-40 is not a rusty fastener fluid or at least not a very good one. Try PB Blaster. For the little screws that hold on the rotor, use one of those hand impact drivers.
-Chris

[ChrisBennet]

Darn! I thought I could sneak in while everyone was still asleep. Got to get up prit tee early to fool FR Wilk I guess.
-Chris

[pcsanady]

Originally posted by fast924S
For pads I would go with HAWK HPS compound brake pads. They arent race pads they are street performance pads, low noise low dust and they stop better then OEM

I have had good luck with the Hawk HPS brake pads and the Zimmerman crossdrilled rotors. If you feel that you want a slightly more aggressive pad that you can use on both the street and track check out the Hawk HP Plus.

To make you brake fluid changes easier get the a Power Bleeder (attaches to the master cylinder) and Speed Bleeders (replaces OEM caliper bleeder valves).

[1.2gees]

Hawk HPS pads are good performance pads but they are noisier and certainly dust more (and more corrosive) than a less performance oriented street pad. And if the car's a daily driven street car, why not go with a less agressive pad?

I would strongly suggest against cross drilled rotors. They cost more, and perform worse. They don't last as long, heat up more, and crack earlier.
Ahmet

[Panzer909]

For what its worth, I run standard Zimmerman rotors with PGR pads, and there's no complaints. They produce virtually no dust, are quiet, and have minimal wear since they were installed in 9/01. But I'm an unagressive driver on the street; can't vouch for the track performance.

[pokey]

Mintex red pads are the best street pads I've used on any of my cars over the years. Great braking performance, next to no dust, and have yet to hear anything other than tires squeeling.