mkalbarc Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Is it just me or does the LGT's brakes blow? I have a 04 grand prix and the thing brakes awesome! This car feels like it just doesn't want to stop... Kinda scary... Will different pads help with this? I don't wanna spend thousands on brembos or anything though. Just wondering if there is a cheap way to improve this... w/o slowing down;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobY Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 push a little harder on the pedal... If you need some serious bite I suggest looking at some carbotech bobcats. The stock pads are 0.3 coefiicent of friction the carbotechs are 0.7... you do the math thats double the braking torque. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkalbarc Posted July 28, 2005 Author Share Posted July 28, 2005 now that sounds nice... know of a good place to get these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 did you upgrade the tires? that's where most of the problem starts. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 now that sounds nice... know of a good place to get these? http://www.brakeswap.com Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkalbarc Posted July 28, 2005 Author Share Posted July 28, 2005 ^^ really? hmm... the tires on the grand prix seem huge to the ones on the lgt... maybe that is it. Well until I can afford new tires I will just have to slow down I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnetic1 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 push a little harder on the pedal... If you need some serious bite I suggest looking at some carbotech bobcats. The stock pads are 0.3 coefiicent of friction the carbotechs are 0.7... you do the math thats double the braking torque. Actually, the Bobcat is around 0.45+ with an operating range temp to 900F. 0.7 is about the theoretical MAX for brake pads before they destroy your rotors and have more torque than the car/tires can handle. Most pad compounds are given a range of values. Like the Hawk HP+ and Bobcats are both rated "GG" Bobcat ~ 0.45-0.55 XP9 ~ 0.6+ XP10 ~ 0.62-0.63 XP11 ~ 0.65+ Bobcat has virtually no dust with instant grab. the XP series will dust a lot more and make tons of noise and are recommended for track only. Tires are typicall a good start. If you get a higher compound brake pad and dont upgrade the tires, you will lock up your brakes/ABS, etc... Free Sonax Cleaner Deal http://www.brakeswap.com Carbotech, Hawk, PFC, DBA Rotors, Motul, Wilwood, Castrol... Great service. No bumping required ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkalbarc Posted July 28, 2005 Author Share Posted July 28, 2005 is $115 a good deal for fronts on the bobcat? Also, what would be a good tire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 ^^ really? hmm... the tires on the grand prix seem huge to the ones on the lgt... maybe that is it. Well until I can afford new tires I will just have to slow down I guess. it's not about the size as much as the compound of which is more important. A race-compound tire will stop shorter (more grip) than an all-season tire when you compare the relative size. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 is $115 a good deal for fronts on the bobcat? Also, what would be a good tire? It depends on what you plan on doing with the car. There is no sense of me telling you to get a race tire when you are going to drive through the snow with them, and there's no reason for me to recommend you an all-season tire if you lived in Florida somewhere that never sees snow or lots of cold rain. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkalbarc Posted July 28, 2005 Author Share Posted July 28, 2005 i live in MI I they will be a spring summer tire. I will put the originals back on for winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnetic1 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 i live in MI I they will be a spring summer tire. I will put the originals back on for winter. In that case, you still have a TON of options. Are you looking for ultimate grip with shorter life? Something like the Falken AZenis might suit you well for that. But it wont be as good in the rain and will wear faster. A good all around tire for dry, wet performance while still lasting a considerable amount is the Toyo T1R. email me and I'll send you pricing. Free Sonax Cleaner Deal http://www.brakeswap.com Carbotech, Hawk, PFC, DBA Rotors, Motul, Wilwood, Castrol... Great service. No bumping required ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkalbarc Posted July 28, 2005 Author Share Posted July 28, 2005 In that case, you still have a TON of options. Are you looking for ultimate grip with shorter life? Something like the Falken AZenis might suit you well for that. But it wont be as good in the rain and will wear faster. A good all around tire for dry, wet performance while still lasting a considerable amount is the Toyo T1R. email me and I'll send you pricing. Wow, those toyo's are nice! I will let you know what I decide to do. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henkle Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Brakes feel scary? I felt the same way when I first got my car! When I went for the 1st oil change at the dealer, their work order printed "check brake system" on it, in addition of the oil change order. Then after they're done with my car, my brakes felt 10 times stronger! My guess is that the Subaru wanted us to "break-in" the brakes slowly for the first 1,000 miles, so the adjusted the brake system to feel "loose". Then after the break-in period, they'd tighten it up so it's normal. Talk to your dealer about it, if they haven't "adjusted" the brakes for ya! I noticed that not many cars owners from this forum experienced the "scary" brake feeling; perhaps it's just my car and yours were adjusted too loosely.... we're just lucky... But seriously, I was worried about the weak brakes at first... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 if i wanted to upgrade the pads...is it ok to just upgrade the fronts and leave the back stock? oh, and Keefe....does that site give a discount to legacygt.com members on brake pads like they do for the brake lines??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melayout Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 It is better to change both, so that the front is not the only one doing the work in light/moderate braking. Yup, check out http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16106 I keed I keeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatChips107 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 i currently have 7600 miles on my LGT.. and i have had to refinish the rotors twice already... these brakes are HORRIBLE, if i needed, i wouldn't be able to stop quickly if i had to... its an embarrassment to Subaru... doesn't the LEMON LAW come into mind??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKB_SATX Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 i currently have 7600 miles on my LGT.. and i have had to refinish the rotors twice already... these brakes are HORRIBLE, if i needed, i wouldn't be able to stop quickly if i had to... its an embarrassment to Subaru... doesn't the LEMON LAW come into mind??? Interesting... I have about the same mileage on my car with no braking problems at all. I find the brakes to be easy to modulate, and capable of stopping the car quite quickly if I really want to. I can see how someone used to GM brakes (the original poster mentioned a GTP) would find them to be quite different, though... they don't have that "squish squish GRAB" action that GM power brakes have always had... the pedal firms up significantly before maximum braking is reached. I know it sounds flippant, but the earlier poster was serious... try pushing the pedal harder if you feel there's not enough deceleration. To BatChips107: do you do LOTS of stop/go? And do you have the 5EAT? I have 5MT, and I'm blessed to live/work in a low-traffic zone... had the job before I built the house so I looked for something with a good commute that wouldn't make me want to carry a firearm in the car... DKB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatChips107 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 I don't think I do anymore stop/go driving than a normal driver. I have a manual transmission... im not a crazy downshifter, ... however, according to the dealership, they say i keep "warping" the rotors so that they need to be cut... but i dont think that this excuse is acceptable... they should just admit that their braking system is very poorly matched for the performance of the car... im about to have them fix the brakes for the 3rd time along with another oil change.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S4 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Brakes are fine so far for me. I wouldn't take them to the track though, so I'm upgrading a bit. They stock setup will kick in the ABS on the Azenis RT615s on dry pavement, so I think they'll stop pretty good. They also handled 6 runs with no fade in 100+ heat at the autox last weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inthedeck Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 I don't have the 'brake shake' as most people have mentioned, or a problem slowing down. The issue that I seem to have is the 'squeal' when I am slowing down, with light to moderate pressure. It's annoying to come screaming to a halt, when I see a light...and only going about 10-15 MPH slowing down to 0. I requested that the dealer check them, but they 'could not duplicate the issue' --> they did however, clean the pads/shims/etc. but that made NO difference. I currently have about 12,500 miles on the ODO. Oh well, I ordered new lines, fluids, and pads, so hopefully that will quiet things down...and I will be sure to use some brake goop on the back of the pads/plates between the shims, to control the noise. Later.... i. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnetic1 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 if i wanted to upgrade the pads...is it ok to just upgrade the fronts and leave the back stock? oh, and Keefe....does that site give a discount to legacygt.com members on brake pads like they do for the brake lines??? Pads are already at a SLIGHT discount from Carbtoech's site. I may run a promo later on, but right now I cant even keep these on the shelf! I can get you guys further discounts on the track pads though (XP9-10) for those of you who track your LGTs. Free Sonax Cleaner Deal http://www.brakeswap.com Carbotech, Hawk, PFC, DBA Rotors, Motul, Wilwood, Castrol... Great service. No bumping required ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSiWRX Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 I've learned, with help from brother LGTers on this site, that a lot of my initial trepidation with the LGTs stopping power was just that, my own subjective fears. Although the LGT could definitely stand to stop faster/harder/shorter - and that's just my personal preference - once you come to grips with its stopping behavior in stock form, it's really not that bad at all, objectively. Yes, I still feel as if though I may not stop in time, but I know and trust, logically, that I *will*. mkalbarc, you cited that you come from an '04 Pontiac Grand Prix. Looking up some published stats on this vehicle, it seems that 60-0 braking performance is actually dead-on with that of the LGT's various published test data. From 70, though, it seems that your old vehicle does improve on the LGT's performance by anywhere between 5 to even as long as 10 feet. I would thus wager that if you did the same as me - took some time out with your LGT to seek and experience true at-the-edge braking, you might become more comfortable with what your vehicle is capable of. Certainly, though, I would not stop you from your planned upgrades, but even then, I'd encourage you to find out what your LGT can do, objectively, rather than rely subjectively on "feel." -A <-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges '16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkalbarc Posted July 29, 2005 Author Share Posted July 29, 2005 TSi+WRX - Thanks for the info and words. Maybe you are right, maybe I just need to stop driving the GM for a bit and get a feel for what the lgt can do... time to have some fun at lunch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobY Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 You know the brakes on the ferrarri F40 are unnassisted. If you want to really feel what its like to drive with stiff brakes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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