[KTL]

The Carrera brakes are good but even in capable hands at a track hard on brakes they get VERY hot. The pads are small, which don't do much in terms of isolating heat from the calipers. The calipers are iron and absorb & retain the brake heat quite well. The rotors are rather thin and they are straight-vaned which is a rather basic vane structure not too good at "pumping" air thru the rotor to cool itself. The seals are not very heat tolerant. The dust seals are not a big concern but they do turn to dust (literally) which is a sign the brakes get very hot. If subjected to the intense heat long enough, the pressure seals will leak when they cool down. I've seen and heard many instances of guys who track their cars and after having done a number of track days, when they come out to the garage they find a pool of brake fluid on the floor from the front caliper(s) leaking. That's dangerous.......

So all of that points to the brakes needing to be cooler in some way. Getting cooling air to the brakes addresses the problem at the source. The 993 scoops work great and the ducts feeding air to the center of the rotors are even better.

Next in line (very close in line) is using dedicated real deal race pads. OEM pads are fantastic pads but they can't handle the abuse of track duty very long. They will indeed overheat and mess up your rotors. Using "combo" street/track pads is false economy IMO. The best way to approach it is to have inexpensive OEM pads for street use and install the pure race pads for track duty right before you go to the track. A good pad we use that replaced the dearly departed tried and true Performance Friction PF97 compound is the Raybestos ST43 endurance pad. Excellent peforming all around pad, hot or cold.

OE Zimmerman, Sebro or Ate rotors are great rotors that can withstand the incredible abuse they're subjected to. But they still need to be kept cooler to prolong their life. Fancy drilled rotors are a waste. Slotted rotors are sharp looking but unnecessary. Stick with the stock German stuff and you'll be fine.

Agreed with everyone that said driver learning is a key factor in the problem. Learning the old 911 on the track is hard enough and braking properly is a big part of getting the old 911 around the track effectively. Driving with someone that does it well is a key eye-opening experience to see how you should approach it.

General description of the approach to taking a corner in the 911 is, with the caveat that this is a general procedure and your corners and methods may vary dependent on type of corner, talent level, track conditions, blah blah blah etc. etc. legal disclaimer. Be smooth, be committed and brake in a straight line. Transition from throttle to brake quickly and smoothly, set the nose with some initial brake pressure and once vehicle weight has transferred forward to "set the nose" it's time to lay on the brakes HARD to maximize available grip & deceleration. Smoothly release brakes as you're nearing your turn-in point, get back to the gas smoothly for turn in and commit to the gas A LOT as you're turning-in to transfer weight rearward which stabilizes the rear of the car while you traverse the corner.