[Yimn]

Has anyone on the forum tried the CCM brake. Based on the Evo review, the CCM brake got this on/off character which I really hate but after raising my concern to my dealer, I was assured it is not the case based on his own driving experience with a MP4 equipped with CCM brake over a few days.

Love to hear from those who have actually experience with the CCM brake. Getting my car in October so my spec has been frozen but love to hear objective opinion from you guys.

 

[HyperMac954]

I haven't driven the McLaren yet, but other cars I've driven with CCB have been hit or miss. Lambo Superleggera was VERY on/off, while the 911 Turbo S was just fine. From talking to the dealer and McLaren engineers, I opted for regular brakes. They're lighter and brake better under regular duty. Plus save quite a chunk of change.

 

[andy c]

I haven't driven the McLaren yet, but other cars I've driven with CCB have been hit or miss. Lambo Superleggera was VERY on/off, while the 911 Turbo S was just fine. From talking to the dealer and McLaren engineers, I opted for regular brakes. They're lighter and brake better under regular duty. Plus save quite a chunk of change.

Also gone for regular,mainly from my laps at dunsfold where i tried both cars,admittedly under track driving the ccb are not going to grab.But i came to the conclusion that standard would be best because after driving them i know they were better than the ccb on my turbo which i can get to fade after a stint of hard driving,but the Mclarens steels never did.
I asked chris goodwin why this would be,he said they had done alot of work on the cooling,and although porsche brakes are one of the best,they dont need to work l a race car,and thats what mclaren does,also i suspect that with the air brake the heat distribution is more evenly spread over the 4 rotors and will never get as hot as a normal configured car in the same situation

 

[SSO]

My experience with other manufacturers steel vs carbon has been mixed. Only place I can see where the carbon make a real difference is on the track. For the road, the steel have much better overall feel.

 

[GT-TT]

Ceramics all the way. If you don't spec those then make sure you don't subsequently test drive a car with them as you will want to retrofit them.
Went through same process with P cars and whoever did not get them was looking desperately to find 2nd hand ones to retrofit.
The feeling of ceramics is light years ahead of steel brakes. I test drove 2 cars at dunsfold with them and they were fine compared to my pccbs in my current car.
The only reason not to get them is if you have a budget to keep to.

my 2 cents on this subject

 

[roundincircles]

How deep are your pockets? My Porsche GT3 track driving buddies have all switched back to Cast Iron having been charged £15,000 for replacement DISCS at about 18 month use, can't tell you the track mileage but probably hard track day use. Remember the option cost OF circa £10,000 is the premium over standard brakes so replacement disc cost is SIGNIFICANTLY higher and we need to ask what that cost is!!!

Now as for ceramic discs they are fantastic on track, like throwing 10 anchors out back if you hit them very very hard, truly awesome. A heavy V12 Vantage will retard on a sixpence time and time again all day at Silverston. On the road they will be OK because the car is heavy but when road driving squeal like a Schoolgirl chased by a boy in the playground....OK there must be a better analogy.

When I drove the 458 on the road I nearly went through the first roundabout because the brakes did not work at low speeds, just terrible until they get heat and then pretty good.

So if you have the dosh and track your cars go ceramic but if you drive on the highway, in my opinion, go for Iron. Kevin McGarrity, Chief Test Diver is in no doubt the standard brakes are awesome for a couple of track days per year and the road.

 

[andy c]

How deep are your pockets? My Porsche GT3 track driving buddies have all switched back to Cast Iron having been charged £15,000 for replacement DISCS at about 18 month use, can't tell you the track mileage but probably hard track day use. Remember the option cost OF circa £10,000 is the premium over standard brakes so replacement disc cost is SIGNIFICANTLY higher and we need to ask what that cost is!!!

Now as for ceramic discs they are fantastic on track, like throwing 10 anchors out back if you hit them very very hard, truly awesome. A heavy V12 Vantage will retard on a sixpence time and time again all day at Silverston. On the road they will be OK because the car is heavy but squeal like a Schoolgirl chased by a boy in the playground....OK there must be a better analogy.

When I drove the 458 on the road I nearly went through the first roundabout because the brakes did not work at low speeds, just terrible until they get heat and then pretty good.

So if you have the dosh and track your cars go ceramic but if you drive on the highway, in my opinion, go for Iron. Kevin McGarrity, Chief Test Diver is in no doubt the standard brakes are awesome for a couple of track days per year and the road.

totally agree,but ive heard that Mclaren are keeping the costs down for replacement rotors to £1500 a quarter,cant remember were but easy to get confirmation if you want to go that route

 

[GT-TT]

45k kms of hard use and 10 track days and mine are just fine and i am running 700+ hp on a heavier car. Now if you do 50 track days+ then maybe you'll kill the rotors - or maybe not. However by the time you ll need to change ceramic rotors at the macca (at 6k cost) you ll have gone through 5 sets of steels and 30 sets of pads so running cost will be higher but not that crazy.
I have yet to see a set of steels (stock or AM) that can withstand very hard repeated braking.
The thing is though that even disregarding the above, the sensation of just touching the brake and getting instant feel is really changing the experience of driving a sports car.

The GT3 guys that race their cars 20 times a year may be better off with big steels but that's the only scenario that I think this would really make sense.
Btw also the mclaren people told me to go ceramics all the way if i intend to drive the car hard.

 

[6th element]

I pressed my dealer for cost and life expectancy before ordering CCBs. Apparently the North American Service Manager told him it will cost 5700 British pounds to replace all 4 rotors (all 4 pads 350 pounds) and should last approx 8,000-10,000 miles of heavy track use.

These costs are very competitive vs. Ferrari, Porsche, etc. although Corvette is much cheaper still for CCB.

 

[Rich]

Before you decide on the CCB PLEASE test drive a car with them.

I drove a car with them at Dunsfold, and they grind and vibrate so badly that I was convinced the pads had dropped off. I'd only spec them if it was a 100% track car - but then I wouldn't have a 12C!

Apparently in the group of people on the test day, only one had specced CCB (for visual purposes). At the end of the day, he changed his order back to standard.

 

[roundincircles]

Good advice.

 

[falb]

I have not driven the 12C but have driven/tracked both braking systems and would argue the opposite.

The carbons would be my choice for a car that will spend most of its time on the street with limited track days. Why? They work great. There is no brake dust. The brakes should last the life of the car. They should require little to no maintenance. The lambo CCBs are totally on or off but this is not typical. The new porsche CCBs are fantastic.

The cast iron setup is better for a heavy track use car because ANY heavily tracked car needs lots of maintenance and it is best to just keep throwing brake fluid/pads/rotors at it so they are always inspected and reasonably fresh. And they are not too expensive.

That is my opinion and it is not based on any experience with the 12C. For what its worth, I plan to spec the carbon brakes and not do too much time on the track with this car. If McLaren were to sell me a track version of the 12C I would likely go with iron.

 

[roundincircles]

Interesting opinion. Guess we have to test drive the options, that's the issue for all of us. But we have to speculate because we want to drive the blo...dy car tout sweet!

I would dearly like the Carbons to work on the street but suspect I will go for Iron. Time will tell....

 

[Yimn]

Thanks for the reply so far.I ordered the CCM brake really for look given its size. As long as it is not on/off like lambo's, i am happy.

 

[SSO]

A few years ago I had a couple of friends with 430 Challenges, they all swapped the CCB for steel brakes due to cost and dependability. If you put the car into the gravel with a set of CCBs you can easily end up having to replace a few chipped discs.

 

[widowmaker911]

12c gt3

interesting how the 12C GT3 race car has cast iron disc

 

[gallardo62]

for me iron for sure !!!

"A few years ago I had a couple of friends with 430 Challenges, they all swapped the CCB for steel brakes due to cost and dependability. If you put the car into the gravel with a set of CCBs you can easily end up having to replace a few chipped discs.
"

McLaren at Dunsfold said to me "yes the iron brakes are as efficient as yours in your GT3 RS MK2"
nothing to add

if IGIRL in this forum is ok to explain the "problems" he has now with his 458...

430 scuderia on track days : => ok for swapping braking ccm system by brembo iron solution (more efficient and cheaper)
997 GT3 in driving school => iron 100% for the same mileage you change 3 times your ccm pads vs classicals pads for iron disc

i own also a GTR2011 (iron 390mm ) no problem for cooling (several trackdays), and the car is pretty fast

 

[gallardo62]

agree with falb

 

[Osiris_x11]

store the steelies, swap in the carbon-ceramics. . .

Not sure of the carbon-ceramic brake fabrication that McLaren is employing for the Mp4-12C (namely whether the discs are actually multiple layers of carbon-ceramic discs or merely an alloy disc w/ carbon-ceramic chips/coating bonded on; the latter is what nearly all other manufacturers have offered & thus their underwhelming longevity).

FWIW, I'm planning on going w/ the "steel" brakes & immediately swapping them off for some Mov'It carbon-ceramic brake discs/pads to use w/ the original OEM brake-calipers (Mov'It offers such for those willing to do just that, it's basically plug-&-play - swap the discs/pads). IMVHO, these are true carbon-ceramic brakes, superior to any other OEM offering out there at this moment in terms of drivability, performance and durability/longevity (once again, I'm not sure of what McLaren's offering is yet - though I'll hopefully know after this evening's Mp4-12C showing/unveiling locally).

Otherwise, I feel the MP4-12C to be the perfect platform as-is (for me), other than some aesthetic/cosmetic overlays for protecting surfaces from wear-&-tear (which also serves as finding a happy-medium between the CF-upgrades & the standard/basic finishes on those components/areas). Even the wheels (lightweight forged offering) are to my liking & totally my cup o' tea!


Note: I have no affiliation w/ Mov'It.

 

[roundincircles]

Oris_x12. Intriguing approach, so what is the fitted and purchase cost of these brakes?