Hey everyone, I have a couple of questions for you.

First is regarding PCCB's. Who here winter drives their car that has PCCB's and do you notice anything negative about the brakes in cold, wet conditions?

Second question is regarding sports seats. Can anyone tell me why you can't get ventilated sports seats? It seems to me that for someone racing their car, having some extra cooling would be nice. I know the sports seats have a solid back for structural support....is this why they aren't ventilated? No way to pass the air through the seat? I don't see the car getting much track use, certainly not enough to offset the benefit of the ventilation on hot, long road trips so what are the feelings out there on the standard seats or for that matter the effectiveness of the ventilated seats?

Thanks for the help!

 

I have driven my PCCB 997TT through two Maryland winters and have had not problems with the brakes. They seem to work no matter what you throw at them.

 

Just sent you a private message

 

TripleInBoard I got your PM but can't reply until I have 15 posts...I am not the owner of the Black Turbo to answer your main question though. Thanks for the reply!

 

NO issues in the cold for me in 2 + years. In the rain, you will want to tap them every now and then if you're on the highway and haven't brake'd in a while. The first time it's an "oh ****" moment as it feels like they aren't there. They're there but it's a bit different the 1st time.

 

You would think Porsche would make ventilated "sport" seats... especially for all the auto-X nuts out there. Makes no sence whatsoever. -1 Porsche

As for the PCCB "ceramic" brakes not working in wet weather... Not so smart. -2 Porsche.

Don't get me wrong. I love porsches, I think I'll get one for my next DD. But it will deffinatly have steel brakes and non-sport seats.

 

It snows and rains in Germany too. Tested and approved! Get yourself a good set of all season or winter specific tires depending on how bad your weather is. Brakes don’t work as well cold, steel or pccb. But if your in an emergency stopping situation they will stop you!

 

Wet PCCBs are the only issue in winter...as Chris said, you may need to tap the brakes a little.

 

As others have said, careful when wet. I almost rear ended a guy when pulling up to a turnpike toll booth. That said, I would not have a Turbo with out them. No brake dust and "cool."

 

I was about to ask the same questions about winter useability as there areexamples with ceramic disc option second hand. We have really long winters.

So usability is ok in winter, but how about maintenance costs?

How often do you have to change ceramic discs?
Is there any point, if you never intend to drive on track? Does weight saving really effect performance and braking performance?

I am really torn about this...

 

^^Yes, the un-sprung weight saving with PCCB is about 8-9 lbs (anyone corrects me as needed) per corner & unsprung weight reduction is unique in that it's one of the very few things in life that improves both ride AND handling. (Usually as you do things to improve ride, you hurt handling, and vice versa, etc.) Now whether everyone could feel this difference, I don't know.

Edited old post:
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https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...xtra-9k-2.html
Not enough data for "how long" PCCB rotors last with strictly street usage, all we know is that it's north of 50,000-75,000 miles, perhaps as high as 100,000 plus, for the latest generation of PCCB. It should be noted that a lot of problems with PCCB were reported with the first generation. Second gen. PCCB has a significantly better reliability history, as long as you are not tracking the car. As a rough estimate of how incredibly long lasting PCCB brake is with normal street use, check and see how many people report replacing it on these forums. Close to zero.

Replacement cost is near prohibitive for most moderately rich people -- around 4k per rotor, so what you do is get PCCB just so you could taste what the best that Porsche could offer, and then change to Brembo if/when you need replacement. Bottom line, even if you are so extremely unlucky as to have PCCB fail on you (very very very very rare for normal street usage -- I have not seen one report), it's not the end of the world.

The 2 very significant advantages of PCCB are reduction of unsprung weight and initial bite. (Look them up if you don't know what I am talking about; there are numerous threads on this.) Brake dust and esthetic advantages are also important but secondary.
Subjectively, you WILL feel a difference between the 2. Objectively, stopping distance is the same as Big Red because tire traction is limiting factor. Stopping distance is a test that measures from x mph to zero, say 100 mph to zero; if you are to do a test of time between 100 mph to 80 mph, I suspect it WILL show PCCB to be better as IMO it represents that "intial bite."

Bottom line: If you could afford it, get it -- it's the real thing and one of those "must try once in lifetime" things. LOL. Someone sums it up best when he wrote: PCCB = an absolutely unnecessary but absolutely amazing luxury.

 

Thanks!

 

Thanks for the responses everyone. One of things I have always loved about Porsche is they aren't the garage queen that other cars can be. I love the fact that they can be driven confidently in the winter and that goes for both 2WD and 4WD. I realize Porsche wouldn't offer the PCCB's if they couldn't handle rain, winters and all that winter can offer, I guess I just wanted the real world views. On one hand PCCB's to me seemed like a solution to a problem that didn't exist. High performance brakes that many people say you shouldn't get if you want to drive your car in a high performance manner....? My best bet is to try a couple of Turbo's, one with PCCB and one without to see if the weight savings adds a measure of comfort from the reduction in unsprung weight. I'll see how much emergency braking I can do to experience both types of systems also. Yes even though it's an extremely high performance car, it's nice to have some comfort which only enhances the daily driver to amazing track car reputation that a Porsche comes with.

 

^^^Yes you are absolutely correct and I agree about the irony concerning PCCB. But do keep in mind the reason for not using it at the track has to do with the $$$ of replacing what is essentially a wear item and not performance related. Those with deep pockets do track PCCB cars.

The only precaution about testing car back to back is that if you are new to the car and the brake system, you may not notice difference if it's subtle, or maybe even more than subtle, as there are so many things going on that you are new to. The best way to compare IMHO is to drive one type of car for a longer time, such as weeks, THEN switch. Unfortunately & obviously this type of long term comparison is not possible for new buyers.
From my own experience, I would say improvement in handling and ride is not easy to notice (does NOT mean it's not there; I couldn't switch back and forth during my "test" and it wasn't possible to do 10/10 driving), but the feel of initial bite of the brake is easily noticeable, both at the brake pedal (PCCB firmer) and the way the car pulls to a stop as if pulled by the hands of God.