Blackbeard Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 Looking to upgrade my OEM 07 LGT front brakes to the STI brembos. So from what I gather, I'll need -- -2004-2006 STI Brembo Calipers (Found some remans for a fair discount) -2004-2006 STI Rotors (DBA dual drilled ones are the way to go with these?) -2004-2006 STI brake pads -2004-2006 STI caliper hardware (pins and clips) Does this sound about right? It gets a bit confusing reading up on this topic, I see some people with 5th gens chime in and 4th gens as well and information got a bit squirrely. If I decide to do the master cylinder which one should I find? Or is the MC not worth the trouble? Links would be appreciated if it'll make things easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn06SpecB Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 I'm running brembos from a '07 all around with the stock brake master cylinder + booster. Big increase in performance over stock. On the reman calipers just make sure all the bolt holes are in tact. Cheaper option for rotors are the '04 STi ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbeard Posted June 8, 2021 Author Share Posted June 8, 2021 I'm running brembos from a '07 all around with the stock brake master cylinder + booster. Big increase in performance over stock. On the reman calipers just make sure all the bolt holes are in tact. Cheaper option for rotors are the '04 STi ones. Okay great, so the master cylinder & booster that you used was from the STI or you stock one? Just to clarify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty9 Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 Rockauto has reman "Powerstop" 4 pot front calipers, "L3698" & "L3699" for around $180 a piece, raw finish. or painted for about $200 "S3698" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackobxt Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 Stock booster and master will work fine, I have no experience personally but I’ve read many a post where the sti master and booster on stock calipers are a BIG improvement. So I’d assume that you’d be leaving a little bit of braking performance on the table with the stock master and booster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socalsleeper Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 Here is my set up and some rough prices so you know how deep this hole can go. 2008 STI Front Calipers - found on Ebay - $700 (I repainted them myself) STI high temp decals - $25 2004 Centric Rotors - Tire Rack - $175 2004+ Hawk HPS pads - Tire Rack - $110 Stoptech SS font lines - $60 2004-2007 STI rear Calipers - Ebay - $650 2004 Centric Rotors - Tire Rack - $160 2004+ Hawk HPS pads - Tire Rack - $78 Kartboy adapter bracket - Amazon - $200 Stoptech SS rear lines - $80 Parking brake shoes - $190 STI Brake booster - Ebay - $30 STI Master cylinder - OEM New - $200 Master cylinder brace (because why not at this point) - $100 All and all I'm about $2600 bucks into this, why did I post this??? You can get 95% of this performance without all this cost, you can get better pads and rotors for your Legacy and get most of the way there. Brembos are bling, and if you don't do the whole system you can negatively affect the performance of the brakes on the car. My advice is unless you are willing to make that $2k and up investment just get quality pads, rotors, lines and fluid for the Legacy and have blast. The brakes are plenty good for the size, weight, and power of the car, maybe even a little oversized. Now unless you are 400hp+ then the stock stuff will do just fine. Not trying to be a party pooper, but just saying you can get cheap chinese knock offs is not the same as a "brake upgrade". Heck, they might be lower quality than what you have stock. If your stock ones are worn out I have a spare set of calipers and HPS pads I need to get rid of. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbeard Posted June 8, 2021 Author Share Posted June 8, 2021 (edited) Here is my set up and some rough prices so you know how deep this hole can go. 2008 STI Front Calipers - found on Ebay - $700 (I repainted them myself) STI high temp decals - $25 2004 Centric Rotors - Tire Rack - $175 2004+ Hawk HPS pads - Tire Rack - $110 Stoptech SS font lines - $60 2004-2007 STI rear Calipers - Ebay - $650 2004 Centric Rotors - Tire Rack - $160 2004+ Hawk HPS pads - Tire Rack - $78 Kartboy adapter bracket - Amazon - $200 Stoptech SS rear lines - $80 Parking brake shoes - $190 STI Brake booster - Ebay - $30 STI Master cylinder - OEM New - $200 Master cylinder brace (because why not at this point) - $100 All and all I'm about $2600 bucks into this, why did I post this??? You can get 95% of this performance without all this cost, you can get better pads and rotors for your Legacy and get most of the way there. Brembos are bling, and if you don't do the whole system you can negatively affect the performance of the brakes on the car. My advice is unless you are willing to make that $2k and up investment just get quality pads, rotors, lines and fluid for the Legacy and have blast. The brakes are plenty good for the size, weight, and power of the car, maybe even a little oversized. Now unless you are 400hp+ then the stock stuff will do just fine. Not trying to be a party pooper, but just saying you can get cheap Chinese knock offs is not the same as a "brake upgrade". Heck, they might be lower quality than what you have stock. If your stock ones are worn out I have a spare set of calipers and HPS pads I need to get rid of. Hope this helps. You Sir, are awesome. Hopefully, you making this list will help more then just me. I'm only doing it for the "bling" factor in the slightest way, I only drive a bit aggressive when I'm alone on back roads and dodging NY/NJ turn signal avoiding dum dums. I currently have the Stoptech front and rear kit, slotted rotors, ss Lines, Street/Strip pads.(everything but the calipers). So the Brembos where always on the shopping list if those didn't fit the abuse I put them threw. I also have some SSR GTX01 wheels I've been waiting to put on and the Brake Calipers need to be upgraded with them or I won't be able to sleep at night. I do have another Question for you, How often are you cleaning your wheels with those pads? Is the brake dust manageable or have you had better results with different pads? And are those STI Stickers available at the dealer or did you have them made? Thanks a ton in advance to you and everyone that chimes in, the help is appreciated. Edited June 8, 2021 by Blackbeard typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxkita Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 re oem braking: my track wagon used oem calipers its entire life. I did upgrade to goodridge ss lines, cheapest rotors I could find (centric cryo), and Hawk Dtc60/70 pads. On the street, I used Hawk hps pads. there was no bling at all. worked just fine. shameless plug for a jdm endless setup - https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/wa-boxkita-finally-selling-stuff-284893.html?t=284893 Build my car Boxkita Track days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoozeRS05 Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 The caliper mounting bolts are different btw STi and LGT. Recommend getting new OEM bolts, don't have the number offhand unfortunately. Also, the caliper threads are often stripped on used OE sets you'll find. Mine were stripped so I had to helicoil new stainless threads into them. Not a big deal, but not super easy the first time either. I've seen one version of the reman Brembo calipers in person and they weren't great. Not certain which brand, but through RockAuto. Paint was poor and piston seals were popping out of the calipers, coming out of the box. I wouldn't put them on my car without basically redoing them myself first. So be careful who you go with and check them out real good. RockAuto also sells ebrake component rebuild kits. I needed to replace a bunch of little springs and clips in there when I did the rear ebrake shoes on my wagon, but I have a lot of miles north of the rust belt. EB's Subaru journal - 2005 LegacyGT Wagon & 2014 Forester FB25 (2008 specB - RIP) IG@legacygtliving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbagump Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 the Brake Calipers need to be upgraded with them or I won't be able to sleep at night. Glad to know there are others. Hah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socalsleeper Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 You Sir, are awesome. Hopefully, you making this list will help more then just me. I'm only doing it for the "bling" factor in the slightest way, I only drive a bit aggressive when I'm alone on back roads and dodging NY/NJ turn signal avoiding dum dums. I currently have the Stoptech front and rear kit, slotted rotors, ss Lines, Street/Strip pads.(everything but the calipers). So the Brembos where always on the shopping list if those didn't fit the abuse I put them threw. I also have some SSR GTX01 wheels I've been waiting to put on and the Brake Calipers need to be upgraded with them or I won't be able to sleep at night. I do have another Question for you, How often are you cleaning your wheels with those pads? Is the brake dust manageable or have you had better results with different pads? And are those STI Stickers available at the dealer or did you have them made? Thanks a ton in advance to you and everyone that chimes in, the help is appreciated. Right now my car is not driving, I have build thread going if your interested in the gallery. The decals I got from an online vendor, stock the logos are printed/painted on. Here is the link https://www.emblemoverlays.com/product-p/p000009.htm The product seems ok, but they took a while to ship out for my liking. For my refinish I used rattle can paint. I cleaned the parts, scuffed the surface, applied the color coat, decals and clear coat on top. I got new bleeder screws, and mounting bolts from the dealer ship, and I chased the threads on the calipers it is an M12x1.5 tap you will need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holla Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 Make sure you do the STI MC/Booster at the same time. A lot of the pedal feel is coming from the MC. They're cheap too. You should be able to source a used one for like $75 on ebay. If you buy used calipers, make sure the bleeder screws aren't stripped. Helicoiling the mounting bolts is pretty straightforward but you don't want to deal with stripped bleeders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbeard Posted June 9, 2021 Author Share Posted June 9, 2021 Make sure you do the STI MC/Booster at the same time. A lot of the pedal feel is coming from the MC. They're cheap too. You should be able to source a used one for like $75 on ebay. If you buy used calipers, make sure the bleeder screws aren't stripped. Helicoiling the mounting bolts is pretty straightforward but you don't want to deal with stripped bleeders. Would that same year mc/booster be adequate? 04-06 STI? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbeard Posted June 9, 2021 Author Share Posted June 9, 2021 re oem braking: my track wagon used oem calipers its entire life. I did upgrade to goodridge ss lines, cheapest rotors I could find (centric cryo), and Hawk Dtc60/70 pads. On the street, I used Hawk hps pads. there was no bling at all. worked just fine. shameless plug for a jdm endless setup - https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/wa-boxkita-finally-selling-stuff-284893.html?t=284893 I'd love those, but a bit out of my use case and budget rn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holla Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 Would that same year mc/booster be adequate? 04-06 STI? This kind of an old thread but has good info about the MC/BB swap. https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/sti-master-brake-cylinder-swap-qs-132077p2.html You should be able to buy the MC and BB together. You also need to swap the check valve in the vacuum hose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socalsleeper Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 Would that same year mc/booster be adequate? 04-06 STI? I have the part number at home, I can post that later today. It was a bolt in affair with the STI brake booster you need both. The STI MC will not bolt onto the legacy booster. Also you need the vacuum line, the STI line has the check valve located inline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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