Dishwasher Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 There has been lots of hubbub around brake calipers around lately. I figured I’d post up my experience. Ordered Centric Remanufactured Front Left and Right calipers from Rock Auto. $73 each after core charge. This includes Centric posi-quiet brake pads. Here are the unboxing photos. I will install them this weekend and post up a review. The cause for me replacing my calipers was a seized piston on my front driver’s side caliper leading to uneven brake performance, and weird pedal feel. These Centrics appear to be coated in something. I will be painting them anyway. They also come with all new hardware, and rubber parts. This is essentially a drop in solution, with the only part missing from this “kit” being brake lines, fluid, and rotors. Brought to you by Pfizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubOperator Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Thanks for posting! Thats sexy shiny. Wonder if they will work well. I do not mind spending a little bit on calipers as long as I don't have to undo them in the year or two. Anyone has NAPA calipers actual photos to compare? 2005 LGT Wagon Limited 6 MT RBP Stage 2 - 248K 2007 B9 Tribeca Limited DGM - 258K SOLD - 2005 OB Limited 5 MT Silver - 245K SOLD - 2010 OB 6 MT Silver - 205K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shralp Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Nice call. These should be a required upgrade for anyone with a 3rd gen Outback. Replaced the weak undersized ones with some re-built GT OEM calipers into my '08 Outback daily driver with Hawk Ceramics and the difference was huge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dishwasher Posted October 4, 2018 Author Share Posted October 4, 2018 Thanks for posting! Thats sexy shiny. Wonder if they will work well. I do not mind spending a little bit on calipers as long as I don't have to undo them in the year or two. Anyone has NAPA calipers actual photos to compare? I think CovertRussian has NAPA calipers in his thread. Edit: Nevermind, he went with Centrics too. His were silver. Max went with NAPAs, maybe he'll chime in. Brought to you by Pfizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel_jester Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Thanks for the post. Mine are arriving today. Looking forward to a better brake pedal feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Mine are black from Napa Even after 18 morning months that one was still pretty black just dusty. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmP6889928 Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 I have had these on my car for almost 5 years and they still clean up and look exactly like the photos. I've mentioned these a number of times in many other posts, but no one seemed to take any kind of stock in the comments. Centric is also StopTech. They used to be Auto Specialty Co. and they have ALWAYS had the best aftermarket OE replacement products for brakes. I used to rep them many years ago and I can't remember ever having a single labor claim against any part of theirs I sold. Good choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 I only used centric replacements if i'm not doing race/autox oriented stuff, and rock auto is dirt cheap when it comes to daily driver brake parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dishwasher Posted October 4, 2018 Author Share Posted October 4, 2018 I only used centric replacements if i'm not doing race/autox oriented stuff, and rock auto is dirt cheap when it comes to daily driver brake parts. Which calipers you use for AutoX or do you go BBK for that? Brought to you by Pfizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanyb505 Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Potentially worthless anecdote: One of my front calipers appears to have that gold coating, not sure if it's from the same producer or not as it was there when I bought the car almost 6 years ago. No problems in 6 years/67,000 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JF1GG29 Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 My Centric remanufactured caliper (part no. 14147041/14147042) failed in almost exactly 11,500 miles. The passenger side from went from shiny to super rusted and seized in basically one year. I swapped in an ACDelco remanufactured part (part no. 18FR2484) from rockauto, and while some rust has formed on the surface, it is clicking over 20k miles this weekend without problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dishwasher Posted October 4, 2018 Author Share Posted October 4, 2018 Anyone have any theories on why calipers are so bad for this car? Seems like this is a technology that should be well sorted by now. Brought to you by Pfizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JF1GG29 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 I wish I could tell you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 I think its just the way the world is. Companies are trying to find the cheapest way to build things so they can sell them for less then the other guy. The consumer is always looking for the lowest price. When you chose to lower cost, you have to cut corners, which leads to lower quality. I was searching for front brake pads yesterday, Hawk ceramic's are $120, there are other ceramic's out there for under $50. I did find Stop Techs for $57. Now that got me thinking...but I have some old Hawks HPS leftover from years ago. I'll use them up this Winter and put new rotors and pads on next April. See, being cheap again... But I did just spend $650 on a new up pipe and down pipe for the 14 y/o car with 261,000 miles on it. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rougeben83 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 I had the stoptech street pads about 3-4 years ago, great pads for the price, but I found they left too much pad deposits on the brakes if you leave the car standing for a day or so, leading to shudder. This was even after repeating the bedding procedure a few times. Maybe they changed their pad compound since then? I replaced them with EBC yellows, and later Hawk HPS pads and haven't had that problem since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
covertrussian Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 I installed Centrics about a year ago by now, still working well. I did spray paint them black to avoid the rust, so can't tell you how rusty they would have been . Here is what happened to mine right after install, if I didn't catch this and adjust the boot, it probably would have popped out of place, caused water to get in and eventually seize again. 05 LGT 16G 14psi 290whp/30mpg (SOLD) 12 OBP Stock 130whp/27mpg@87 Oct 00 G20t GT28r 10psi 250whp/36mpg 22 Ascent STOCK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshole Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 That's that new rubber anti-squeal shim technology, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JF1GG29 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 I had the stoptech street pads about 3-4 years ago, great pads for the price, but I found they left too much pad deposits on the brakes if you leave the car standing for a day or so, leading to shudder. This was even after repeating the bedding procedure a few times. Maybe they changed their pad compound since then? I replaced them with EBC yellows, and later Hawk HPS pads and haven't had that problem since. I had that problem and stopped using the Stoptech pads because of it. I've switched to Akebono ProACT pads and am happy with them. Initial bite is not as strong as the Stoptech but they treat the rotors very well and will hold up on a track for a few hard laps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 It seems like its about $120 for each caliper for the GT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dishwasher Posted October 8, 2018 Author Share Posted October 8, 2018 Installed them this weekend. The calipers are solid. I repainted them black so provide a little more protection against rust like Covert mentioned. The pads are softer than what I had on there before (Stoptechs I think). Seems fine to me really. My biggest gripe was that the shims that came with the kit did not fit with the pads that came with the kit on the right caliper. That was pretty frustrating messing with that for 45 minutes until I gave up and used the shims off the old caliper and the pads slotted right in. The right caliper also did not come with a new bleeder bolt and washers so that was kind of annoying. I lubricated the slide pins with silicone instead of caliper grease. A couple of threads that I've read indicate that caliper grease causes rubber to swell. The caliper I pulled off was lubricated with caliper grease, and the pins were seized (along with the pistons). Good times. It's nice having a car that doesn't pull to the left anymore, and braking feel is back to normal for the most part. I need to find someone to turn my rotors, but didn't have time to deal with that last night. Brought to you by Pfizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhd gvr4 Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 Centricis always the best,have on my subi and evo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmP6889928 Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 The zinc dichromate coating they put on the Centric calipers is there to prevent rust. Mine look the same gold color they did when I put them on close to 5 years ago. Mine have a lot of track laps on them as well as road miles, and they look the same gold color if I clean them up. I don't think the paint is necessary other than to make them look black instead of the gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino6303 Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 The zinc dichromate coating they put on the Centric calipers is there to prevent rust. Mine look the same gold color they did when I put them on close to 5 years ago. Mine have a lot of track laps on them as well as road miles, and they look the same gold color if I clean them up. I don't think the paint is necessary other than to make them look black instead of the gold.I have rear centric remanufactured calipers and they rusted within 4 months somehow. I have an email into centric but it hasn't been replied to yet. I thought they were all coated but maybe the rear calipers aren't. If they aren't, I'll have to take the wire brush to them and paint. I wish I would have known in advance as I would have painted them prior to install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dishwasher Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 The zinc dichromate coating they put on the Centric calipers is there to prevent rust. Mine look the same gold color they did when I put them on close to 5 years ago. Mine have a lot of track laps on them as well as road miles, and they look the same gold color if I clean them up. I don't think the paint is necessary other than to make them look black instead of the gold. That zinc coating looked pretty good, I painted them as a belt and suspenders kind of thing. Brought to you by Pfizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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