Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

hi i'm a newbie so please be patient with me if i write something i should not or write something in the wrong section.

Ok i need help... i have a Porsche Boxster 03 plate (986) facelift model. my brake pad service light has come on and i need to replace both front and back pads.
I've been told i will also need to replace the brake sensors as well which will then turn the service light off.

question: do i replace with original Porsche pads and sensors which will cost around £250 or are there just as good oem pads i could buy ie minitex, ferodo, ebc??? also do i replace all brake sensors??

Now my other problem is a garage mechanic told me that cheap replacement pads are generic thus have a small amount of play in them. this then causes every time you brake a knocking noise!!!! on the pads he showed me i could see what he was trying to say.

not sure if you need any other information ....any help would be appreciated. thanks in advance

Hi and welcome.
Sorry I cant help you on this one but I'm sure there will be someone along soon that will help.
I also have a Porsche Boxster 03 plate (986) face lift model. but haven't changed the pads on this car yet.
Talking about pad sensors I remember changing pads on one of my cars long time ago (cant remember what make it was) where when the pad wore down, the disc then made contact with the sensor that was buried in the pad, and completed a circuit and your warning light would come on, this way you just change the pad and put the sensor back into it and wait for the pad to wear down again before making the circuit, no need to renew sensor, Simple last time I did any brake pads was on my daughters BMW and later on my wife's Mini, (BMW) and lo and behold guess what, these sensors are the other way round, it's only after they have worn down with and at the same time as the pad do they then make a contact and then the warning light comes on, the only difference now is you have to buy new sensors as well as new pads, it sounds as if Porsche have the same system, the trick will be to change the pads just before the sensor wears down, if you can catch it just right, to late in your case, cant remember how much the sensors were but what I do remember is that my Daughters 3 series was the same as my wife's Mini but cost three times as much
Guvs

Last time I changed my sensors I think they were about £15 , even if you change the pads before the sensor contacts the rotor it can be tricky getting the sensor out without causing damage, so be careful, I did not even try this time because even being careful I still damaged two.The problem I think is made worse if the sensors/pads have been on the car for a while. This info is based on my car which is a 993

thanks guys looks like sensors will have to be changed,

as for which brake pads to go for, my question still stands.

Hi and welcome turaab Sorry I don't have a Boxster, but I have had no problem with any other make of brake pad in my cars. I don't know many people who pay £250 for a brake pad change who are only using the car for normal use. Unless you want to go on a track day, I wouldn't spend that either. Where are you? Maybe someone could recommend a better garage near you? Your club membership would be saved on the discount you would get buying pads from JMGarage ( and free advice on what you should buy ). If you popped along to a club night, you might find someone there who could help.

By law all brake pads sold must be within 5% + or - of the origingal manufacturers spec. So if you get pads from Unipart they will be just as good as EBC or Mintex or whatever. They have to be! There are production tolerances hence the 5%. It's the law. If you spend lots on fancy pads all your paying for is the box. Except for the ones that arn't type approved & say "Not for road use." They actually are better but fitting them will invalidate your insurance. (Not that they'd know unless you parked it upside down on a bus shelter.) The EBC green ones do keep your alloys cleaner. Thats it. I fit Unipart pads on my '44 & replace them when they get tired. Long before there worn out. It's as good as anything. Porsche just load the price. Hope that helps.

thanks for helping out with all your advise guys.

So just to clarify if i use any other brand of brake pads ie unipart, I should not hear this knocking noise which my garage has told me about when using an alternative??

He showed me on one wheel when fitting a pad that due to it being a UNIVERSAL pad it has play, if this make sense a 'c' shaped groove on the pad, was bigger, thus when applying the brake when the pad touches the disc the bigger size groove whould cause you to hear this knocking noise.

I should have asked him which brand of brake pads he was using but did not think about it at the time. maybe the ones he was using were really crap ones.

My opinion, you need another garage. If you let us where you are, someone might know a better garage. What happens when the pads wear down, there has to play to take up the extra travel?? I can't visualise what the problem would be? It's not a universal pad, it is for your car, just made by someone else.

i think your right another garage would be better. i live in purley, london

Could you drive to here? It is a good day out and you will get the best service/price. Try looking up the praise or grumble section for garages near you, or start another topic in the discussion area. There are a lot of TIPEC guys in your area, they must go some where.

As others have said £250 is way to much to have pads changed - in my opinion.

It is a really straightforward job to change the pads yourself, honestly I am no mechanic but I changed the pads and discs on my wifes boxster - took a morning.

With regards the sensors, normally if the the low pad warning light comes on its because the sensor has come in contact with the disc which earths it then puts the dash light on. This is how it should work so the sensor earths before the pad lining wears right down and the metal backing oo the pad scores the disc.

From memory the sensors were around £10 - £20

The ones I changed weren't damaged but one of the sensors stuck which I proceeded to break upon removal, so I would change them anyway.

OEM pads are £50 a set, sensors £30 for all 4, so with the VAT, £155.00 ish

I'd have a go myself, it only takes this chap 2 minutes 8 seconds all in to change one set.

We recommend Textar (Porsche supplier) or Pagid (used to be Porsche supplier and still seem to be for the GT3 996 and 993TT)

I personally do not like the EBC pads, they are great for keeping brake dust down, but can be noisey when cold, not as good as Pagid when cold and tend to be a bit aggressive towards brake disks

For performance use, I would always pick Pagid black pads, but I have been a fan of those since my turbo cup support days.

oh... one other thing...

If you replace the pads, always replace the sensors and on a Boxster always replace the caliper bolts when you change the disks... be VERY careful with taking out the caliper bolts when changing disks, as even with great care, its easy to strip the threads out of the soft aluminium hubs when taking the bolts out!