Brakes: How to buy brake upgrades?

[Kazakh707]

Xenonk

many thanks for reply!sorry it took awhile to write back.

i've recently met with a Subaru Motor Kazakhstan (officially authorized dealer) representative.he also told me that they do recommend to replace the brake rotors with genuine subaru ones.what i did this time simply was the polishing (not sure whether this is the right word,but wikipedia tells me it is ) and changed the brake pads.the rear brake rotors and pads are still in a good condition (yet i wonder how,after 55000 km).

still,dont you think that the genuine subaru brake rotors are sensitive to water?then it bends and vibrates while braking (before going to car wash most of the time i wait about 15 minutes to avoid this).

[Xenonk]

blah, you dont have to.. but it is the cost effective way to get at least the rotors and not worry about anything else as you are paying for a quality rotor (lasted me plenty of miles on the track before I had to toss them away).

 

the Polishing? I think you are thinking of "turning" or "resurfacing" the face of the rotor to get rid of the vibrations or imprints of the pad material on the surface. Typically I brake a little harder in a smooth fashion to resurface them.. if the vibration is too much, a couple of things could have happened:

 

1) they warped

2) they are worn too thin to the point where resurfacing them is a waste of money

3) lug nuts are loose

 

I would check your brake pads.. some pads have a beveled edge to them, which helps slightly of removing the water when it's the initial contact of the pad to the rotor.. but that just goes away.. I never had "water" issues at all.. you would have to be driving in some really deep waters for actual water to hinder your braking.

[bradcs]

I'm looking at adding a StopTech big brake kit to my '08 LGT wagon but want to keep the stock 17"s for winter. Do you know if the kit will fit? Thanks for any help.

[praedet]

No, they won't...

[semsub]

I dont go for track days or something like this, stock brakes works really ok everytime for me.

But my driving style sometimes is very agressive, anyway I didnt do things like full fast stops from 100 ,etc (exept emergency situations)

 

Sometimes ,usually in summer during agressive driving brakes I think is really overheating , and they smells like this too..

 

The question is: What is the best (and cheapest! no Brembo kits ..etc) upgrade for this situation?

Pads ? ( what kind of them do I need for that, which is the best)

[matt]

Yup, better street pads are exactly what you need. I too felt some fade with the stock LGT pads during high speed braking. I used and liked Carbotech 1521 pads (formerly called Carbotech Bobcat) on my LGT. There are other good street options as well.

 

Note that proper bedding is very important for brake pad performance when switching pad compounds. If you don't replace rotors at the same time, either get the old rotors resurfaced, or be aware that it will take some time for the new pads to scrape off all of the old material, and you'll have to wait for that to bed the new pads properly.

 

DOT4 fluid wouldn't be a bad idea either, but odds are you are not boiling DOT3 fluid. (The factory fluid is DOT3.) Still, if you've gone 30k+ miles on your current fluid, changing it is a good idea. ATE Super Blue / ATE TYP 200 (same thing, different colors) is a cheap, perfectly good DOT4 fluid that's widely available online.

Edited December 3, 2011 by matt

[semsub]

Yup, better street pads are exactly what you need. I too felt some fade with the stock LGT pads during high speed braking. I used and liked Carbotech 1521 pads (formerly called Carbotech Bobcat) on my LGT. There are other good street options as well.

 

Note that proper bedding is very important for brake pad performance when switching pad compounds. If you don't replace rotors at the same time, either get the old rotors resurfaced, or be aware that it will take some time for the new pads to scrape off all of the old material, and you'll have to wait for that to bed the new pads properly.

 

DOT4 fluid wouldn't be a bad idea either, but odds are you are not boiling DOT3 fluid. (The factory fluid is DOT3.) Still, if you've gone 30k+ miles on your current fluid, changing it is a good idea. ATE Super Blue / ATE TYP 200 (same thing, different colors) is a cheap, perfectly good DOT4 fluid that's widely available online.

 

Many thanks)

 

Fluid is already DOT4 and changed about 5k miles ago

I live outside US and Carbotech is rare here I think.

 

What about Endless , Ferodo or EBC street pads? is these brands ok or not too good?

[jav2.5]

This is not a brake upgrade question, just a brake question. I didn't want to start another thread......

I have a set of OEM Brake Pads, part #26296ae160, and I was wondering if they fit my car? It's a 09 Legacy 2.5i, if not I'll just sell them. Thanks

[Nagoya]

Hi, I am new to the forum so be gentle. I have purchased a legacy TS-R. The brakes need work, new pads and rotors need machining or changing. I live in Japan and have access to second hand parts. Can someone tell me if WRX rotors and calipers will fit on the legacy?

[stuck686]

akebono brake pads any good?

[NavigatorsLegacy]

akebono brake pads any good?

 

Here's the situation. I want to upgrade my 2011 Legacy 2.5i premium tires and brakes. I don't know squat about good pads or rotors. I would like to buy something better made than OEM. In good with tires....

 

Hawk makes some ceramic performance pads...and some other

Companies I don't know...

 

If I want better stopping power without going to big brakes or

Super expensive crazy...is there a solution?

 

Or is it a situation where it's all or nothing. I drive mostly highway but I do like the occasional spirited drive...

 

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

[Dutch Outback]

Guys,

 

I'm new to the forum, but not new to the automotive scene. However, I do need some advice. Well, need.. I could do with some advice please.

 

I'm in Europo, Holland to be precise, and drive an 2006 Outback 2.5i, 5 speed manual. It has done a 120.000 miles now. Since I've had the car I don't like the brakes. The pedal feels spongy and braking isn't that hard as i want it to be. As I drive the car both private as a familycar but also on a proffesional basis where it's used for emergency interventions, it get driven up to 120 mph. So I do need some propper brakes...

 

I have been thinking of upgrading the system with some 4-pot calipers from an Impreza wrx orso.

 

Can some one tell me what I need to look for? What year Imprezza calipers can I use, and would I need to do other modifications like using spacers? My car has the original 16 inch alloys.

 

Or maybe, there is a much better and easyer solution? I'd like to here your thought on this.

 

many thanks in advance and regards from Holland!

[alain59]

Hi Dutch'

 

we are driving the same car (mine runs on LPG)

 

I have been through 2 significant brake upgrades since I have owned mine (I bought it in 2006 with 60,000km , I have added 180,000km on the odo since then) :

 

1) stock calipers + front dba 4650 sloted rotors + ebc redstuff pads all round

lousy pedal feel still there , same cold bite (not enough) , much better when warmed up.

 

these stock calipers have failed twice :

1 piston sized at 5 years - 140,000km. I got it replaced, along with all seals.

1 sized piston + 1 rusted guide pin at 8 years 215,000km, I got rid of them that time.

 

2) wrx 4 pots + same rotors + same pad material

Pedal feel and modulation is much better. Stoping power has increased. cold bite is also better because these fixed calipers do not waste time and precious hydraulic pressure at sliding parts before actually starting to brake.

I did not get a chance to fade them, but I did not push very far...

stoping power with these wrx calipers is now appropriate, but I would appreciate a bit more when the car is loaded, or when towing heavy stuff.

 

parts list for a 2004-2006 2.5 outback :

- 4 pots calipers from an impreza GT 1999-2000 (217hp) or wrx 2001-2006 (217 , 225 or 230hp). Get some decent pads and new rotors . Same rotor size as your stock setup (294x24), but new pad = new rotor (imo)

- You also will need impreza gt 1999-2000 16x7 +53 wheels as the outback stock 16x6.5 wheel do not clear these calipers.

Most 5x100 17x7 or 17x7.5 wheel coming form a 2001+ subaru will also clear these calipers (brz's won't).

 

side notes :

1) I am planning to get one step further :

legacy 3.0R rear calipers and rotors (290x18mm , vented) + front brembo setup (326x30) + 225/50R17 summer tires (currently runing 215/55R17 ) + brainded lines + Ate SuperBlue + high quality pads.

Bottom line is : I want to cover properly the heavy towing situations.

 

2) 2.5i + LPG and 3.0R 5EAT weight roughly the same : 1600kg (real world figures, checked on inspection), and use similar ruber size (215 wide).

=> Based on my experience I guess that someone driving a 3.0R 5EAT who want's to address the lousy pedal feel, but does not need high brake power and strong fade resistance for high speed or heavy towing or intensive mountain driving would get satisfaction with a wrx 4 pots upgrade.

 

3) I doubt the stock outback suspension could handle "brembo power" under high speed braking : expect some bad nose dive and rear wheel barely touching the the ground. If you want cover high speed situations with more power than what a wrx 4 pot upgrade can offer, you should probably start with some suspension upgrades, then work on tires (wider and more grip), only then think of larger brakes.

=> check this : http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4605583&postcount=1135

Edited November 5, 2013 by alain59

[fweasel]

Brake pads come in a number of advanced materials

spammer alert Edited January 28, 2014 by fweasel

[c-lo]

spam cleaned up.

[MihaiFlorescu]

I did a quick search and could not find the answer so posting here.

 

Do SS Brake Lines from Legacy fit the Outback? I couldn't find Outback specific brake lines.

 

I've got new Toyo tyres last summer, I have a complete OEM refurbish kit of seals and sliding pins etc., waiting to get a delivery any minute now for some JDM goodies Project u boom wagon pads front and rear.

And it would be a shame not to pay attention to the brake lines that are 9 years old.

I've had SS brake lines for years on my WRX without any issues and want to eliminate that spongy feel of the pedal when it gets close to the floor, at my outback.

Edited March 13, 2017 by MihaiFlorescu

[Xenonk]

from what I remember, they are longer by like an inch or two (not sure if it's just where the mounting points are for the longer suspension pieces).

 

I remember doing testing and fitments a long time ago (many, it's been more than 10 years now) on this matter.

[MagicMillhouse]

I am reading for hours and hours about brakes and learning a lot. But I don’t see a lot of info about 5th gen. I have a 2013 legacy premium and I have an awful clanking sound from my loose front calipers every time I go over small bumps. Subaru sells an “updated part” that is supposed to solve this issue however I would like to see if I can use STI calipers instead because I may be able to get them cheap from a friend. What would my options of front calipers be on a 2013 2.5 premium legacy? After I nail down calipers I’ll look into rotors and pads. Thanks in advance!

[Tommyh]

Putting life back into an older thread...

*Where* can I buy new brakes for my 2005 Legacy GT? Specifically, 4+ piston fronts and 2+ piston rears? I see that Jegs (of all places) sells Stoptech kits, and I'm not opposed to this, but what other options do I still have?

I've had my '05 LGT since November of '04, did a lot of the "basic" mods to the car, stopped for a while and have the itch again. I've already replaced the pads, fluid, lines, etc., and rebuilt the factory calipers after a bad incident with re-manufactured ones.

It's been a very, very long time since I last smoked the brakes on this car, and have no real *need* to replace the brakes, I just really, really want to.