roadie13

So in preparation for track season today I’ve changed my front rotors to Sebro slotted and the front pads to Pagid yellows (RS29) on the stock brake system of my 997.1 C2S.
The Pagid yellows are very fat, clearly a bit thicker than the stock pads so they were difficult to get in over the brand new rotors. I eventually managed after some swearing, but not surprisingly the brakes now stick quite strongly when I tried to move the car in the garage.

So my question is should I just drive the car and assume the pads will quickly wear down to not sticking, or will this break something?
Not sure how I would get the pads out of the tight fit either…

Any pointers very welcome!

amurph182

It’s fine. Drive the car. Unless there’s some 997-specific issue I’m not aware of, you probably just didn’t get the pistons compressed enough.

roadie13

In hindsight some folks say to remove the plate covering the pistons to ease the fit.

Nickshu

On my old 996.2, which probably has the same rear calipers the 997 does, I had this problem with Pagids. I had to sand them down on the rear to get them to fit. Pistons were all the way in. Rotors were Girodisc. Annoying issue. I switched to PFCs and didn't have the problem anymore. Worth noting I was using Pagid black, not yellow.

roadie13

Interesting. After you sanded them down how tight was the fit? Did it feel like driving with the handbrake in?

Nickshu

I never drove with them tight. They would go in but you had to tap them in w/ a rubber mallet. Sanded them down until they fit like normal before any use. Was not difficult to do. Just lay some sandpaper on a flat surface and sand the pad on it by hand, then trial fit, sand more, repeat.

Frank 993 C4S

I run these pads all the time on my 997 and they fit perfectly provided you compress the pistons all the way before you slot them in provided you have the correct rotors. If they still drag after a couple of brake applications you have a serious installation problem that you need to fix.

roadie13

sorry for the thick question but the pad material just came off against the sandpaper?

Nickshu

Yes. It's been many years so don't recall was probably either 120g or 220g paper.

roadie13

do you use them with backing plate installed?

hbdunn

Recently put rs29 in my friends 997.1C2S. I did feel it was a tight fit so I left the shims out.

Frank 993 C4S

No vibration dampers or backing plate.

This article might help when it comes to changing pads:

The Definitive Guide To The Porsche 997 Brakes | FCP Euro

toma nova

This is the case with GLoc pads also. I spoke to GLoc and they confirmed that they add the backing plate thickness to the pad material to get the most longevity.

roadie13

Ok the situation had a definite resolution. I got up early this crispy Easter Sunday and took the car out at 7:30am to test whether the problem will resolve itself. At first I thought there was less rolling resistance than yesterday, but it got worse and worse until about half a mile away from home there were horrible noises and clouds of dark smoke rising from the calipers, no bueno.


Made it back to the garage and started disassembling the brakes, I was glad that they came out with some hammering and loosening of the rotor. One of the back shims had melted onto the back of the pad and that sheared the weights off as I got the pads out…

Anyhow, once they were out I removed the shims and they fitted in perfectly. So absolutely impossible with shims and no big deal without shims…

They should really say that on their web page! Bought from FCPeuro.

So now hopefully all is in order..phew.

I also tried the bleeding nipple bit; a tiny amount of fluid came out so maybe that helped with the disassembly.

Thanks for the help!

Frank 993 C4S

Make sure you don't glaze your pads and rotors with all that heat.