Is your Porsche sounding like a school bus or garbage truck when coming to a stop?

This can happen if you do a considerable amount of slower speed city driving, or stop-and-go driving in traffic, especially when using lighter brake pedal pressure. What commonly occurs is that a glazing layer will build up between the brake pads and brake rotors, due to a lower amount of friction/heat being present during the lower speed braking. This squeaking or screeching is a completely different issue than grinding, and can occur with any street brake pad compound—from factory/OEM to performance pads. One way to remedy this squeaking or screeching noise is to completely re-bed the brake pads and rotors, as this introduces a high amount of heat/friction which will help burn the glazing layer off of the brake components. We suggest following the brake component manufacturer’s recommended bed-in (ie brake bedding) procedures. After proper bedding, your brake squeak should subside (until you get stuck in stop-and-go traffic again, at which time the squeak may or may not return).

You will know when the bedding is complete when the rotor has an even shine on the rotor surface. Any spotting or blotting on the rotor surface is an indication that the pads are not yet fully bedded. Repeat the bedding procedure until the rotor surface is even.

An example of a bedding proceedure

Another potential cause of brake squeak can be brake dust which has built up considerably between the brake pads and brake rotors. Washing out this brake dust with a hose can help minimize this annoying squeak.

If you hear a grinding noise from your brakes, then it’s possible that you either have a small rock stuck between your pad and rotor, and/or your brake pad material is worn down to the pad’s metal backing plate. If the latter, then you will need new brake pads and rotors installed, as now the brake rotor(s) is grooved from being scored by the metal backing plate.

If you have any questions regarding this topic, please feel free to ask. No question is a silly question.

Jeremy Williams is the Oregon PCA Technical editor. He co-owns Matrix Integrated Inc. (Matrix Integrated Inc.) with his brother Justin. Jeremy can be reached at [email protected]

ORPCA Member Login

ORPCA Member Logout

LOGIN HELP

  • For your first login, you need to set your password
  • Click the “LOGIN” button
  • A window opens asking for your username and password. Don’t enter anything, but click “Lost your password?” (the blue text below the Login button)
  • A window will open asking you for your email address to receive a link for setting a new password. Please use the same email you used for your PCA registration.
  • After clicking Submit, check your emails for a Password Reset email from ORPCA.
  • Open the email and follow the link. Another window opens asking you for a new password. After entering your new password  click Submit.
  • Go back to the Join Us! page (Home Page > ORPCA > Join Us!)
  • Click the LOGIN button. The login window will appear. Please enter your email (the same you used for the PCA registration) and your password, then click Submit.
  • After a few seconds you will be logged in. On the top right of the screen you will see a Welcome message with your First Name and “(PCA Member)”
  • The Join Us! site will now show a welcome message and options to join PCA, read about the ORPCA membership benefits and a button for contacting  our Membership Chair if you encountered any issues or need help.

Join the Club! Join the Fun!

Thank you for your interest in joining Porsche Club of America!

To join PCA, please visit https://www.pca.org/join-porsche-club-america or give PCA a call at 410-381-0911, Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm ET.

Please make sure to have the VIN # of your Porsche handy when you are ready to join.

We look forward to seeing you at a PCA event soon!

Own a Porsche? Join the club. Over 150,000 of your fellow Porsche owners already have.

For over 65 years, the Porsche Club of America has been dedicated to enhancing the Porsche ownership experience. No matter what your interest – social, technical, or competitive – PCA has something to offer every Porsche owner.

We know the unbridled joy that owning a Porsche can provide, and we’ve built a community around that very feeling. The Porsche Club of America offers driving experience, technical assistance, member benefits, and camaraderie second to none. Over the years, our club has grown to 147 Regions across North America. We guarantee there is a PCA Region near you filled with friendly Porsche fanatics.

At PCA, we believe all Porsches are equal. So, whether you are passionate about your 356, 911, 912, 914, 924, 928, 944, 968, Macan, Cayenne, Cayman, Boxster, Taycan, Panamera or any of the other amazing Porsche models, you are always welcome at our events and gatherings.

From over 3,500 local and national events including driving activities, social gatherings, autocross, track days, high performance driver education, club racing, tech sessions, car shows, insider exclusives and premieres: there’s something for everyone at PCA. 

Membership is open to all Porsche owners, co-owners, or lessees who are 18 years of age or older. At the time of joining, the member of record is permitted to name either a relative or other interested person to become an affiliate member, at no additional cost. The family or affiliate member also must be 18 years of age or older.

If you don’t yet own a Porsche but want to join PCA, consider entering our PCA Test Drive program.

PCA membership is available in three payment options: 

  • 1 year…..  $56
  • 2 years…  $110
  • 3 years…  $162

Membership dues are payable in U.S. funds by check, money order, Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. The fee includes a subscription to Porsche Panorama, PCA’s award-winning monthly magazine and the world’s premier publication dedicated to Porsches.

Ready to join?

Click here for more information about payment options, or if you want to pay online and have your credit card and Porsche’s VIN handy, head straight over to the Membership Application Form.

PCA Membership Fee is $56 / 1 year, $110 / 2 years, $162 / 3 years

Benefits of ORPCA Membership

  • Join any of our 70 plus Driving Events, 15 plus Social Events, 10 plus Garage Events
  • Online access to the two most recent, award winning monthly Anzeiger magazines with articles about club events and drives, calendar of upcoming events, classifieds 
  • Receive our weekly Member email with information about upcoming events and information about registration dates and times. This enable you to register to our events early as many fill up quickly.
  • Free access to our Digital Navigation Account with RidewithGPS. All our drives and tours are in the tour library.
  • Receive a yearly ORPCA Member Directory
  • Receive an annual Calendar with select pictures from our events
  • Receive an ORPCA Name Badge
  • Receive anniversary pins for the name badge every 5 years

The yearly membership fee is $35

President's Message

Carol Hedstrom

Laying the Groundwork for 2026 Events

October is one of my favorite months. I enjoy the warm, muted colors of autumn, the slanted rays of sunlight before the Pacific Northwest slips into its grey winter coat. For me, it’s also a time of reflection about the months that have passed and a welcome phase of routine before the winter holidays. Even though there is routine and less travel, planning for the coming year is in full swing. As you probably know, Q4 is when the Club starts laying the groundwork for events in the coming year.

Although the Board will meet and strategize and outline events for 2026, this is a member-led Club. I would like to solicit your input and feedback. Please drop me an email or give me a call with your thoughts about what worked this year, as well as what didn’t. The goal is improvement! What can we tweak, what can be improved? Your constructive criticism is welcome, but remember, we are all volunteers, so please be gentle.

The 65th Year of ORPCA has been great! There have been 58 drives so far, two perfect runnings of Northwest Passage, and two new multi-day tours (Snake & Bake and Scenic Oregon). Road and Fork, the smaller social gatherings at various ethnic restaurants, have been added and are very popular. We added more special interest drives in the summer, more ladies’ drives, a pride drive, and turned up en masse at more local cars and coffee events. In brief, we were out and about and seen in more places than ever.

We would like to keep the momentum going for 2026. In order to do that, volunteers are needed and welcome. If you have an idea for an event or would like to give a little time to the Club, please contact me. Being part of the backbone of an event is very satisfying. Organizing, helping and volunteering don’t always put you at the forefront, but rather allows you to see the benefit of your efforts through the smiles on others faces.

Let’s drive 2026 together! Contact me with your ideas and tweaks.

You can reach me at [email protected]