Beware of premature PCCB (Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake) failure

The rear ceramic rotors on my Porche 911 Turbo S had to be replaced after only 12,000 miles at a cost of $10,000. These were their much-promoted Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB).This was an unexpected shock to me, so I would like to share my experience with anyone considering ordering the optional PCCB brakes for a new Porsche in the hope that others won’t have to endure my painful experience.

My story started with excited anticipation when I took delivery of my brand-new 911 Turbo S. For those unfamiliar with the Turbo S, this car was a special 911 that came with more horsepower than the base Turbo and included an extensive list of options installed as standard equipment. One of these was PCCB.

I was understandably looking forward to enjoying my new car and was particularly pleased with the promise of PCCB performance because the marketing literature said the following:

“The discs are made from a specially treated carbon-fiber compound that is silicated in a high-vacuum process at 3,092°F. The resulting material is not only much harder than metal- it is also more resistant to heat.”

Based on the Porsche sales pitch most anyone would have thought that PCCB was a must-have option and money well spent. But the brutal reality is that for me PCCB turned out to be a huge disappointment because the rear rotors on my Turbo failed at 12,000 miles due to overheating and cost me a massive $10,000 to repair. Included in these miles were 900 miles of track driving plus 3000-4000 miles of sporty driving in the hills near my home.

When I reported the brake failure to Porsche, they blamed it on me and my driving style and refused to honor their warranty. I was stunned by their denial. I could not believe that they were not living up to what I felt were their responsibilities and were blaming me instead. First, I felt that Porsche had lied to me. How could brakes that are “more resistant to heat” burn out after only 12,000 miles? Second, I could not and cannot accept their blaming me because I'm a relatively skilled driver who has taken the time to learn how to get the most out of my sports car. I have about 25 track days under my belt in the last four years. Half of these were driving schools including on-track private coaching. So my technique, I believe, is solid. Plus, I am not an aggressive driver and don't push the car beyond 90% on track and 70-80% on public roads. Also, the front brakes normally take much more of the load from braking than the rears. Yet it was the rear rotors that burned out. Furthermore, the only caution in any of the car’s documentation was an instruction to have the brakes inspected before any performance driving event. This I did religiously.

Therefore, I think one needs to look beyond driving style because, if I could burn out a set of PCCB rotors, so could anyone. The reason, in my opinion, is that the driver is not the only one at the controls of a Porsche. In fact, the car is constantly intervening in the background and overriding the driver's inputs. For example, one of the installed options on the Turbo S is Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV Plus). PTV helps the car turn by applying the brakes to the inside rear wheel in a corner. These braking actions are completely imperceptible to the driver (per Porsche's literature and also my experience). PTV is especially active, I believe, on the low-speed twisty roads in my area. The net result is that while you are out enjoying the dynamics of your car, the car's computers seem to be busy destroying your expensive ceramic brakes. And the car does this completely without your knowledge because there are no brake temperature sensors or other real-time warnings on any Porsche to alert you to the dangers to your brakes. Incidentally, stopping the car to take brake temperature readings did not give any indication of an overheating problem.

BTW Ferrari has brake temperature sensors, but Porsche has not installed them. Why not? They have dozens of other sensors on the car including brake wear sensors, so this is not a matter of technical infeasibility.

I also know that my experience is not an isolated incident because I met another Porsche owner who also had to replace the burnt out PCCB rotors on his relatively new Turbo S. Two examples are not conclusive proof, but clearly the claims about the heat resistance of PCCB brakes in the sales literature had to have been absolutely false. I base this opinion not just on the two examples of brake failure mentioned here but on the fact that all references to the heat resistance of ceramic brakes has been removed from the current marketing literature. The only benefit Porsche now mentions regarding the PCCB is reduced unsprung weight. Why did they change their literature other than the fact that the original claims weren’t true? Furthermore, they now include a mild warning about premature brake wear. I would go beyond their warning to opine that if you use your car for any high-performance driving, your ceramic rotors will certainly burn out early. This includes not just track days and autocross but dynamic driving on twisty public roads.

In my opinion, anyone considering ordering PCCB for a new Porsche should ask themselves if the reduced weight is worth the upfront charge plus a $10,000 repair bill every couple of years, especially since the standard steel brakes stop the car just as well. Based on my painful experience, the decision is easy. I would never order PCCB as an option again!

I believe the only one who benefits from the optional PCCB is Porsche itself. PCCB increases Porsche's already obscene industry-leading profit margin by jacking up the price of a new car plus fattening their wallets by $10,000 for every brake replacement. This gives them a perverse incentive, in my opinion, to ignore problems such as mine because every time a set of rotors burns out they sell you a replacement set at roughly double the cost of the original option! But if enough people were to save their hard-earned dollars and opt for steel brakes, Porsche might get the message and install brake temperature sensors  to protect their customers’ investments.

BTW I would also stay away from PTV. It’s downsides outweigh its benefits as far as I’m concerned, especially since it’s another costly option.

That was a pretty long tale, but I felt the need to make my experience public, so that others might learn from my misfortune. If my story helps even one of you avoid a painful and expensive experience with PCCB, I will consider the effort to write this post well worth it.