blade7

Medium blacks and 304mm discs, compared to big reds and 322/330mm discs. A big step up in braking performance or just a bit better?

V2Rocket

Big reds on 322 discs should work out to about 7% greater brake torque for a given brake line pressure versus the Medium Blacks on a 304 rotor.

the piston sizes are the same, so the only difference in output is due to rotor diameter. Reds have a little bit larger pad too but that doesn't mean a whole lot relatively.

I happen to have a set of M030/928S4 medium-black front calipers for sale if you're looking.

blade7

Thanks for the offer, but I'm an ocean away and someone a lot closer has already offered me the same. Lookalike big reds, 996tt 330mm drilled discs and adapters look the part. But are they worth the expense.

333pg333

Depending on how hard you drive and what pads, the drilled rotors aren't always best. As for the difference in braking, not sure how to quantify but the BRs with PFC pads were a serious upgrade from my old medium blacks. However the wisemen might say that until you're running out of brake then why go up in unsprung weight. Well at least that's what some said to me and I refused to listen. That was some time ago when I was a little younger and made rash decisions. ps what are 'lookalike Big Reds?

blade7

Copies of the big reds, made by Dansk I think. 996 tt Brembo 330mm discs are around £80 each, but I don't know if those calipers clear them.

sherry66

Hi Blade , I have the Dansk reps on the 924 using 928gts discs . Used some adapters from Promax so that would be Lindsey .
This is with 944 s2 struts and hubs . No centering rings needed with those discs .

V2Rocket

Were those track only type PFC pads?

I have a big spread sheet calculator I made for brake math.
Assuming the same line pressure and pad friction coefficient (I use 0.4 which is pretty good street pads) the BR makes about 7% more torque than the Medium Blacks.
But it only takes upping the MB pad coefficient from 0.4 up to 0.43 to surpass the BRs at 0.4.

So this might be a case where the pad is more important, heat capacity aside (although a 304mm x 32mm MB rotor is still going to suck up a lot of heat)

blade7

I'm using quite pricey Textar pads in my medium blacks. And I'm finding that pulling the car down from high speeds a few times, can result in the pedal staying firm but stopping distances getting longer. A refresh on the medium blacks could be the same as buying a new set of the big red copies. So that's why I'm thinking about going bigger, for the sake of around a grand.

333pg333

Yes, by this time they were race pads. Good point about comparing street vs track pads. Even comparing various tracks makes a big difference. I think pure street driving, no matter quite how fast one goes, just doesn't require anywhere near the same stopping power as the track.
I've forgotten what street pad I had. I remember having some EBC Yellows and they were pretty lousy on the track. Ok on the street.

blade7

Hi Simon, I've just discovered that I have MO30 calipers and hubs on my car. Shows how observant I was 6 or 7 years ago when I fitted new discs. Anyway it's good and bad news, no adapters required but if I have to use the 964 turbo discs, they're 8mm smaller and around twice the price of the 330mm 996 turbo discs. Unless I could space the big red calipers 4mm away from the hub mounting.

Turbodan

I would say just get better brake pads and keep the smaller lighter calipers. if doing track I strongly suggest improved ducting for cooling..,..big difference. and plus one for avoiding cross drilled disks. go solid or sebro slotted. the holes get clogged up quick and are a pain.

blade7

Textar pads are OE Porsche so I don't think they are the issue. And as I'm running 18" wheels I've given up on lightness. I fitted the Porsche cooling ducts from the front, through the wheel arch liner. And replaced the original ducts on the strut, with the 968 versions. So after over 30 years, it's time for an brake update I reckon.

Turbodan

you can get much better braking by using a performance pad. OE pads on 951s are terrible compared to whats out there. strongly urge you to try better pads before big reds.

mudbuddha

I have the medium black that were standard on turbo s cars and what i did to improve braking was to use the 993TT or was it 964 turbo front rotors (dont remember exactly) to increase swep area for the pads. This improved braking without having to go to the big red or big black. So unless you wanted the bling factor and all out braking in track conditions, the medium black with better pads and rotors (in my case) is more than sufficient. Mine is a street car and for the occasional spirited drive, never find myself saying i need more brake. I run about 350 to the wheels on 18 wheels.

So better pads, maybe bigger rotors, and good fluid and lines.

blade7

How did you space your medium black calipers out, to make use of the larger dia rotors?