OPC Brake Pad Replacement - needed?

JAW911 · Nov 7, 2018

My 991.1 C2S is going in for its annual oil service tomorrow. Out of the blue today I get an email (I don't believe in coincidences) explaining that due to the 'age or mileage' of my car it will shortly be due for its front brake pads to be replaced. I want to question this as my worry is that they will just be replaced immaterial of how much mileage the pads have left.
My question is, as with tyre tread measurements being legally 1.6mm (worryingly!), what should be the thickness of my front pads, rear pads, front discs and rear discs at the point they should be replaced please? I don't want to leave it until they are 'on the rivets' but equally I don't want to replace them unnecessarily early.

jonathanw · Nov 7, 2018

Hi

The pads have a sensor that will show a warning when the pads get to thin. I cannot answer for the discs. My 991.1CS has done just under 20,000 miles and is just over 6 years old. At its recent big 6 year service I had no advisories at all and the discs are the originals. If the discs are significantly warn and need replacing you will get new pads with the new discs. I have had many 911's and in nearly 35 years, with some with quite high mileage and have never been advised that the pads needed changing because of their age. Seems to me like a ruse to extort cash from you!

ralphmusic · Nov 7, 2018

Why not ask them to measure the pad thickness v new? For track use, pads are normally changed at 50% wear as their ability to cope with heat reduces significantly.

For normal (non-spirited) road use more wear should be OK BUT you don't want to wait for the warning light.

richardjjs1 · Nov 7, 2018

If you drive the car hard its better to have less wear on the pads and discs as the "Spare" material does contribute to cooling the brakes
I guess your service interval is 2 years and 20k (or more) so the OPC might convince you that they will be on the limit before then
In principle you should be able to replace the Discs every other time ( as long as you have plenty of "meat" on the pads
Its very much up to trust as some OPC will be more price conscience than others.
So not really much help
Its why I do my own maintenance as I can judge when they need replacing. I replace all 4 Discs and pads (no need to replace the sensors as they where not worn) for £250 with Brembo (Euro car parts 50% discount) which are fine for normal road use. Guess OPC would be nearly 1000.00 !
Tyres are different again depending on type of driving they can be replaced reasonable easily based on visible wear.

One other "Hate" with OPCS and Specialists how often do they check the drain holes for blockage (can save 1500 for an ECU) and how often do they remove the front Bumper to check for leaves and debris which is a destroyer of Radiators and COndensors - again an hours work can save another 1000.00

I would have a chat with them and ask them to phone before replacing all of them . If you have the money then Pads are a quick job and probably not worth arguing about

Lancerlot · Nov 7, 2018

Driving a high performance sports vehicle like a Porsche 991 C2S, you wouldn't want to run the tyres down to their legal 1.6mm minimum - neither should you run the brakes down, since performance drops off significantly with wear - btw it's far too late once the wear sensors light up! [

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You don't provide mileage, but if your pads are more than 50% worn, have them replaced and, as a general rule, rotors need replacing every second pad change.
Regards,

Clive