Thanks Mikelly - I think a summary will make the sticky much more helpful. I know that there are tons of opinions but I imagine they are a couple "tried and true" combos and favorites (eg pagid yellows). Thanks

 

I feel the same as Mikelly: Pagid Yellow, Front and Rear. For occasional track use as you stated, the stock 4-piston calipers w/ these pads, stock rotors, and fresh brake fluid are fine. Be sure to bleed the fluid before and after every event. I like Motul 600 due both its properties and price point.

 

I e-mailed Craig at www.Rennstore.com with this question and asked for a summary.

Here she is:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Very HARD track use with experienced driver :
GT3 front calipers/rotors, decent fluid, Pagid brake pads - Yellows F&R for stock balance *or* Yellows front, Black rear for more rear bias.
This combination results in more rear bias which should only be used on a track prepped, well-aligned 996TT.

DE days/ moderate track use:
OEM calipers are ok, MUST USE a high performance fluid - Motul RBF600, or perhaps even Castrol SRF.
If you can't afford the GT3 front brake setup, you MUST use Castrol SRF fluid.


I cannot over-emphasize the problems customers have had with the stock front 996TT brake system.
Calipers turning brown, piston bore seals fried, FLUID BOILING - no brakes, severe pad wear from OEM setup.
Backs are fine and need NO hardware changes other than pads and the aforementioned Motul fluid...

Pads and fluid will keep your survival rate - and thus your fun factor - much higher during track days.

 

Yup, Craig has been spot on repeatedly in my conversations with him... They have mirrored the experiences I've had at the track... Nothing like having a sinking brake pedal at the end of the front straight at VIR... 150+mph with a soft to non-existant brake pedal...

Good fluid (I will never use the oem fluid again as it is not suitable for me) and great pads, along with larger cooling ducts, are the only way to fly with the OEM caliper/rotor... Pagid Yellows are the ONLY pad I'll use.

Mike

 

Right on, that is just what I've found with conversations with Craig over at www.Rennstore.com.
He's done 100+ DEs, has his own 514HP 2650 Turbo so he knows his **** and has been there done dat with a lot of this stuff.
Not a "kid behind a keyboard" for sure!

Seems there is indeed a right way and a wrong way to do these things, eh?

 

thanks for the info

 

I have swaped the brakes and rotors of mine 996 GT3 RS to a 996TT (also mine). Braking is fantastic. The only thing is that between 117 and 130 km/h, I notice a vibrating sound. Not a pitch sound, but somewhat lower possibly air flow of something.
With the swap nothing wat changed ( not a strut or anything esle). What can be the problem?

 

I don't know why you would want to swap the 996TTs setup onto the GT3RS. Further, I don't know about your specific car, or if there were differences in the European spec vehicles over the American release versions (thought there were none.) but the 996TT rotor has a different offset and should not fit onto the GT3RS suspension knuckle/upright without interference of the rotor to caliper.

Mike

 

I have done the swap the other way around. I have swapped the 996 GT3 RS brakes (rotor and callipers) to the 996TT. I have now the 997 rev2 PCCB on the 996 GT3 rs

 

It's a great switch, smart move if you can swing the 4k

 

You stock rotor track guys now have a great solution, thanks to Brembo, with the two piece rotor/Mclaren Bobbins!

I "might" have kept the stock 4 piston calipers and run the pagids with GS610 or motul and GT3 RS brakeducts had these been available!

Just something to think about!!

Mike

 

Still pretty pricey though at $1500 for just the fronts. That means they'd have to last for almost 5 times as long.

 

Has anyone NOT had this happen? I know it got me, Tom and Jenk last year at VIR. Turn 1 is a sneaky joker.


FWIW I had better luck with the pagid blacks. The yellows do last a long time but they are kind of sensitive. That's what both Jenk and I had going off turn 1 at VIR and it was only like their second session.

 

Dez, According to Brembo these rotors are supposed to last a lot longer... how much? Until someone takes them out and gives them a real try, it's hard to say. I have the cheapie colemans on and they have lasted 18 track days. I can't imagine the Brembos wouldn't outlast these by a fair margain!

Mike

 

Here is my deal, when it comes to the track I'm all about the how much it costs when it comes to the brakes. I don't have any problems with the 6pot and 997 TT rotors. I could buy four sets of 997 TT front rotors, and actually three sets of colemans for the $1800 that it costs to buy the brembos.

By my calculations, I can get 3.5-4 weekends out of one set of 997 TT rotors depending on which tracks I attend. I track at most 8 -10 times a year. So for $1800 I can track easily for two years on 997 TT rotors (4 sets). I should be able to track at least as long with THREE sets of colemans. One set of brembos would have to last for two, possibly three years to make them worth the money as I think I could probably track for 3 years with three sets of colemans. And that's just the front. If you buy front and rear brembo's you are nearly at the cost of a full stoptech or alcon kit which are the only things I'd take over the stock units.

And once you get to that point that you have to replace the rotors, I imagine you're still looking at well over 1k to replace when at that point the colemans become the most cost effective because the replacement rotors are only $175 for normal and $206 for full floating and last twice as long as the stock 997 TT rotors.

I'm not trying to convince anyone one way or the other, I'm not sure I'd even want the same rotor for that long unless it was a ceramic. If it were a safety issue, then I may be swayed a bit, but the 997 TT rotors are perfectly safe, and I know a few corvette guys that track colemans and love them. So for me it's about cost per track day.

Besides, for a fully floating rotor, that's a pretty beefy something at 2 lbs less than the factory one. The aftermarket brembo brakes shave a lot more weight.