What details do you know about Ferrari's carbon ceramic brakes? They are exotic, yes. They come from F1 racing, sure. Ferrari offered them as an option before now making them standard on their 2008 model year cars. Are they better than traditional steel rotors? If so, how and why? Are they best for track use or for road use too? How much do they cost, exactly? Is it worth it? I went straight to the source and asked an expert. The goal is to dispel misinformation, seek the facts and convey it to those, like me, who want to know more about this new technology.

Lenny Peake is the head mechanic at Ferrari of Silicon Valley, in Redwood City, California. He's been working on Club Sportiva's 2006 Ferrari F430, 2007 Maserati Quattroporte and 2003 Maserati Spyder for some time now. Lenny started with Ferrari in 1997 after a long stint with Jaguar. He has worked at Ferrari of Washington D.C., Ferrari of San Diego and now, Ferrari of Silicon Valley. Who better to ask than the man himself, tasked by Ferrari to run the service department at one of its top dealerships.

On a hot sun scorched Friday afternoon, Lenny and I sat in his office discussing the nuances of Ferrari's decision to make carbon ceramic brakes standard on all its cars and to turn its back on the traditional steel rotors that were once ultra high tech decades ago. Brakes aren't as sexy as exhaust systems that sound great or as involving as transmissions that you shift with but they are a critical component of every sports car.

A few highlights before we talk replacement cost, a common hot button for many are part of the gossip mill. First, Lenny informs me that the carbon ceramic brakes don't help you stop in a shorter distance, but instead they provide superior all around stopping performance across a variety of scenarios from repeated hard braking to emergency braking. On the track, they are most at home in an environment of heavy use with no signs of weakness. This is the strongest benefit to carbon ceramic brakes - ultimate brake performance under the harshest and heaviest usage.

The rotor and the pad are both made of carbon ceramic composite material. The terminology is a little different than with steel rotors. Ferrari uses the term carbon "discs." Carbon ceramic brake performance also improves as they heat up, which is generally the opposite of traditional brakes. Carbon ceramic brakes work fine when "cold" too, at least as well as steel rotors, but their performance increases as the composite gets warmed up with use, which is another reason they work exceptionally well on a track. Early Ferrari carbon ceramic brakes had a tendency to squeal at low speeds, when cold or when wet, making owners uncomfortable with what sounded like shoddy brakes. The pad compound has changed and this embarrassing squeaking issue has been resolved for the most part.

Ferrari doesn't let you retrofit your steel rotors for carbon ceramic discs due to the car's computer algorithm that calculates everything from wear measurements to stopping distances and ABS management to traction control decisions that differ greatly between the two different braking systems. So, if you want carbon ceramic brakes, you'll need to sell one Ferrari and get another!

The carbon ceramic system lasts longer than traditional braking systems, but not dramatically so. An indicator light will come on in your dash pod telling you that your pads are 50% worn. Ferrari recommends changing pads at 50% so that, should you do a grueling track day, you don't wear your brakes down to an unsafe level unknowingly or ruin your steel rotors/carbon discs. An important point to note, you can change your pads two times before you need to install new discs. Lenny also points out that carbon ceramic brakes don't improve your driving, they instead enhance the skills you already have. I think this means, don't get over confident just because you have the technology; applying it appropriately is what makes you faster around a track.

Now, let's talk cost. Yes, carbon ceramic brakes are exotic and thus, expensive. When you could still add them as an option, the package cost buyers about $18,000. Now that they come standard on all Ferraris, that cost simply goes into the base MSRP price of the car. Ideally, as Ferrari builds more of them and recoups its development cost and makes a handsome profit, hopefully we will see the carbon ceramic brake component prices drop to an even more reasonable level.

It is the replacement costs we must contend with on a more regular basis. Let's talk pad replace first, since that happens twice as often as disc replacement. Pads are replaced per axle, meaning fronts and/or rears, but not just the driver side front, for example. Parts cost runs $1,800 per axle, or $3,600 for front and rear. Parts for traditional brakes would $1,000 per axle, or $2,100 for front and rear, leaving a $1,500 price premium for carbon ceramic, or a 71% increase in service cost. The labor remains the same for either system and is not included in these rates, as it varies slightly from state to state.

Actually, the pad replacement is a bargain relative to the disc replacement, which an expensive proposition. When carbon ceramic brakes were brand new, disc replacement was $10,000 per disc, or $20,000 per axle, which they must be replaced in pairs. That's $40,000 for the front and rear...ouch. Fortunately, that has come down already in the past two years to $7,000 per disc, $14,000 per axle or a mere $28,000 for the front and rear. But, steel rotors are only $350 per rotor, $700 per axle or a paltry $1,400 for front and rear when compared to $28,000 for carbon ceramic disc replacement. That's a whopping...1,900% price premium over steel rotors.

The scarier part of carbon ceramic discs is that sometimes they need replaced early simply because they are more fragile than steel rotors and more susceptible to premature failure and thus replacement. For instance, if you get your car off the track (or road) and rocks knick or chip the surface, the disc (and thus the whole axle pair) needs replaced, unlike with more durable steel. If they cool too fast after hard use, they can crack, and again, the whole pair needs replaced.

One great upside to all this is there is no brake dust, so you won't have to wipe your ball polished rims down as often. Hey, don't underestimate that time saving benefit! Because carbon ceramic brakes are still very new, the dealers have limited experience with the variety of issues that will occur over time. To date, Ferrari of Silicon Valley has mostly replaced pads of a number of cars and only the discs on a couple Challenge/Scuderia cars that have been heavily tracked. The experience curve for owners of carbon ceramic brakes will be a bit like the early owners of F355 F1 transmissions. The systems will improve with more miles and those early owners pay a premium for the honor of helping establish the new technology on the street.

Ultimately, the question is, are Ferrari's carbon ceramic brakes worth the cost for the typical owner? Questions and comments welcomed. Look for another article on this and other great topics!

Labels: Carbon ceramic brakes, Carbon discs, Club Sportiva, exotic car share club, Ferrari, Ferrari F430, Ferrari of Silicon Valley, Lenny Peake, Steel rotors