[Dave at Pelican Parts]

If your brakes are scary, they're not in good working order. Stock brakes in top condition (yeah, tough to find!) work quite well.

For the most part, changing brake hardware will not result in large changes in stopping distance. Most of the brakes you can put on the 914 are adequate to lock the wheels up. That is all you can ask of them in any single use. (Well, that and the ability to modulate so you don't actually lock them up.) Usually, you can decrease the stopping distance more by changing your tires. Brakes stop the wheels, but tires stop the car.

Larger brakes help more in heat management. Larger rotors act as a larger heat sink, and have more surface area to be able to shed heat. Vented rotors have a whole lot more surface area, and they get (a little) air moving through the middle of the rotor which further helps to shed heat.

The 911 brakes are vented. The BMW conversion uses the stock solid 914 rotors.

--DD