996tt brake upgrade

[02.996tt]

I've just bought a new to me 996tt. The brakes do work and stop the car from interesting speeds.

I do feel they're lacking in bite and require a lot more force to stop.

I took the car to a local specialist for a much needed service which turned into 4k USD of work and parts I don't have a huge amount of time to do the spannering myself these days, but I am keen to improve the brakes.

Looking around the www, it seems 996.2 GT3 calipers seem to be a popular upgrade, which allows the use of 997 turbo rotors, so going from 330 to 350mm. These were a reasonable price back in 2012, but Porsche have seen fit to jack the price up significantly.

btw, my rotors are fine, no corrosion on either side, fluid is fresh and pads have plenty of material, although I'm not sure what make / type they are.

What about alternatives ? Cayenne (Toureg, Q7) calipers work in this application ?
If they stop a >2tonne SUV, they'll stop my 6t jut fine I reckon.

[roblav]

Sounds like your pads are too hard. On the track, I hated pads that were too hard... there's no feel to them. You push like crazy, and it feels like you're pushing against a piece of wood. I always like Hawk Blue. Softer pads like those will wear out quicker but will also save rotors and provide much better feel.

[tonythetarga]

I think roblav is in the right area of discussion, but I'm not sure Hawk Blue compound is very soft or rotor friendly. In fact they will squeal loudly for street use. If your plan is to use the car for normal driving, then a good quality street pad is really all you need. I would change the brake fluid to something good, like Motul 600. That fluid is track oriented but the quality it has going for it besides a high boiling point, is that is doesn't absorb water as readily as compared to factory grade brake fluid.
A brake pad which is track oriented will give you excellent , repeat hard stops once it gets up to temp. At normal street speeds or normal stops, the pad squeals because it isn't at the right higher temp.
The factory street pad is probably a Textar or similar pad. I'd call into Pelican or your supplier and tell them what use the car see's before selecting a pad.

[roblav]

Ha Ha! For my track formula cars, Hawk Blue was quite a soft pad!

[tonythetarga]

Fair enough! Track/Racing is a different monster. The OP didn’t mention use for the car. It’s all a matter of perspective.

[fester]

You can do what I'm doing after a few track days and the pedal getting rather long after about 20min. I ordered custom 2 piece 350mm rotors and hats from LCMotorsports. The hubs for TTs (AWD) are different than GT3s. They come with 10mm spacers, use original calibers, and fit in original 18in rims. Also went with GT2 brake ducts from Suncoast Porsche.