What do you do for the Parking Brake? (brembo)

[BAC5.2]

So the options seem to be to use a modified parking brake shoe (around $100 from lining replacement shops), or to use the DBA 4000 series adapter rotor.

 

There are, obviously, pros and cons to each.

 

Pros for the parking brake shoe is that it's MUCH less expensive and lets you use stock 04 STi rotors (which are cheap).

 

Cons for the parking brake shoe is that they require more time to install than adapted rotors, and some lining companies say the pad thickness is too great (+10mm on each one) for such a tight radius, and that you'll get cracking over a few years.

 

Pros for the adapter rotor is that it's a direct swap, just toss it on and go. No worry about parking brake shoes failing over time.

 

Cons are cost, and limited replacement options. The rotors aren't cheap in the least bit.

 

What did you guys do? What is your take on the situation?

[lil_z_33]

i did the modified parking brake shoe from onkel racing...not yet installed, should be this week...

[atc5]

pm unclemat...not sure the onkel racing account is active anymore

[Underdog]

My swap came with the DBA adapter rotor, so I was able to avoid the price premium. It is a bit heavier, but was world easier than redoing the parking brake. However, in the future I will probably go the other way and install adapter parking brake shoes (I doubt they will fail) and get the cheaper, lighter STi rotors.

 

Does that help?

[BAC5.2]

Thanks for nothing!

 

I'll just do the modified parking brake shoes. Lining shops only charge ~$100 or so to re-line them.

[lil_z_33]

onkel racing is still active...i got these within in the last month...

[slvrlegacygt]

im still trying to figure this out if you have a r160 then you need the parking brake adapter for the rotors but what if you have a spec b which from what i read has the r180 do you still need adapters.

[Kylar]

So the options seem to be to use a modified parking brake shoe (around $100 from lining replacement shops)

 

and some lining companies say the pad thickness is too great (+10mm on each one) for such a tight radius, and that you'll get cracking over a few years.

 

 

Hey question for ya. So if i want to get mine relined do i tell them to add 10mm of material to the existing material, or 10mm total material? Also do you know how much do the stock ebrake shoes cost?

 

I agree the shoes are too expensive, company's are basically gouging the community for the brackets and shoes, they should be able to be had for less.

 

People will probably flame me for this but i wish there was a cheaper ebay adaptor bracket for sale.

[BAC5.2]

10mm to each side.

 

I contacted a company who wanted $50 per side to reline. So $100. I think the stock parking brake shoes are around $50 or $75, or something like that. Turn around was pretty long, around 10 or 12 days.

 

Brackets are only $250. Material alone, if you were going to make them yourself is right around $100. I was going to design a bracket myself, but my time to design them, and my time on the mill to machine them is worth more than $150.

[KNS Brakes]

Hey question for ya. So if i want to get mine relined do i tell them to add 10mm of material to the existing material, or 10mm total material? Also do you know how much do the stock ebrake shoes cost?

 

I agree the shoes are too expensive, company's are basically gouging the community for the brackets and shoes, they should be able to be had for less.

 

People will probably flame me for this but i wish there was a cheaper ebay adaptor bracket for sale.

 

I'm not gouging anybody.

 

It took several iterations to make it fit right and I use grade 12.9 hardware. The short bolt is a fine thread so even in volume it's $70 per hundred. I use real washers that are actually the same thickness piece to piece so that the bolt length fits correctly.

 

It took significant investment to make DBA produce the rotor. And not all 04 STi rotors seal the park brake area correctly. There is a post on here about that.

 

Lastly - do the math

 

Park brake shoes - $50?

 

Reline - $100

 

Cheapest STi rotors - $120/pair.

 

That's $270

 

Brackets at $250

 

$520 -

 

For that you get cheap chinese rotors, potentially a poor seal around the parking brake and a parking brake of questionable durability. And a 2+ week turnaround.

 

For $549 you get a bolt on solution you can install in about 2 hours.

 

 

If I could improve it - I would re-tool the rotor to reduce the weight but that is difficult/expensive.

 

I would also consider zinc coated hardware.

[Kylar]

I'm not gouging anybody.

 

It took several iterations to make it fit right and I use grade 12.9 hardware. The short bolt is a fine thread so even in volume it's $70 per hundred. I use real washers that are actually the same thickness piece to piece so that the bolt length fits correctly.

 

It took significant investment to make DBA produce the rotor. And not all 04 STi rotors seal the park brake area correctly. There is a post on here about that.

 

Lastly - do the math

 

Park brake shoes - $50?

 

Reline - $100

 

Cheapest STi rotors - $120/pair.

 

That's $270

 

Brackets at $250

 

$520 -

 

For that you get cheap chinese rotors, potentially a poor seal around the parking brake and a parking brake of questionable durability. And a 2+ week turnaround.

 

For $549 you get a bolt on solution you can install in about 2 hours.

 

 

If I could improve it - I would re-tool the rotor to reduce the weight but that is difficult/expensive.

 

I would also consider zinc coated hardware.

 

#1 I wasnt pointing fingers at you or anyone else, i was generalizing. Everyone, Kartboy, fastwrx, etc charges $250 for the shoes which I feel is overpriced, that is my opinion and i'm entitled to it. If it only cost $100 to reline the shoes and the shoes only cost $50, where is the extra $100? Thats all I meant.

 

For the brackets, yes i think they are overpriced, sure the initial runs would be costly to the person that came up with the design, and time to figure out the spec's, and make them. However once its done it can be copied, and once copied it should be able to be mass produced for cheaper, its the way of the world. At this point with 4-5 different companies producing this bracket they should have come down to a cheaper price point by now in my opinion.

 

Once again this was not directed towards you, and if you sell a kit with good hardware for $549 that seem to be a reasonable standard price compared to most of the other kits out there.

[KNS Brakes]

What 4-5 companies are producing the brackets?

 

The kit is low volume in general - barely a couple hundred a year - who would mass produce it?

[KNS Brakes]

And I wasn't pointing a finger at you either. I simply outlined the costs based roughly on what was reported in the thread by users who have inquired into the reline method.

 

Both have their pro's and cons.

 

The adaptor rotor method has a cost increase well in line with what a slotted premium brand rotor upgrade would cost.

 

google 42657SL and see what DBA wants to really charge for the rotors alone.

[darkside]

Huh I just got my rear brembo calipers, AVO rear brembo brackets and 04 sti rear rotors, Does this means I need something else to make these clear in the back. I though with Avo bracket and Rear sti rotors I was good. Do I need the dba special rotor now, to make these fit.

 

Do I need this http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/onkelracing-rear-brembo-adapter-kit-introductory-sale-114727.html?t=114727

 

already have this.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/new-avo-brembo-rear-caliper-mounting-brackets-115920.html?t=115920&highlight=Avo+brembo

[KNS Brakes]

I think you need the park brake shoes w/ thick lining if you want it to work.

[darkside]

If so that's so deceptive on fredbeansparts , I bought Avo bracket thinking it's a one part deal, I even asked before buying avo brackets. Jeremy said that's it. Can Paul(avo) or Jeremy clear this up. Doesnt say anything about special shoes or dba rotors needed. They should sell on their site or at least educate before buying $275 brackets

[FredBeans]

I was not a part of the conversation you had with Jeremy (this is Rick), but I can assure you he would not sell you anything deceptively. If you are dissatisfied with your purchase I'm sure we can take care of you.

 

The bracket we sell is all you need to mount the caliper to the rear trailing arm. However in order to maintain parking brake functionality, you need either adapter parking brake shoes, or the DBA adapter rotor.

 

I just did this swap on my Legacy a few weeks ago (pre-FBP employment) and I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have. Here is what I used in my swap:

 

STi take-off calipers

DBA Street Slotted rotors (rear adapter rotor)

Techna-fit brake lines (4 LGT specific, rearmost 2 brembo-swap specific from brakeswap.com)

New OEM intermediate hardlines that bolt to the trailing arm (not needed but recommended cause they bend easily, can give you part number if desired)

MachV sourced rear caliper adapters

Hawk HPS pads

ATE Super Blue (1 can)

A carbide bit to dremel the rear trailing arm slightly for bolt head clearance.

[darkside]

Ok I called Paul at avo he said need parking brake shoes. I'm now mad as he'll that's another 250 for f---Ing brakes to happen in rear. I don't even see them for on fredbeansparts website any more, paul(avo) is out of stock. This should be posted by sellers of brackets. I hate when some one sells something and then you got to waste more money to makes these fit.

[FredBeans]

Sir,

 

We can supply you with the adapter rotor, but we don't sell modified parking brake shoes at this time. However I would be happy to point you to another vendor who does.

 

If you aren't satisfied with the caliper adapters, please let me know and we will take care of you. I will be happy to help you through this process as there is some requisite knowledge that goes into doing a full brake swap. However, no matter what bracket solution you go with, you will need to address the parking brakes separately in order to maintain their functionality.

 

-Rick

[darkside]

Ok I got the 04 sti rotor, avo brackets, sti rear calipers, legacy gt goodrich braided lines, 4 bottles of motul 600 and a dremel. Does FBP have the modified parking brake shoe. Or do you only sell the dba rotor. How much. Plz update you website, since I buy 90 percent of my parts from u guys. You guys should add these to your site. Link I posted earlier says nothing about this to complete rear conversion and old site had no details about this

[darkside]

Well plz pm the damages, sorry to vent guys, I've already got $1800 on this brembo conversion, now this, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[BAC5.2]

I think you need the park brake shoes w/ thick lining if you want it to work.

 

You do.

 

The cost analysis of the DBA adapter rotor vs. the 04 STi rotor/modded parking brake is what swayed me.

 

I'm getting the DBA adapter rotors from wrxbrakes.com, simply the best customer service out there, and the best prices around.

 

$550 to bolt on the rear brakes is nothing.

 

As an aside, I inquired with a local company about a price quote (which was actually more expensive, around $65 each). When I said I wanted an extra 10mm on either pad, they told me they wouldn't do it. I asked why, and was told simply that it was unreliable. The radius of the parking brake shoe is pretty small, and the raw pad material is flat. For a standard thickness, you simply bolt it down and call it good. But the thicker pad material sees too much strain on the top of the pad, and begins to crack, rip, tear, and break apart.

 

Moral? Spend the money, get the right rotors and the right brackets. Can't get a better deal than the WRXBrakes.com setup. It's a super high quality rotor, and a super high quality bracket.

 

This is your safety you are talking about, afterall...

[KNS Brakes]

im still trying to figure this out if you have a r160 then you need the parking brake adapter for the rotors but what if you have a spec b which from what i read has the r180 do you still need adapters.

 

As the rotors are the same for Spec B we know you need the smaller park brake whether it be by thick p/brake shoe or adaptor rotor.

 

If the spec B has an R180 rear then a few things happen. The half shafts get shorter - no biggie as that only requires machining changes which are relatively speaking easy..

 

The rear bracket caliper hanger is a cast iron part however. To change the spread on the mounting holes would almost certainly require a completely new part which means significant tooling investment on a low volume part. Possible but not likely unless there was some other reason to change it.

 

If you can measure the spread of the caliper bracket mounting holes on your rear caliper brackets I can verify that.

 

-Ken

[FredBeans]

If so that's so deceptive on fredbeansparts , I bought Avo bracket thinking it's a one part deal, I even asked before buying avo brackets. Jeremy said that's it. Can Paul(avo) or Jeremy clear this up. Doesnt say anything about special shoes or dba rotors needed. They should sell on their site or at least educate before buying $275 brackets

 

 

Darkside,

I do apologize for the confusion - but I think we may have mis-understood each other. We have performed & helped customers perform countless brembo swaps on their LGT's & WRX's so we do have some real experience with this. The adapter kit from AVO ( or an equivalent ) is all you need to mount the calipers. I only recall talking calipers & caliper brackets with you, not rotor solutions or I would have explained this - so I apologize for the mix-up or if I just completely missed something.

The Rotor / Parking Brake solution is a different story. You can use the DBA, or Brembo specific rotors & retain your LGT parking brake set-up, or go the revised parking brake route & use 2004 STi Rotors as everyone else has been stating.

 

-Jeremy

[KNS Brakes]

You do.

 

The cost analysis of the DBA adapter rotor vs. the 04 STi rotor/modded parking brake is what swayed me.

 

I'm getting the DBA adapter rotors from wrxbrakes.com, simply the best customer service out there, and the best prices around.

 

$550 to bolt on the rear brakes is nothing.

 

As an aside, I inquired with a local company about a price quote (which was actually more expensive, around $65 each). When I said I wanted an extra 10mm on either pad, they told me they wouldn't do it. I asked why, and was told simply that it was unreliable. The radius of the parking brake shoe is pretty small, and the raw pad material is flat. For a standard thickness, you simply bolt it down and call it good. But the thicker pad material sees too much strain on the top of the pad, and begins to crack, rip, tear, and break apart.

 

Moral? Spend the money, get the right rotors and the right brackets. Can't get a better deal than the WRXBrakes.com setup. It's a super high quality rotor, and a super high quality bracket.

 

This is your safety you are talking about, afterall...

 

I will make a better effort to spend some more time over here and we'll get the user ID updated to the company name KNS Brakes.

 

We like the order in which those comments were listed.

 

-Ken