Opinions on my brake choice

[turboleg]

I'm considering building up my brakes on my L (turbo and NA AWD swaped). I'm getting a new set of wheels (haven't choosen the style yet. They'll be 15-17" rims. What do you guys feel will be the best brake option without completely "braking" the bank (yeah the pun was cheesy). Its got the stock NA's on it now. Is the Legacy Turbo brake setup the best for the car? Or is there a "big brake" kit that I could get off from a REX, STI, or 2nd gen Legacy?

[tris91ricer]

Yup. WRXs are your best choice. With STI stuff, you'll be able to go bigger, and have the brembo option, however, you will need to change your hubs and axles and what not to accomodate the different bolt pattern.

With that in mind, find a set of WRX front brakes, they are what's 'biggest' in terms of drop-in, no-fuss upgrades. The rear brakes are no different from Legacy, TLeg, or WRX.

Right now, my brake setup has WRX brakes all the way around (although no different in the rears, really) with ATE superblue fluid (best fluid) and EBC Green Stuff pads. I've also switched my proportioning valve to adjust the brake bias to the rear. Needless to say, I have pretty damn good stopping power. It will be better once I do away with the stock suspension, though.

I have a set of WRX fronts for sale, PM me if you wanna deal. They come with good rotors (need turning, though) and calipers that still have the brake lines. (unsevered)

[turboleg]

The rear brakes are no different from Legacy, TLeg, or WRX.

Not to be picky about it but aren't the TLeg rears vented whereas the L has solid rotors, and is there a size difference in the rears from the 14" to 15" wheels?

I've heard good things about the ceramic style pads versus the old style (I think there a metaloid). Sorry...I'm not very up to date on my brake pad technology.

Thanks!

[jamal]

Yup. WRXs are your best choice. With STI stuff, you'll be able to go bigger, and have the brembo option, however, you will need to change your hubs and axles and what not to accomodate the different bolt pattern.

Front STi brembos bolt up fine and you just need 04 rotors. An adapter for the rear will probably be coming out shortly.

Anyway I wouldn't recommend that anyway. One thing you need to worry about is the brake bias. Legacy turbo, RS, and WRX all have the same diameter rear piston but on the N/A sedan it's smaller.

Find Legacy777's brake math spreadsheet and take a look. It compares how the bias, torque, and pedal travel change with different combinations. Unless you have a huge problem with fade (and I don't with Hawk HPS pads on my stock n/a sedan brakes), not shifting the bias any more forward should be the biggest concern.

Once I go through these brakes, I'm upgrading to RS brakes (same size as turbo). Bias stays about the same and I'll be using axxis ultimates, SS lines, and Motul RBF600. After that if I have the desire for bigger I'll go to WRX fronts (either 2 or 4-pots), and H6 rears. I already have all the calipers, pads, and lines. The nice thing about putting on brakes from a newer subaru is all the pads that become available.

I have a huge brake information post typed up that's almost finished on my computer which is in storage. I'll have to get that and post it one of these days.

[Imprezive]

I would suggest some old STI 4-pots up front w/ good pads and rotors and for the rear juist get some really good pads frfom Axxis or whomever makes them.

I have wrx brakes and they are pretty good to. I can lock up my wheels pretty easily if I stomp on it, so really, you dont need anything bigger the wrx brakes for street driving. I'd only go for 4-pots if I was planning on taking the car to the track a lot.

[jamal]

I would suggest some old STI 4-pots up front w/ good pads and rotors and for the rear juist get some really good pads frfom Axxis or whomever makes them.

I have wrx brakes and they are pretty good to. I can lock up my wheels pretty easily if I stomp on it, so really, you dont need anything bigger the wrx brakes for street driving. I'd only go for 4-pots if I was planning on taking the car to the track a lot.

well, the 4-pots aren't any bigger than wrx brakes and won't fade less or make the car stop shorter. The big reason for them is feel.

Anyway, if you want to go with WRX or 4-pot fronts, you'll need 16" wheels (and wrx wheels don't clear the 4-pots), and will also need some sort of a rear brake upgrade. The 'h6' setup matches either one pretty well.

Also I should note that the old grey Subaru 4-pots are the exact same thing that's on the 06+ wrx, aside from the color and the cast letters.

[dscoobydoo]

I am going to add, that upgrading the rears adjusts the bias so you feel like the car does not nose-dive when you brake.

I have the 4 pot/2 pot set-up and when I hit the brakes, it just grabs and stops. the front does not dive, and it feels REAL smooth.

[jamal]

yeah, also, H6, LGT, and 2-pot rears all provide about the same braking force as they have the same size rotor and pistons (the effective radius is slightly different I think on the 2-pot).

The LGT is a vented version of the H6 brake and is also a direct bolt on. LGT and 2-pot use the same discs. The 2-pots require a kartboy adapter or new backing plates which need to be pressed on.

[Legacy777]

I want to add to the fact that.....you can do whatever you want to your brakes, but if your tires suck, you won't be able to stop any better.

I mention this because I put EBC red stuff pads on the impreza, and I like the feel & stopping power, but I can easily activate the ABS because the tires don't grip as well.

Back to brakes.....if I had to do it all over again. I'd go with the STi 4 & 2-pots.

They can be had on the 06+ WRX's and newer....and Kartboy makes a bracket to allow you to use your old rear hub/backing plate.

My current setup WRX fronts, LGT rear vented provides roughly the same brake torque, but with the 4/2 pot setup, I would probably have better modulation/feel at the lockup point.

[206er]

I wouldnt bother with wrx fronts which is what ive got on my car. sure the braking power is better, but the stock L brakes will lock em up just fine. for me, not being able to run 15" wheels is a MAJOR buzzkill. though I am going to start experimenting with some VW audi and toyota 15" 5x100's to see if there are any that fit.
the only time I'd recomend wrx brakes over L brakes is if you do a lot of really fast canyon driving or tracking, where brake fade becomes an issue. also if it has not already been mentioned the rear wrx calipers are of a slightly different design than stock L brakes and can accept all the aftermarket brake pads available for wrx's which the legacy L brakes cannot.

[rightandtight]

the way i see it is that running big brakes (of the 4 pot variety) ends up costing a lot more money in the long run. bigger wheels + bigger tires + bigger rotors = more money. the harder you drive, the more fun you get, the more you replace consumable parts (rotors, pads and tires). you can't have fun if you can't afford to go through that stuff as you wish.

legacy turbo and WRX brakes are legit. get some good pads and cheap rotors, call it a day. $1401 in brakes, wheels/tires on a $1400 Legacy just doesn't seem to make a ton of sense to me.

i have SS brakes and after a year of canyon abuse, my only complaint is warped rotors, so i'm getting a set cryo treated today. $30 a rotor + $25 per rotor for cry treatment is a chunk less than Brembo rotors, and i expect to have something a lot more durable. i run Carbotech pads (which i love). they seem to give cheap rotors the business.