Porsche 996 Brake Pad Information

[Dwiggy]

C2 MY99

The Brembo pads were quite dusty. I found my wheels covered with black brake dust after driving ~100 miles.

VTX promised less dust but after I installed them they were very noisy at stops. The VTX pad does not have a vibration shim adhered to it like OEM. The VTX pad also stops better after warming up.

Textars are quiet and somewhere in between the other two mentioned on the dust. They are not too dusty like the stock Brembo 996 pads but do shed some light brown powder after ~200 miles.

Both the Textar and the VTX have provisions for wear sensors and are counter balanced (front).

My 2 cents.

D.

[996noob]

C2 MY99

The Brembo pads were quite dusty. I found my wheels covered with black brake dust after driving ~100 miles.

VTX promised less dust but after I installed them they were very noisy at stops. The VTX pad does not have a vibration shim adhered to it like OEM. The VTX pad also stops better after warming up.

Textars are quiet and somewhere in between the other two mentioned on the dust. They are not too dusty like the stock Brembo 996 pads but do shed some light brown powder after ~200 miles.

Both the Textar and the VTX have provisions for wear sensors and are counter balanced (front).

My 2 cents.

D.

What do you mean by couter balanced by the way?

[Paul Fraser]

I am sure that I have posted photos on this site showing that Brembo are just rebadged Textars. I can't find them so here you are:

[996noob]

I am sure that I have posted photos on this site showing that Brembo are just rebadged Textars. I can't find them so here you are:

This is also the case with Bosch pads. They are Textar too.

[Dwiggy]

C2 MY99

The Brembo pads were quite dusty. I found my wheels covered with black brake dust after driving ~100 miles.

VTX promised less dust but after I installed them they were very noisy at stops. The VTX pad does not have a vibration shim adhered to it like OEM. The VTX pad also stops better after warming up.

Textars are quiet and somewhere in between the other two mentioned on the dust. They are not too dusty like the stock Brembo 996 pads but do shed some light brown powder after ~200 miles.

Both the Textar and the VTX have provisions for wear sensors and are counter balanced (front).

My 2 cents.

D.

What do you mean by couter balanced by the way?

Here is a picture of the front OEM pads from 1999 compared to the VTX pads. You can see the extra weights on the pads.

[Dwiggy]

I am sure that I have posted photos on this site showing that Brembo are just rebadged Textars. I can't find them so here you are:

This is also the case with Bosch pads. They are Textar too.

Here is a picture of my OEM pads compared to the VTX pads. The steel side of the Textar pad (Not shown) looks identical to the VTX with the addition of the vibration shim. you can see that the factory pads did not have the extra weights.

[Dwiggy]

Does anyone know if there is a low dust and quiet pad for these cars?

Edited August 12, 2009 by Dwiggy

[Paul Fraser]

What do you mean by noise: are you talking about brake squeal?

[911h20]

someone once mentioned Hawk (?) pads are low on dust.

[mp911]

someone once mentioned Hawk (?) pads are low on dust.

Not mine. I have Hawk HP Plus. Great on the track for stopping, but lots of dust and brake squeal noise on the street.

[996noob]

someone once mentioned Hawk (?) pads are low on dust.

Not mine. I have Hawk HP Plus. Great on the track for stopping, but lots of dust and brake squeal noise on the street.

This thread on brake pads is really quite interesting. Ive always wanted to know what those metal "weights" are on my pads. What made it even more curious is to see you guys have versions of the pad WITHOUT those pieces, especially original Porsche pads without them makes it even more curious. My car came with original Porsche pads, which had the weights and also Textar stamping on the backing plate. When worn, I replaced with Textar OEM which had identical stamping and also the weights, so I assumed that the weights were standard. I have never seen pads for 996 without them.

In anycase, what is the function? I always thought they were guides, rather than weights. With the spring pushing down on the pad within the caliper, it seems to me that the metal pieces on the top are pushed againts the caliper top, rather than the bottom edge of the pad pushing againts the bottom of the caliper.

[Dwiggy]

What do you mean by noise: are you talking about brake squeal?

Yes, there is squeal right before a dead stop.

[Dwiggy]

I am sure that I have posted photos on this site showing that Brembo are just rebadged Textars. I can't find them so here you are:

This is also the case with Bosch pads. They are Textar too.

According to Pelican Ate, Jurid, Textar, and Pagid are all OEM brake pad manufactures. Which it is quite funny that my front pads came in a Pagid box anyway. I do believe my OEM brake pads were of an older design though and being ten years old they possibly started to deteriorate thereby causing more dust than normal. Albeit, there appears to be no alternative to the dust (v) squeal dilemma.

As to the weights on the pads, I can find no information on the web. Logically they are there for to cancel out brake chatter but who knows really?

[Paul Fraser]

At the risk of teaching you to suck eggs did you put in anti squeal shims in when you replaced the pads? I transferred the old ones when I replaced the ones on my 996, but there weren't any on the Boxster so I just used a smear of copperslip. You might want to try either/or/both of these if you haven't already.

PS Just read the original post -- the Porsche pads don't come with the antisqueal shims attached, they are a separate part that just ends up sticking to the pad over time. If you take a wallpaper scraper you can split them apart from the old pads and reuse.

Edited August 10, 2009 by Paul Fraser

[996noob]

At the risk of teaching you to suck eggs did you put in anti squeal shims in when you replaced the pads? I transferred the old ones when I replaced the ones on my 996, but there weren't any on the Boxster so I just used a smear of copperslip. You might want to try either/or/both of these if you haven't already.

PS Just read the original post -- the Porsche pads don't come with the antisqueal shims attached, they are a separate part that just ends up sticking to the pad over time. If you take a wallpaper scraper you can split them apart from the old pads and reuse.

The backing pads/pucks are adhere to the pad by adhesive, you peel off the wax paper and stick it to the pad, just like a sticker. I wasn't able to re-use the the old ones, as trying to pry them out and overcoming the adhesive more or less destroyed them. In anycase, I couldn't think of any adhesive I could use that would withstand the temps of the brakes without rendering it useless. I figured, if it didnt stick on, they wouldn't work, might as well do without them - or buy new ones.

So which is the new design and which is the old design? The ones with the "weights" or without the "weights"? The pad area of the pad without weights looks bigger though. From what I recall from Physics in university, is that friction is not a function of area, only the miu and the normal force, but then againt that is classical Newtonian mechanics, perhaps too ideal for the real world?

[Orient Express]

There are a number of things that you can do to minimize the squealing of harder pads

1. Make sure that the anti-squeal shims are installed on the new pads. The old ones can be reused.

2. Apply some CRC "Disc Brake Quiet" to the back of the pad (shim) where it makes contact with the caliper piston cup.

3. If the new pad does not already have this done, chamfer the leading and trailing edges of the pad with a bench grinder. This will eliminate the squeal for sure.

[Dwiggy]

At the risk of teaching you to suck eggs did you put in anti squeal shims in when you replaced the pads? I transferred the old ones when I replaced the ones on my 996, but there weren't any on the Boxster so I just used a smear of copperslip. You might want to try either/or/both of these if you haven't already.

PS Just read the original post -- the Porsche pads don't come with the antisqueal shims attached, they are a separate part that just ends up sticking to the pad over time. If you take a wallpaper scraper you can split them apart from the old pads and reuse.

:) Yes. And no egg yolk.

To let those who are not familiar know about the vibration dampeners on the Porsche here is some information.

The factory pads have shims adhered to the pads. Mr. Fraser is referring to the separate vibration dampeners that pop, snap, click or attach to the pots in the caliper. These vibration dampeners are actually glued to the OEM brake shims during your Porsche’s assembly. You can replace the dampeners with new ones when you replace the pads if they are worn out. It is always a good practice to replace all shims and dampeners where available and applicable.

Now, in the case of the VTX pads, they do not have the brake shims attached to them. The pot dampeners touch the bare steel on the pad. Plus the brake compound is harder and a different composite than the OEM or Textars/ Pagid...etc making a squeal. Yes, I could have made some shims and blah, blah, blah but why? I just spent $240 on brake pads they should be right when I get them. That is why I am relaying the information to you here in this forum.

As far as egg yolk… The brake anti-squeal compound that some use on their break pads was originally designed because newer coatings were not yet developed on the shims to cut down on the squeal. When a person installed their shims they would coat both sides with this anti-squeal or seating compound. Because it was off white in color and has a sticky nature it is also referred to by older mechanics as "egg yolk".

[Dwiggy]

At the risk of teaching you to suck eggs did you put in anti squeal shims in when you replaced the pads? I transferred the old ones when I replaced the ones on my 996, but there weren't any on the Boxster so I just used a smear of copperslip. You might want to try either/or/both of these if you haven't already.

PS Just read the original post -- the Porsche pads don't come with the antisqueal shims attached, they are a separate part that just ends up sticking to the pad over time. If you take a wallpaper scraper you can split them apart from the old pads and reuse.

The backing pads/pucks are adhere to the pad by adhesive, you peel off the wax paper and stick it to the pad, just like a sticker. I wasn't able to re-use the the old ones, as trying to pry them out and overcoming the adhesive more or less destroyed them. In anycase, I couldn't think of any adhesive I could use that would withstand the temps of the brakes without rendering it useless. I figured, if it didnt stick on, they wouldn't work, might as well do without them - or buy new ones.

So which is the new design and which is the old design? The ones with the "weights" or without the "weights"? The pad area of the pad without weights looks bigger though. From what I recall from Physics in university, is that friction is not a function of area, only the miu and the normal force, but then againt that is classical Newtonian mechanics, perhaps too ideal for the real world?

Look closer are the pads and you'll notice that it is an optical illusion...lol! Plus the compound or brake pad material has a bigger effect on the stoping power then the small differences in surface area.

The friction area in my picture is of the VTX pad anyway not the Textar. The new design on the Textar pads has the same surface area as the original pads. The VTX pads are probably fine pads if you don't mind the fact that they make some noise and do not stop as well until they are warmed up.

[Dwiggy]

There are a number of things that you can do to minimize the squealing of harder pads

1. Make sure that the anti-squeal shims are installed on the new pads. The old ones can be reused.

2. Apply some CRC "Disc Brake Quiet" to the back of the pad (shim) where it makes contact with the caliper piston cup.

3. If the new pad does not already have this done, chamfer the leading and trailing edges of the pad with a bench grinder. This will eliminate the squeal for sure.

Thanks for the information. I think the noise issue is the reason VTX pads are steeply chamfered before they are shipped as the picture that I attached shows. They should have just attached some proper shims to them and they would be fine. Honestly, the Textar pads are really nice on the street I just have to clean my wheels.

[996noob]

It seems the pads with and without the weights are interchangeable.

But I have many questions.

So do we know if one design supercedes another?

Which one is the newer design? And why?

What are the function of the weights?

Are they really weights? Or stops?

[JamesD]

C2 MY99

The Brembo pads were quite dusty. I found my wheels covered with black brake dust after driving ~100 miles.

VTX promised less dust but after I installed them they were very noisy at stops. The VTX pad does not have a vibration shim adhered to it like OEM. The VTX pad also stops better after warming up.

Textars are quiet and somewhere in between the other two mentioned on the dust. They are not too dusty like the stock Brembo 996 pads but do shed some light brown powder after ~200 miles.

Both the Textar and the VTX have provisions for wear sensors and are counter balanced (front).

My 2 cents.

D.

This topic really answers a question I had, I recently changed my 996 C4's pads & disc's, and on a long road trip I too noticed a light brown powder on my wheel's more so on the rear, I though it was from the motorway surface, but I now know!

I also notice that I have 3 warning lights on the display (psm off light, break pad ware & abs light)

I've had the car checked over the pad's are fine so it's not them I'm thinking it cloud be just a faulty contact on the wear sensor somewhere.

Anyway I think the Textar are stopping great & not too much noise.

Edited August 20, 2009 by JamesD

[jasonmiller1186]

Hey guys,

I was wondering the process of changing the brakes on the Cayenne's, and what is required. I have installed full brake kits on other cars in the past as well as brake pad changes. The dealer said my brakes needed to be replaced soon, and want to charge me $900 to do it. I said f*ck that I can do it myself. Is it true when replacing the pads, that every brake pad sensor wire needs to be changed? Also, my buddy told me it requires a special tool. Is this true? If so were can I order the tool from? Do I have to reset any thing in the menu of the car after the swap? I found the brakes, and sensors on advanced for a little over $200 for everything. I did use the search button, and could find anything. Thanks in advanced

___________________

Porsche brake pads, Brake fluid

[Loren]

Hey guys,

I was wondering the process of changing the brakes on the Cayenne's, and what is required. I have installed full brake kits on other cars in the past as well as brake pad changes. The dealer said my brakes needed to be replaced soon, and want to charge me $900 to do it. I said f*ck that I can do it myself. Is it true when replacing the pads, that every brake pad sensor wire needs to be changed? Also, my buddy told me it requires a special tool. Is this true? If so were can I order the tool from? Do I have to reset any thing in the menu of the car after the swap? I found the brakes, and sensors on advanced for a little over $200 for everything. I did use the search button, and could find anything. Thanks in advanced

___________________

Porsche brake pads, Brake fluid

The DIY Tutorials are in the DIY Tutorials section and can be searched separately.

Brake Pad Change Instructions

Brake/Clutch Fluid Change and Bleeding Instructions

[Rapewta]

The only special tool required might be the inexpensive "brake pad spredder".

Once you remove the cotter pin and tap out the 1/4" rod that holds the pads in place, you

will need to spread the old pads a little to remove them.

Everything you need to do is obvious, like removing the sensor wires.

A thin putty knife will seperate the dampners from the old pads. Just go slowly and you will seperate them.

You don't open any fluid lines. It is very, very easy to do.

The only challange is making sure you use the "brake pad spreader" to it's fullest in that you

really have to spread the pistons all the back to drop the new pads in. Maybe tap them a little with a mallet

once you get them started.

Also, keep an eye on the fluid fill resovoir because you might be pushing some fluid back up in the

system as you spread the pads.

I used to use a big pair of Channel Locks (model 460) to spread pads but this pad spredder gizmo is cool.

In my opinion, anyone can do this job correctly and take the money you saved and go "tool shopping" for

future DIY's. Good Luck.

edit... this is for a 996 car. I don't know the brake systems on other Porshces.

Edited February 17, 2011 by Rapewta