supercow2610 Posted October 5, 2017 Share Posted October 5, 2017 Hi, I have the 2010 2.5i AT. I am trying to figure if upgrading to the bigger brakes available on the 3.6R OR upgrade current pads and rotor will help the car stop better. I am currently running Akebono proact and stoptech cryo rotors. Here are the part numbers for the left side (on both the 17" and 16" options for the front brake for MY2010) : 26292SA011 26292AG051 Right side: 26292AG041 26292SA001 And # for disk brake cover: 26290AG03A 26290AG02A any input would be appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_A_ron Posted October 5, 2017 Share Posted October 5, 2017 Higher quality pads and rotors all day for your case. I wasn't aware the 3.6R had bigger brakes. If it does they are going to be heavier than yours and for the gains in stopping power you get you'll spend a ton of money getting parts and installing them. Most people who do the big brake kits are getting them because they are lighter than stock set ups and the extra rotor material resists brake fade on track day because they can collect and dissipate more heat before becoming heat soaked. Another thing to consider is your tires. When it comes to stopping something has to give if you slam on your brakes. Either your tires will skid or your brakes will skid. You can test it now on an empty road or parking lot. Punch the gas up to about 30 and them stomp the brake pedal. If your tires skid or your ABS kicks in you know your brakes are better than your tires. Getting the right set of all season tires can be helpful in making you feel more confident when braking. Better than all seasons would be a good quality set of summer tires with a good wet rating and a set of winter tires if you live where the temperature can regularly get below 40 F in the winter/rainy season. Cheapest option: In your case if you need new brake pads and your rotors are decent just get a set of quality low noise low dust brake pads and you'll feel like your driving a luxury car. Second Cheapest option: Pads mentioned above and new rotors that are slotted. There are a lot of arguments on drilled/slotted/both/none but the actual brake manufacturer experts will tell you slotted rotors will give you a sharper bite with initial braking. This is often what people think good brakes are and will trick your mind and friends into thinking you have racing brakes. Pricey but not insane option 1: Pads, rotors, and summer tires for reasons mentioned above. Pricey but not insane option 2: If you think your tires are good enough. Pads, rotors, stainless steel braided brake lines, and a master cylinder brace. Sadly you missed the group buy on the last one but I am sure you could find one used or order it. A lot of people say that have bad brakes based on the pedal feel. The spongy feel comes from expanding rubber brake lines, master cylinder movement, or air in your brake lines. Expensive option: Both of the pricey options. Tires, brakes lines, brace, pads, and rotors. Note: we are still on the stock calipers. This is because I don't think you are racing or doing extreme heavy braking. Throw Money at it until it's not an issue option: Big Brake Kit, you can spend 1500 or 5000 depending on brand or style. Most common is to find a wrecked STI from 08-14 and get all 4 calipers for about 1000-1500 depending on miles and need for rebuild. Direct bolt on. There's a thread with part numbers of STI rotors that are cross drilled and have the right brake drum size for your parking brake. Get some fancy STI pads as well and you have killer brakes but they'll still feel spongy so we need those SS brakes lines and the master cylinder brace. All of this stopping power and no way to get it to the road, time for new sticky summer racing tires. Get the softest compound out there. They may only last 20k miles but you'll never have to worry about stopping if you keep your eyes on the road. Lastly the heavy stock wheels carry a lot of rotating inertia and make your new brake set up work really hard. Get a couple grand out of your checking account and get the newest Enkei light weight rpf wheels. Build Thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgoodhue Posted October 5, 2017 Share Posted October 5, 2017 The bigger 3.6R/2.5GT front brakes will require 17" rims. In normal driving, I never really felt like I needed larger brakes on my 2.5i. When I was towing my boat, larger brakes would have helped. If you often had a fully load car maybe it might be worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nads Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 How do you drive your car? Tires go a long way in helping braking too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTEASER Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 The 2.5i has 11.6" vented rotors in the front and solid rotors in the rear. Upgrading to the 2.5GT/3.6R brakes would be a significant change with 12.4" vented in the front and vented discs in the rear. I did this on my Forester XT (which stock has the same size brakes and solid disc rear as the Legacy 2.5i) and the increase in stopping power and brake feel was very notable. http://www.cars101.com/subaru/legacy/legacy2010.html GTEASER's 2012 Legacy GT - Sold GTEASER's 2009 XTeaser - Sold GTEASER's 1992 Legacy SS - Sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supercow2610 Posted October 8, 2017 Author Share Posted October 8, 2017 The bigger 3.6R/2.5GT front brakes will require 17" rims. In normal driving, I never really felt like I needed larger brakes on my 2.5i. When I was towing my boat, larger brakes would have helped. If you often had a fully load car maybe it might be worthwhile. I have 17” rim and the brakes look tiny...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supercow2610 Posted October 8, 2017 Author Share Posted October 8, 2017 How do you drive your car? Tires go a long way in helping braking too... I tend to speed and sometimes a bit aggressively. I do like a smooth and comfort focused braking. The akebono is ratd with only 2/5 braking power on tire rack. I chose them over the hawk because the akebono were ceramic vs. composite on the hawk. I shouldve gone with the hawk street pad bc the akebono loses its bite after braking consecutively especially in traffic. Shouldve gone with the hawks. I have a new set of michellin all season with high rate in tire rack. So tires are taken care of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supercow2610 Posted October 8, 2017 Author Share Posted October 8, 2017 The 2.5i has 11.6" vented rotors in the front and solid rotors in the rear. Upgrading to the 2.5GT/3.6R brakes would be a significant change with 12.4" vented in the front and vented discs in the rear. I did this on my Forester XT (which stock has the same size brakes and solid disc rear as the Legacy 2.5i) and the increase in stopping power and brake feel was very notable. http://www.cars101.com/subaru/legacy/legacy2010.html I was thinking of doing so but to upgrade alll 4 brakes, ill be $600 out for parts. Thats rough. Guess ill order the hawk street and slap them on. Btw, i did the perrin dampener and the car drives like a champ! I saw your posts abt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTEASER Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 I was thinking of doing so but to upgrade alll 4 brakes, ill be $600 out for parts. Thats rough. Guess ill order the hawk street and slap them on. Btw, i did the perrin dampener and the car drives like a champ! I saw your posts abt it.A lot of people like Hawk pads, a lot of other people think they suck. I have them on the front of my GT right now because they came with the Brembos that I bought. They are not bad, but also not good. I have been running Carbotech Bobcats and Carbotech XP8/XP10 on my stock Subaru calipers on both my Fozz and my GT for the last few years. IMHO, Carbotech pads are superior to any other pads I have run ever. The feel and modulation is just always there. In fact today was the first day I did any hard braking in the GT with the Brembo/Hawk combo, and the feedback from this Hawk pads was very lacking. The power of the Brembos was there, but the pads were numb. My stock GT calipers with Carbotech pads were amazingly beautiful. GTEASER's 2012 Legacy GT - Sold GTEASER's 2009 XTeaser - Sold GTEASER's 1992 Legacy SS - Sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cww516 Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 I haven't tried any of those pads (or any other than stock), and I haven't done any track driving or anything that would really dump a lot of heat into them, but I'll say that I'm plenty happy with my EBC Yellowstuff so far. If you can handle a little dust, they're great, plenty of cold bite and a very linear feel. I've only had one all-out panic stop so far (knock on wod), when a piece of 2.5' x 4' or so sheet metal flew off of an open trailer at about 45 MPH- I had room to spare after it hit the road to adjust and straddle it, and with stock pads, I may have been looking at a new front bumper and radiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supercow2610 Posted October 8, 2017 Author Share Posted October 8, 2017 A lot of people like Hawk pads, a lot of other people think they suck. I have them on the front of my GT right now because they came with the Brembos that I bought. They are not bad, but also not good. I have been running Carbotech Bobcats and Carbotech XP8/XP10 on my stock Subaru calipers on both my Fozz and my GT for the last few years. IMHO, Carbotech pads are superior to any other pads I have run ever. The feel and modulation is just always there. In fact today was the first day I did any hard braking in the GT with the Brembo/Hawk combo, and the feedback from this Hawk pads was very lacking. The power of the Brembos was there, but the pads were numb. My stock GT calipers with Carbotech pads were amazingly beautiful. Thanks for the suggestions, carbotech seems to be too much for a 2.5i daily driver. I'm thinking of something with better bites @ economical pricing. Akebono has had rave reviews about them and they are good pads just not enough bite for my liking sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTEASER Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 If you want bite...Carbotech Bobcats. GTEASER's 2012 Legacy GT - Sold GTEASER's 2009 XTeaser - Sold GTEASER's 1992 Legacy SS - Sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLlegacy Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 I would second the numb feeling with Hawk pads, they work for sure and seem consistent but they aren't really giving you any kind of feedback. Like no matter how hard you push the pedal the stopping power seems linear. When I get them installed on the GT I will give some more feedback if anyone is interested, I have the HPS pads for street. Had them on our tribeca and they do dust a bit, but overall I would still recommend them for a daily driver. Definitely not for anything more than occasional spirited driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nads Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 If you want bite...Carbotech Bobcats. How are these for dusting out? I hate cleaning wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nads Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 Another thing to consider is your tires. When it comes to stopping something has to give if you slam on your brakes. Either your tires will skid or your brakes will skid. You can test it now on an empty road or parking lot. Punch the gas up to about 30 and them stomp the brake pedal. If your tires skid or your ABS kicks in you know your brakes are better than your tires. Getting the right set of all season tires can be helpful in making you feel more confident when braking. Better than all seasons would be a good quality set of summer tires with a good wet rating and a set of winter tires if you live where the temperature can regularly get below 40 F in the winter/rainy season. ^^This. What are you running for tires, or plan too anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTEASER Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 How are these for dusting out? I hate cleaning wheels. The Bobcats are not nearly as bad as the XP8 or XP10 that I run on the GT. They do dust more than stock. There's something about Carbotech's brake compounds that makes them so that the dust does not stick as hard as other performance pads. It washes off rather easily with soap and water. I have heard that the dust is far less corrosive too than other brands when it gets wet, which may be why it washes off easier. GTEASER's 2012 Legacy GT - Sold GTEASER's 2009 XTeaser - Sold GTEASER's 1992 Legacy SS - Sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_A_ron Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 I am running Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 A tires right now. 245 width on 18x8.5 enkei TS-10 wheels. Not racing light weight but much lighter than stock and affordable. Same goes for the rubber, not the latest and greatest tire but a pretty sticky summer tire no less. One of my autocross friends said a few years ago everyone was running them. Build Thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supercow2610 Posted October 10, 2017 Author Share Posted October 10, 2017 If you want bite...Carbotech Bobcats. Yeah. Much that I want to slap them on, I dont think it's worth for the 2.5 engine with the smaller brake system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supercow2610 Posted October 10, 2017 Author Share Posted October 10, 2017 ^^This. What are you running for tires, or plan too anyway? I'm running the pilot sports a/s 225/55?/17. They have been wonderful compared to the dinky 205 on 16" factory width Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supercow2610 Posted October 10, 2017 Author Share Posted October 10, 2017 I am running Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 A tires right now. 245 width on 18x8.5 enkei TS-10 wheels. Not racing light weight but much lighter than stock and affordable. Same goes for the rubber, not the latest and greatest tire but a pretty sticky summer tire no less. One of my autocross friends said a few years ago everyone was running them. The 18" compliments really well on our gen5 d/t the monstrosity of the wheel well. However I couldn't afford a set of 18"+ tires at the time. I got the WRX set for $250 and gained $180 from the 16" so i lost $60 for a set fo nice looking rims. Plus i snowboard so the 17" makes more sense than 18". I also had the wheels re-balanced today and apparently the front driver was slightly off according to DT tech guy. This "slightly off" once fixed makes braking much more reasonable and the car vibrations in my other thread is pretty much reduced to minimal. "slightly off" felt like an underestimation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herda2448 Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Along the brake questions. I am looking to find some steal braided lines for my 2.5 6mt. Is the a specific set that is best for my application? Maybe a part number perhaps. Much advice is always appreciated from the more experts than myself Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zee199969 Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Goodridge makes ss lines for our cars.i don't remember the part# Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk My "Build" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cww516 Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Assuming it's the same for the 2.5i as for the GT, this is what you'll need: https://www.knsbrakes.com/c/car-series/2906_2011+Subaru+Legacy+2.5GT/141_Goodridge+Stainless+Steel+Brake+Lines Doesn't show a part number, but KNS was very price-competitive with Amazon and Tire Rack when I bought mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTEASER Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 The Goodridge part number is on the first page of my build thread. GTEASER's 2012 Legacy GT - Sold GTEASER's 2009 XTeaser - Sold GTEASER's 1992 Legacy SS - Sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_A_ron Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 The Goodridge part number is on the first page of my build thread. Shameless plug for his own personal build thread blog. Corrupt mod! Build Thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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