Living the Legend

Our contributing enthusiasts from around the world share their real-life experiences with their Porsche 911s

Real-world owner reports from our specially selected global collective

Model 996 Carrera 4S Year 2002

Acquired April 2017

Last issue I mentioned how, after a mere three corners of my track day at Castle Combe, my C4S suffered epic brake fail, forcing the car into an early finish. I didn’t hang around in getting the problem fixed, remembering my old man’s oft-recited saying that “the most important aspect of a car is its ability to stop”. Long-time readers will recall I changed the brakes on my previous 996.2 C4 to EBC a couple of years back, so the decision to turn to them once again was an easy one, promptly ordering Yellowstuff pads, Dot 4 fluid and braided lines. I then booked the car in at ZRS Engineering down the road in Poole, as Matt there now does all work on my beloved C4S.

With the car on Matt’s two-post ramp, the wheels were whipped off and the pads removed. They had plenty of meat on them still as they were only installed at the end of 2017 but, as I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve just not been happy with their (complete lack of) feel and performance, despite fluid changes to alleviate the issue. Incidentally the pads had ‘TRW’ on the covers, which Matt informs me is the OEM brand, but whether or not it was just those covers which in this case were TRW remains to be seen. Either way, I took great pleasure in frisbeeing them into the bin.

EBC’S Yellowstuff pads were then installed inside the C4S’S Big Red calipers: these are intended for fast road and occasional track use, as they offer performance in huge heat ranges without brake fade. Although fashion isn’t exactly a priority when it comes to safety, it was great to see the yellow hue of the pads adding to the visual flare of my yellow KW coilover springs, at least with the wheels off!

Matt then replaced my rubber factory brake lines with EBC braided items. These will provide additional feel through the pedal, sorely needed in my case, and their braided element offers an increase in longevity underneath my C4S. With identical routing as per the factory lines, their fit was simple enough. They’re good value: although the fittings don’t appear to be stainless steel (as they’re painted), they’re still good value when compared to vastly more expensive competitor items. I was pleased to have them fitted.

Matt did have to make up new hard lines from each caliper as mine had corroded. A 996 will always throw up a curve ball on a job like this, particularly with rust or corrosion on chassis componentry, so the added time needed for Matt to make those up before connecting to the EBC lines was expected, really.

With the braided lines in place Matt flushed out the old brake fluid, which ran for the hills when temperatures began to rise during the first few minutes of my aforementioned track day. I got two