Do you need the surface coated brakes?

[Gwaihir]

My feeling is - unless you must have mission E wheels - not to bother. Reason? My 4S has lived outside in the UK for over 2 years. Has never been in the garage and yet, no sign of any rust or corrosion on any of the discs. In fact I’m not sure if they are even used. If you go by the amount of brake dust when you clean the car as an indication. I’m seeing no dust. I’ve attached a photo for those that might be in doubt. . . .



Rear

 

[Sidicks]

No, you don't need them.

 

[Jonswright]

Turbo S with ceramic brakes. Depending how you drive the brakes are hardly used outside of any emergency braking.

Unless you're going to race the car on track days it's not essential.

 

[Skilly]

I was schooled on this topic (respectfully). It's easy to overlook how the brakes work on a Taycan but once you do, it will change your criteria for this option.

The mechanical brakes at speed don't come into play until just over .4G and of course at the last portion of your stop. It took a while to wrap my head around it because the feel emulates physical braking perfectly, while not having to resort to single pedal driving like a Tesla. It's pretty remarkable.

That said, PSCB brakes do their thing too and between both, cleaning brake dust is something you can pretty much forget about. The premium to grab them seems like it could be better spent with a better option though. The standard iron brakes are quality expected from Porsche, and even with them, brake dust is pretty minimal.

Given the choice (and I have them) I would put the money into another option.

 

[npx]

No.

 

[blame.latitude]

in the configurator the SCB is only available with 21 inch wheel options. This leads me to believe that they will not fit with 20 inch wheels. While I haven't physically verified this fitment issue, this might be a concern if you are considering a 20 inch winter tire setup at some point.

 

[TDinDC]

My perspective here is that the coated brake are the worst of the three options, because they are the heaviest of the three options.

If you don't think that you will ever need the extra capability of the ceramic brakes (PCCB) AND you don't care about unsprung weight, then I think the right choice for you is the standard brakes, because they are the least expensive, the second heaviest, and EVs require less active braking so brake dust should be less of a problem.

If you instead care about any one of the following:

1. aesthetics (e.g., you have mission-e wheels or other larger wheels for which the standard brakes would not look as good);
2. unsprung weight (so that your car rides, handles and performs better);
3. Brake dust; OR
4. extra-braking performance for such a heavy vehicle,

Then the PCCBs are a superior choice over the coated brakes.

I went for PCCBs for a combination of reasons. Are PCCBs necessary? No, no more necessary than buying a Taycan in the first place. . . of course.

 

[RAHRCR]

Agree that they are not needed. However, if they were 1/2 the cost and came in red as standard, I would have optioned them.

 

[gnop1950]

As others have mentioned there really isn't anything you "need" beyond the base options, or even more extreme no one really needs a Taycan or Porsche of any flavor

So it all comes down to what you "want" versus "need". Of course if you order the Mission E's from the factory you are going to get the PSCBs by default. To upgrade to the PCCBs is another ~$5k. I think the larger brakes look better with the larger wheels and wanted the black calipers. If I had wanted the Yellow calipers I would have optioned the PCCBs (or maybe just had them painted.).

 

[WuffvonTrips]

in the configurator the SCB is only available with 21 inch wheel options. This leads me to believe that they will not fit with 20 inch wheels. While I haven't physically verified this fitment issue, this might be a concern if you are considering a 20 inch winter tire setup at some point.

Turbo has 20" & PSCB as standard.

 

[jetbox]

Agree with op. I had a 4s for two years in Scotland and similar experience with no corrosion on the discs and little brake dust to clean off

 

[mystermykee]

From a functional standpoint, eh. Aesthetically, YES. I have PSCBs and if I had to do it all over again, I would've optioned the PCCBs. It's almost double the cost if you want to get it after. But I've also had aftermarket BBKs on all my previous cars.

 

[Jhenson29]

I have the sport aero wheels so I can’t even see my calipers. I’m not even 100% sure I have any.

Really though, I thought this was all common knowledge by now. No?

 

[Deleted member 6348]

I have the PSCBs and love them. They keep the wheels clean. They look great. They help haul down the car authoritatively. I’ve got more than 15k miles on my Taycan and the pads are showing some wear. They’re definitely playing a role in slowing down the car.

I would totally spec them again.

 

[TDinDC]

I need PCCBs or PSCBs I think for my wheels. I prefer PCCBs.

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