C4 brake pad upgrades?
03-15-2018, 07:18 PM
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
C4 brake pad upgrades?
The brake pads on my C4 have a bit of meat left on them, but based on other records from PO, I'm guessing they've been on the car for quite a few years. So I think it's a good time to replace them, and upgrade while I'm at it. What are the current "go to" brake pads that are appropriate for street and spirited backroads driving? Let's assume no aggressive track driving, though the C4 might see a few sessions in an instructor group at 8/10s. Hoping to find a low-dust, low-squeal option that is better than OEM.
Rotors are fine, fluid is Motul.
TIA!
Rotors are fine, fluid is Motul.
TIA!
03-16-2018, 06:51 AM
#2
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Ages ago I was looking to potentially 'upgrade' (or at least that's what I thought) my own C4 pads for the same driving profile - hard spirited contry roads with hard on/off braking over long periods and maybe the odd track day. Ask 5 owners and you'll get 5 different answers! However, once I learned to ignore much of the subjective responses, I found the best advice I had came from friends who raced in UK Porsche sprint championships and then also friends who own and run a large well known UK indie Porsche specialists who also track support all manor of customer 911's/Cayman's etc. All said the same thing - stick to the Porsche/OEM suplied Textars (for the kind of driving you want to do). The 964 racer friend tried a few different ones and came back to Textars for more predictable track sprint course braking. Sure, dedicated track weapons with massive braking forces require different pad working temps etc.
The C4 comes with a different bracking circuit than the C2 (pre-pressurised and high pressure hydraulic boost pump etc). Complicated but works really well if serviced regularly. The last few years I've spent 4-5 days in Scotland with friends driving hard for 5 hours/day twisting mountain roads mainly in 3rd gear and I'm so impressed with the late hard braking capability and have stuck with Textars since. I absolutley bow to those with hundreds of hours of track experience and thier brake set up knowledge and of course I would not refute any helpful info offered.
The C4 comes with a different bracking circuit than the C2 (pre-pressurised and high pressure hydraulic boost pump etc). Complicated but works really well if serviced regularly. The last few years I've spent 4-5 days in Scotland with friends driving hard for 5 hours/day twisting mountain roads mainly in 3rd gear and I'm so impressed with the late hard braking capability and have stuck with Textars since. I absolutley bow to those with hundreds of hours of track experience and thier brake set up knowledge and of course I would not refute any helpful info offered.
03-16-2018, 02:01 PM
#3
Race Car
I've always stuck with oem pads as well. Best bang for the buck. If you don't mind brake dust and rotor wear, there are better pads that have better initial bite, but for anything but actual racing against a competitive car....oem pads are a great option.
03-16-2018, 02:23 PM
#4
I went with a Hawk performance street on my C2, couple thousand miles on them so far. Great bite and low dust. My car is only used for street use "spirited driving" I think is the common term used. LOL
03-16-2018, 03:35 PM
#5
Rennlist Member
I’ll put my reply in this thread again. I use PFC08. Beware when buying the Textar pads that there seems to be a difference between Porsche brand Textar and OEM Textar. I tried the latter and wasn’t impressed. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are differences in composition.
03-19-2018, 06:35 AM
#6
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I’ll put my reply in this thread again. I use PFC08. Beware when buying the Textar pads that there seems to be a difference between Porsche brand Textar and OEM Textar. I tried the latter and wasn’t impressed. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are differences in composition.
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03-19-2018, 03:46 PM
#9
Rennlist Member
It depends on the desired balance between rotor wear, pad wear, operating temp range, dust, propensity to squeal and cost.
It makes sense that Porsche optimised its pads for likely use, however they are not cheap and there are better choices when the operating temp range goes higher. My PFC 08 were cheaper than Porsche pads and had all of the same attributes plus performed well on the track, where I pound the brakes to keep up with more modern machinery.
It makes sense that Porsche optimised its pads for likely use, however they are not cheap and there are better choices when the operating temp range goes higher. My PFC 08 were cheaper than Porsche pads and had all of the same attributes plus performed well on the track, where I pound the brakes to keep up with more modern machinery.
03-21-2018, 07:34 AM
#11
Three Wheelin'
My regularly tracked and sprinted C4 uses Brembo HP2000's front and rear. Excellent pads which are far superior to the factory Textars, and produce less dust residue than something like Hawk Blues.
03-21-2018, 07:46 AM
#13
Three Wheelin'