elvin315

UPDATE: The rear discs previously listed are wrong. The correct discs are listed below with the corrected price.

 

The rear calipers to use are the twin opposed piston Brembos from the 2005-2007 STI Impreza, but they ain't cheap. Checked eBay and the online used parts yards and they're just out of my price range. The OEM Legacy rears are starting to look pretty good. I think I'll clean them, rebuild them, paint them red, load them with EBC Yellow Stuff pads, mount them on drilled & slotted StopTech discs and call it a day.

 

Then again..................

 

Obsession is a terrible thing, and I'm obsessed with the idea of bigger rear brakes. The Brembos are too expensive for me so I'm piecing together a kit. Both KNS, Torque Solution, and Kartboy make adapting brackets for the Subaru FHI and Brembo calipers, but the Kartboy is much more expensive. I found the FHI calipers, StopTech drilled & slotted discs, steel braided hoses, and brake pads on RockAutoParts.

 

DISCLAIMER: This is pure guesswork! Follow this at your own risk. The calipers and brackets will fit each other and the brackets should fit the backing plate. Hoses are hoses so no problem there. It's the discs I'm concerned with. Will they be centered in the calipers and will they align circumference wise?

 

Brackets (KNS & Torque Solution)

KNS Kit

http://www.knsbrakes.com/c/caliper-items/2282

Instructions: http://www.knsbrakes.com/c/rear-brembo

$199 a set

 

Torque Solution

SKU: TS-SU-317

https://subimods.com/torque-solution-rear-brake-caliper-adapter-2002-2005-wrx-2002-2008-forester-2000-2009-legacy.html

Similar to the KNS brackets

$199 a set

 

Calipers (06-07) WRX

A-1 CARDONE 193133 {#26692FE040, 26692FE050} Reman. Includes: Caliper and Hardware

Rear Left; WRX Limited; WRX Model; WRX TR; with Metal Piston

 

A-1 CARDONE 193132 {#26692FE040} Reman. Includes: Caliper and Hardware

Rear Right; WRX Limited; WRX Model; WRX TR; with Metal Piston

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...435927&jsn=770

$110 ea. ($65 refundable core charge)

 

Discs (05-07) WRX

CENTRIC 12747025L StopTech Sport Drilled/Slotted Disc

Rear Left; WRX Model

CENTRIC 12747025R StopTech Sport Drilled/Slotted Disc

Rear Right; WRX Model

$71 ea.

 

Pads, WRX

CENTRIC 30904611 StopTech Sport

Rear; WRX Model

$38 ea. x 2

 

Hoses (00-09) Legacy

CENTRIC 95047505 StopTech Stainless Steel; Sold as a Pair Info

Rear; Stainless Steel Brake Lines

$45 a pair

 

Approx. Total: $750 (-$130 core deposit = $552)

As for the rear brakes I'm doing research. I found a kit from KNS Brakes that will allow mounting WRX/STI dual piston rear calipers but I find it a bit pricey. The heart of the kit is the adapter which you can buy separately from the kit. KNS is careful not to be too specific about the model years of the new calipers so I have some more work to do. If your curious:

 

http://www.knsbrakes.com/c/kns-bracket

 

I've learned that the rear calipers are twin opposed piston Brembos from the 2005-2007 STI Impreza. They ain't cheap. Checked eBay and they range from $170 ea. to $650 ea. I shopped the online used parts yards and they start at $300 ea. to "Call Us For a Price". That's not including the mounting bracket, The OEM Legacy rears are starting to look pretty good. I think I'll clean them, rebuild them, paint them red, load them with EBC Yellow Stuff pads, mount them on drilled & slotted StopTech discs and call it a day.

Perfection for this upgrade would be a few agreements on rear setups that forum members liked.

 

I agree. My new brakes are only a weekend old. I don't ride the brake on downhill grades, using my paddle shifters to downshift to use engine braking. Same in the turns, picking the right entry speed, and trusting my BF Goodrichs to get me through. Maybe I'll get to the school parking lot since school is out and look for the point of lock-up and how she behaves when I find it.

 

As for the rear brakes I'm doing research. I found a kit from KNS Brakes that will allow mounting WRX/STI dual piston rear calipers but I find it a bit pricey. The heart of the kit is the adapter which you can buy separately from the kit. KNS is careful not to be too specific about the model years of the new calipers so I have some more work to do. If your curious:

 

http://www.knsbrakes.com/c/kns-bracket

Sooo maybe trhis has been answered somewhere in this thread - how do these compare to STi brembos in terms of size wheel required? Particularly do they require more diameter or more space to spokes? At some point I'll be going aftermarket wheels with my eye on O.Z. Leggera HLT, 17 or 18, I'm still not sure, both would be 45 offset. I like the 17 for cheaper and more tire options, but I'm hesitant to go with 17 wheels and limit potential brake bling down the road.

 

My wheels are 18x8 Sparco Trofeo 5s with 48mm Offset. The ATS/Brembo calipers need evey spare mm they can get to fit inside those wheels.

 

The front end is coming along. The ATS/Brembos, braided steel brake lines, and drilled/slotted discs are on, as well as the KSport Coilovers.

 

The stopping power is phenomenal and they look great. The KSports are 1/2 inch lower and aligned to spec. Whether I lower them more is to be determined and I'm still dialing in the compression & rebound but a zillion times better than the worn-out Bilsteins. As you can see I removed the backing plate altogether to improve caliper & disc cooling.

 

Still have the polyurethane LCA bushings and thicker swaybars waiting but they'll be going on soon. In the meantime...........

 

 

 

My ATS/Brembo Calipers with EBC Yellow Stuff pads on Drilled & Slotted Discs

 

Behind my Sparco Trofeo Wheels

 

All hanging off KSport Coilovers

North Dakota Winter 2015

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=221339&d=1450202814

 

My Deep Bronze 3.0R needs that Grille. My last car had a similar looking grille that I sent away to Poland for. It fit flush like the one on this car and filled the opening nicely. I especially like how the mesh on this one slopes down from the edge of the hood to the edge of the bumper. It's a subtle change but I love it. If it's not too much trouble, could someone PM me, or reply here with the info I'll need to order one?

 

Thanks...........

 

FYI: This my old 2001 Cadillac Catera Sport with its Polish grille.

http://m1.i.pbase.com/g9/69/14969/2/159167071.9758T2S7.jpg

Just painted and labeled, my 4 piston ATS/Brembo calipers......

 

Brembo stickers are plentiful. I got mine from:

http://houseofgrafx.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=308

 

I just painted the ATS calipers and plan to mount them soon.

Before:

 

After:

My first cosmetic upgrades:

 

Sparco Trofeo 5 wheels painted Bronze - $146.00

18x8 / 23lbs

 

BF Goodrich g-Force Sport Comp-2 - $107.45

Max Performance Summer Tires - 215/45ZR-18

 

Both items from TireRack.com. I wanted Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s but they were back ordered 3 months. Who wants to wait a whole summer for tires you'll have to swap for winter tires by Halloween?

Hopefully this lip lasts as long as it took to put on.

 

NYC is completely unkind to anything lower than stock

 

I know what you mean......I'm a Bronx Boy myself, though I don't live in The City now. Back in the '50s and '60s a lot of cars had Curb Feelers, wire whiskers that touched obstacles before any real damage could be done. The scraping noise was your warning. Good idea but too tacky for the 21st century. Naturally there's an electronic solution, but it's pricey.

 

A DIY solution could be rigged up with some type of micro-switch with a stiff black feeler extending out from the front lip, and a buzzer or light on the dash.

If you like diy you can do this with GC8 struts and make a braket, Dead Mr. did it on his car, heres a link to his post http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5377810&postcount=203

 

Double thanks!! Those are the exact pix I was looking for.

You guys are terrific. Thanks!

I've seen pix (that of course I can't find now) of Legacys with pneumatic struts holding up the hood instead of the support rod like on my 2008 3.0R. Would anyone tell me how to do this to my car?

When it comes to running gear, Subarus are highly interchangeable, up and down the model lines. The brakes on the 3.0R are the same as the GT, so you won't have any additional fitment issues.

Thanks. That's what I needed to know.

 

 

 

The Subispeed kit is marked up $$$ anyway, better to get everything separately.

Yeah, I noticed.

you can buy the whole kit from Subispeed now.

 

My confusion with your recommendation is that Subispeed doesn't list the Legacy in any way, shape, or form. I've already bought the parts from Amazon and been notified that they're in transit. Thanks anyway.

I'm new to the Subaru world and not familiar with all the model subtleties. I own a 3.0R and am told it shares a lot with the spec B. Right or wrong? Or is it closer to a GT? I'm sure you're right about mentioning it earlier but considering this topic is 26 pages long I may have missed it. Please forgive my newbieness.

I'm shopping using the list and part numbers provided on page 1 and so far found the calipers, rotors, hardware kit, and pads, but am having trouble with the Centric 950.44034P steel braided lines though. Seems there's no such part with that number. If I knew what car the lines are for (STI, ATS, CTS, Legacy, etc.) maybe I could continue my search. I'm really jazzed about this brake swap and want to round up the parts and get going with it. Thanks!

Now I have a question for you. I see you polished the plastic headlight lenses. Mine are stained inside and I don't know how to crack them open and reseal them. Any Legacy specific articles or threads that you know of, or maybe you documented how you did it (plus a step by step on how you blacked out the housings).

Amazon.com naturally!

 

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=gordon+glass+cerium+oxide&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=85814953848&hvpos=1t1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15269290014899480658&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004311&hvtargid=kwd-77280231513&ref=pd_sl_82fg911cda_b

Are the foglights plastic or glass? Since sanding isn't doing the trick I'll assume they're glass. My daughter is a photographer and restores antique cameras. She uses Cerium Oxide powder to polish the old lenses. I found a BMW site that outlines the procedure for their foglights.

 

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39-m5-e52-z8-discussion/143993-diy-fog-light-sanding-refinishing-pics.html

 

No reason it shouldn't work for you.

I realize it's been about 4 years since the last post here but I'm sure this thread as been read by many owners during that period. I'm one of them. I just wanted to go on record and thank you and the other contributors. I'm a brand new owner of a 2008 30.R Limited with 97,000 miles on her. At speed (No offense Ladies. I refer to my vehicles as females. Anything I love as much as my car or motorcycle has to be feminine.) she bottoms out easily over dips in the road that other cars barely notice, and the less said about potholes the better. Her body rolls more in the curves than I like, and she pushes in the tight ones.

 

My previous car, a 2001 Cadillac Catera Sport, had its ACDelco struts and shocks replaced with Yellow Koni Sports front and rear, along with 2006 Pontiac GTO springs which were stiffer and shorter by an inch. The front and rear ends also got polyurethane bushings where available. She had 90,000 miles at the time and was a little tired, understeering in turns, and shaking violently under braking. After the upgrades she felt reborn, a true German sport sedan, since underneath her Cadillac badging she was actually an Opel Omega MV6.

 

So far I've decided to replace the front & rear struts on my Legacy with fresh Bilstein B6s, along with thicker anti-swaybars F&R, fresh end links and tie-rod ends, Tein H-Tech lowering springs springs (.9 inch), and poly bushings all around. Naturally, I have a few questions.

1. Whiteline has adjustable anti-swaybar endlinks, but I'm not sure what they accomplish by being adjustable.
   
2. Whiteline also makes a Front Offset Top Mounts for lowered cars that alter the camber and caster settings. Would you recommend them?
   
3. Whiteline has a Roll Center Kit that supposedly improves the handling to lowered cars. Worth it?
   
4. I'm going with the Tribeca front anti-swaybar. What diameter rear bar would result in a slight bias towards oversteer? I prefer that to understeer.
   
5. I've seen references to poly Steering Rack Bushings. What problem do they fix?
   

I'm still at the research stage so nothing is carved in stone (except for the front Lower Control Arm poly bushings I've already purchased). Answers to these questions will steer me to my car's eventual upgrades. I appreciate any and all advice. Thank you!