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2nd-Gen LGT Brake Upgrades: WRX front and H6 Rear


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I have this brake setup and changed out both the calipers and brackets front and rear. Our cars use the mounting system with one bolt and one pin, where as the newer ones use two bolts to attach the calipers to the slide pins.

 

Unfortunately I just threw out a set of WRX front calipers

Edited by jamal
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When I did my upgrade I used this guide

 

http://www.rs25.com/forums/f105/t86429-diy-stock-10-1-brakes-wrx-11-4-brakes.html

 

and followed it same for the rears, rotors and brackets and used my same calipers to latch on them. Dont remember all the details but i do remember it went smoothly with a friend who had already done his on his rs.

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go to either www.car-part.com or www.allforeignautoparts.com .

 

I paid $30 each from all foreign a few years back plus @$8 shipping total.

 

May not look pretty, but you can make them so before installation.

 

Can also look on NASIOC for someone who is selling theirs.

 

O.

 

Thanks, Osei, sounds like a good resource. My preference would bee to get all new/remanned parts, but I see what you are saying about the brackets, since it's not a wear item. Did you get complete brake calipers, or just brackets?

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I have this brake setup and changed out both the calipers and brackets front and rear. Our cars use the mounting system with one bolt and one pin, where as the newer ones use two bolts to attach the calipers to the slide pins.

 

Unfortunately I just threw out a set of WRX front calipers

 

Thanks, jamal, for this input. Would you say that it could be possible to change the mounting system from 1 bolt/1pin from our calipers, to the two-bolt method of the later caliper (but still use our LGT caliper)? Does that make any sense? ...cause I don't know if it makes sense to me lol. I haven't had the calipers and brackets off my car yet, so I don't know what I'm looking for :)

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When I did my upgrade I used this guide

 

http://www.rs25.com/forums/f105/t86429-diy-stock-10-1-brakes-wrx-11-4-brakes.html

 

and followed it same for the rears, rotors and brackets and used my same calipers to latch on them. Dont remember all the details but i do remember it went smoothly with a friend who had already done his on his rs.

 

i got my parts from this website

 

http://www.knsbrakes.com/carItemDetails.php?car_id=1204&item_id=35846

 

they have packages for wrx upgrades and h6 upgrades everything you need

 

Thanks, WESTcoast, those are great links! In fact, I sent knsbrakes.com an email, it seemed like a great resource. They kindly wrote back with this awesome info, here is our conversation:

 

Hi, I am looking to upgrade the stock brakes on my wife's 1998 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon with the conversion to 11.5" WRX fronts and "H6" 11.4" rears. I am finding conflicting information with regards to our car for this swap. I do know that I will at least need the larger rotors and caliper brackets to make this conversion.

 

However, will I also need to update my front and/or rear calipers themselves as well (to WRX and/or H6)?

 

OR

 

Can I retain my stock calipers, and do the conversion by merely changing the caliper brackets and rotors?

 

Also, if I must change to different calipers, will I have a conflict with brake lines?

 

I have already purchased a quality stainless steel brake line set for the stock arrangement, and I would like to take advantage of this set without further brake line expense.

 

Thank you so much for any help you can provide! For more information, you may check out my brake discussion at http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/2nd-gen-lgt-brake-upgrades-wrx-front-and-h6-rear-154702.html. A contributor mentioned your business in my thread and I thought you might be able to solve these questions.

 

Kind regards,

camroncamera

 

The interchange info I have indicates the following.

 

98 LGT front uses the same front brakes as a GC RS - thus all you need are 2002 WRX or early 02 LGT front brackets.

98 LGT rear uses the older D471 shape pad and WRX rear rotor so I would presume you would need new calipers and brackets to go H6.

 

Lines should but are not confirmed to be OK as far as the connections - banjo on one end and hard line fitting on the other end - you may have to make something happen to attach them to the strut as the brackets may differ slightly.

 

We can source most of the parts if you are interested.

 

-Ken

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yup not a problem, I went with them when i did my upgrades and dont regret it at all,

 

to sum up this upgrade process

all you need is:

 

WRX front brackets(20 bucks a side from autozone)

WRX sized Rotors

New stock Brake pads (you can use your old ones but you will probally get un even wear from the pads, pad slap from them not adjusting right to the rotor, and not a complete feel once your updrade is done)

H6 rear brackets(autozone has these for 20 bucks a side)

H6 sided rear Rotors

New stock brake pads

brake cleaner (cant stress this enough, as there is a story i must share)

 

optional(but should be done)

stainless steel lines

flushing your brake fluid replacing it with your favorite brake fluid (super blue, Robul, Castro, etc)

 

install guides

wrx front

http://www.rs25.com/forums/f105/t86429-diy-stock-10-1-brakes-wrx-11-4-brakes.html

H6 Rear

http://www.rs25.com/forums/f105/t64473-diy-h6-rear-rotors-brackets.html

 

and www.knsbrakes.com is a great one stop shop to pick up all the parts you need but there are other places to buy

 

the end lol

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yup not a problem, I went with them when i did my upgrades and dont regret it at all,

 

to sum up this upgrade process

all you need is:

 

WRX front brackets(20 bucks a side from autozone)

WRX sized Rotors

New stock Brake pads (you can use your old ones but you will probally get un even wear from the pads, pad slap from them not adjusting right to the rotor, and not a complete feel once your updrade is done)

H6 rear brackets(autozone has these for 20 bucks a side)

H6 sided rear Rotors

New stock brake pads

brake cleaner (cant stress this enough, as there is a story i must share)

 

the end lol

 

Ha ha, yeah almost :D

Okay, WESTcoast, you're SURE you didn't have to change out your rear calipers to go H6 (or that that hadn't already been done before or something) because everywhere else I've read that a rear caliper change to a newer style for the H6 conversion is required. Did you have to change from 1 bolt/1 pin to 2 bolt or anything? If I can re-use the same style LGT caliper that would rock, because I wouldn't have to pay a core when returning my old LGT rear calipers for remanned like items.

 

EDIT: Could it be you have a '99 that came from the factory with a newer-style caliper?

Edited by camroncamera
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Ha ha, yeah almost :D

Okay, WESTcoast, you're SURE you didn't have to change out your rear calipers to go H6 (or that that hadn't already been done before or something) because everywhere else I've read that a rear caliper change to a newer style for the H6 conversion is required. Did you have to change from 1 bolt/1 pin to 2 bolt or anything? If I can re-use the same style LGT caliper that would rock, because I wouldn't have to pay a core when returning my old LGT rear calipers for remanned like items.

 

EDIT: Could it be you have a '99 that came from the factory with a newer-style caliper?

 

ok I'll say 80% sure give me a break i did this 2 years ago when I first got my car:lol:. I didnt know shit, my friend knew what he was doing and I used the guide on the rs25 forums. I know i didn't buy calipers but bought the brackets

 

Its about that time for me to change pads so if i do it soon i will take off my rear and show you guys.......that sounded odd but yeah lol

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Comparisons:

 

'98 LGT rear caliper w/o bracket:

http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Detail.aspx?A=SEBSE1892_0248632179&An=599001+101998+50068+2068008+26493+4068022+5999999+500023+500999#

 

'04 Legacy "H6" rear caliper w/o bracket:

http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Detail.aspx?A=SEBSE3134_0248632494&An=599001+102004+50068+2068008+26493#

 

NAPA's listed core charge for '04 Legacy "H6" rear calipers is only US$22.50. It is tempting to just go all H6 with the caliper and all, but it looks like the brake line mounts at a different angle than the '98 LGT rear caliper.

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Once I am ready to start disconnecting brake lines, do I need to go in any particular wheel order? Seems like I should bleed once immediately after each new caliper is installed, then re-bleed the entire system once more in wheel order.
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So I read through the rs forums that you can use your stock calipers yes the design has changed on them but using thier brackets will make it so your calipers will work with them.

 

Gahhh i hate being old i cant remember shitt haha...well i blame college for replacing car knowledge and replacing with useless stuff about history lol

 

when I get some money for some new rotors and pads take some pictures

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So I read through the rs forums that you can use your stock calipers yes the design has changed on them but using thier brackets will make it so your calipers will work with them.

 

Gahhh i hate being old i cant remember shitt haha...well i blame college for replacing car knowledge and replacing with useless stuff about history lol

 

when I get some money for some new rotors and pads take some pictures

 

The thing about the Forester/Impreza, though, is that it already had newer-style rear calipers MY1998 (First year of the RS in the US), but Legacy had old-style caliper until MY2000. So for RS that was true, you could reuse your old caliper on the H6 bracket. According to what I've read, lol.

 

At any rate, I'm in the middle of the swap and I hope to solve the riddle conclusively, but I'm not quite ready to disconnect my brake lines and set all old and new components side-by-side. The old caliper brackets and the new H6 brackets do differ (aside from "depth" for use with larger rotors) in mounting to the calipers.

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camroncamera wrote: And for those that have done the "H6" rear brake swap on a 2nd-gen Legacy (but did not change the style of brake line), how did you route your hoses? The SS lines I got are for 2nd-gen legacy, not 3rd-gen (H6) and though the banjo bolt fits the caliper okay, the hard fitting has the wrong bend. If I install the brake line at this angle, there is no way i can route the brake line through the brake line support tab on the rear strut and have it reach the hard line.

 

I could try skipping the support tab, and the brake line would make a nice, graceful loop from the caliper towards the rear of the car, and then up to the hard line. But that is a lot of line to be flopping around, maybe rubbing the tire, etc.

 

I could try shaving a bit of metal from the caliper such that the brake line could fit like it did on the old caliper, going forward instead of up/backward.

 

Or I could try to source two H6 SS rear brake lines to match my new calipers. After waiting two weeks from my supplier for my remaining original rear Legacy line, who's been waiting to get it from his supplier, lol.

BIG OLD STRIKETHROUGH on the above. The 2nd-gen SS rear brake lines will work just fine for this H6 rear brake upgrade. "H6" rear brake lines would indeed have the correct bend on the hard banjo fitting to sit in the mounting notch in the H6 caliper, but it really doesn't seem to be necessary. Edited by camroncamera
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I'm looking forward to your writeup camron, the methodology you take behind all of the mods is impressive. Good luck with the rest of the swap...I wish I knew more about the brakes to give you a hand haha.
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