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Brake squeal: Nobody likes it. That high-pitched sound burrows into your brain stem, making you seriously consider crashing into the stopped car ahead rather than stepping on the brakes again. But it’s not always a sign that something is wrong, as Porsche would like politely remind everyone with a new video dispelling a few myths on the automotive world’s least favorite noise.
We love these kinds of official explainer videos for the subtext, which is that the company appears to be sick of owners complaining that their six-figure sports car sounds like a junkyard-special jalopy as they ease up to a stoplight. Their gripes are understandable, if misguided.
Consider the fact that the silent brakes found on most cars are minor engineering marvels—we’re talking about stopping a two-ton metal missile with pure friction. Now think about the high-performance demands on braking systems in cars like the Porsche 911 GT2 RS.
The video delves into the various sources of brake noises in a perfectly functional system; that is, we’re not talking mechanical problems here. Even with the most expensive designs and materials, pressing a pad against a metal disc spinning extremely fast can cause tiny vibrations that turn the rotor into a speaker broadcasting the squeal to everyone. That’s doubly true in bigger, stronger brakes with larger surface areas, which leave more room for extremely small variations in pressure along the pad’s contact patch.
Additionally, the advanced materials (think carbon ceramics) used in high-performance applications are often designed with stopping power first and noise reduction second. Porsche wants you to know they try very hard to mitigate that with some engineering trickery, and there are methods you yourself can try at home to cut down on the noise, but the video closes by noting that “some squealing is inevitable.”
So yes, it may not be the best look as you pull into your driveway in your new Porsche and shatter every window in the neighborhood. But don’t worry—everything’s working exactly as intended.
