I think it could be a mind thing too, most people are used to stopping with little pedal pressure, but I think the 996 TT has excellent pedal feel, in fact when I first drove it on the track, I wasnt hesitant to press the brakes all the way because I was used to my M5. After I pushed it all the way though it was eye popping, the only brakes I've ever felt stop stronger was some stoptechs on an E92 335i.

 

I feel that my brakes in my 996TT are far superior to my M3 brakes. The bite is very strong. This was one of the first things that I noticed when I bought my P-car.

 

I know what you mean about the light pedal push not feeling like it is stopping like you would think. However, even with street pads, once a little heat is in them and you PUSH on the pedal it stops like a ****. It took me a while to gain confidence on the track but I still have not felt abs and I am deceling from 135-140 mph to 40-50 between the 150 and 100 foot mark to turn in. I have stock turbo brakes, pads, lines but do have gt3 cup front ducts and the brakes are better than me. I do wish it stopped the same with having to push so hard but it is required to help modulate. I try to give it an initial medium push then in it hard and then modulate. Works well for me. If do want to get some 6 pot front as I will be at 550-600 crank soon and more is always better!

 

It is funny that you would post this. I do not have any M3 or M5 driving experience but I did notice this.

While I was racing a 2007 M5 with a Hamann exhaust on PCH last summer, I was a bout 2.5 car lengths ahead of him at the end of third gear or 96 MPH. I let off due to the red light approaching and slammed on the brakes. He did not. The 2007 M5 ripped by me at 100 + MPH (just to make a point???) and then slammed on the brakes.

I stopped at the intersection line and when he stopped he was 1 car length over the intersection. What I am trying to say is that I thought he was going to blow right through the intersection and not be able to stop. But the M5 did stop.

I was impressed especially since I have a 2005 Turbo S with PCCB’s.

 

PCCBs are not known for better stopping...the work well in track conditions with high heat. I would have to say the stock Porsche brakes are better than my benz...or any other car I have driven.

 

i remember using my breaks once they worked i stopped.....from 145 to just in front of tthe cow in no time nice stright stop... the cow just looked at me....

 

The 996 TT had the record for 0-100mph-0. Not sure if that still is the case, but the BMW and MB cars were not in the running....


JB

 

In my experience, BMW and MB brakes are just as good as my Porsche's... but only for 1 stop. AFAIK BMW test their brakes to work well under 1-2 stops from max speed... Porsche tests for 10 max speed stops... difference is in brake cooling and therefore brake fade (or lack of thereof).

With that said, I'm getting Brembo GT kit for my porker for track duty Stock brakes (same as 996 TT) just don't feel confidence inspiring anymore.

 

I think the only fair comparison would be the 100-0 part.....

When I got the M3 way back in 95, it was pretty much the fastest stopping car on the market. It still continues to amaze me.

I'm going to bring the car in to the shop to see if they can find something wrong. The car has new tires, new pads, and new fluid. I can't imagine what it could be though...

I am going to test the theory out about needing to use more of the brake pedal travel to get the desired results. I do already get the ABS to kick in though....Wouldn't more brake pedal travel only cause the ABS to kick in sooner/more?

The idea of overpowering my tires is a good thought, but this car has *WAY* more rubber connecting it to mother earth than either my M3 or MB.

Don't get me wrong....I love the car and it makes me smile every day. I just am having a hard time accepting the fact that every time I drive the M3 or MB, I wish the X50 had "real" brakes.

Rob

 

I also have a 2004 S600 AMG and it does stop well with the big AMG brakes. The Porsche PCCB’s are far superior and will burse your ribs.

I was just in my friends LP 640 with ceramic brakes and they seem to also stop that big car with ease. We were doing 120 MPH on PCH and he slammed on the brakes and the car stayed straight and stopped before the intersection.

You would think that a car manufacturer would make sure the brakes are superior to the cars speed performance otherwise they may not have any repeat customers, just dear ones.

If anyone would like to do some testing, I will put my car through the test against Brembo’s or stock P-car brakes. The PCCB's sure look good and the best Porsche brakes I have felt in the last 20 years.

 

I agree with you. On my M5 you didn't have to push the pedal very far for the brakes to bite, but with the 996tt, you have to push the pedal more to get them to bite. At first I didn't think the brakes were very good, but now that I am used to them they totally blow away the BMW brakes. Just because you have to push the pedal hard to get them to stop doesn't mean the brakes suck...it just means they are easier to modulate.

 

I had my Brembo Gran Turismo 14" kit on my M3 and they were insane.. I was also dissapointed in my turbo's braking, changed pads and fluid and it was MUCH better, but still nothing in comparison to the GT2's ceramics with pagid yellows or my M3's gran turismo kit!

 

Rob start with new pads AND rotors. sounds to me like the rotors are not right, glazed or whatever.
you need to try to compare apples to apples. similar weight cars and real world stopping distances.
your factory brakes should actually be WAY overkill in street situations.
the only problems seen with these cars brakes are at the track after real hot lapping.
then only due to the weight of the car do the brakes start to boil fluid.
the stock stopping POWER is fine. but due to the weight and heat transfer the brakes in stock form are just not up to hard core track duty. they would rarely to never fail in street driving, you just cant keep that much heat in the system on the street.
the main benefit of going to a larger brake/rotor set up is to give you a better cooling surface and heat sink. the larger 14" rotors transfer heat better and run cooler, especially the floating rotor setup. thus less pedal fade and brake boiling.

the car to car comparision is hard to do unless you do it like road and track mag or something very objective with actual data instead of subjective anecdotal experiences.

bottom line is your factory brake setup is awesome and in street situations should be more than you need as are most cars coming out of the Porsche factory

good luck!

 

If that's the case, your brakes are fine. If the overall stopping distance is a problem, look to your tires for the answer.

If they're fine, it's a feel thing. The Porsche brakes have a very linear relationship between pedal pressure and deceleration. This makes them predictable and controllable, but the initial bite may not be there. I like that, though. I have an E60 M5, and although the brakes are fine, they're nowhere near as modulatable as the Big Reds on my C4S were.

 

I looked up M3 braking...the 2006 M3 70-0 was 155' (JBcar online).

The 2003 996TT was 159'.