Another "beating a dead horse" brake q (91 ss)

[Dusty B]

I've done alot of reasearch both on here, nasioc, as well as other internet sources. I have read both jamals, and skid542s write-up on brake compatability/upgrades and pros/cons (very informative and helpfull). I myself have an oppurtunity to buy a pretty solid brake setup, at a decent price from a close friend of mine. The kit would consist of:

Front:
Stock calipers (original 112k miles)
Hawk HPS pads (30k miles, 60% left)
Cobb cryo-treated rotors (stock size, 30k miles, 30% left but still very strong, I had them turned once already)

Rear:
Stock calipers (original 112k miles)
Cobb street pads (10k miles, 90% left, a little more grabby than Hawk HPS)
Brembo solid rotors (10k miles, 90% left)

Addtional parts:
Full rebuild kit for all calipers, 100% new (The calipers work perfectly now and always have, I have always had very even pad wear, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to rebuild them anyway because of the mileage)
All 4 braided SS brake lines (60k miles, work great, they are from StopTech and have a plastic protector over the braid)
The front and rear brakes had all the butterfly (pad) clips replaced at the same time the pads were put in
All calipers have Speed Bleeders installed
All caliper brackets are included
Stock WRX master cyclinder (112k original miles, but working well)

The price would be 400 without the wrx master and 450 with. Now is it really worth it??? From all my reading I could not confirm that wrx rears would fit my 91, and even so if it would be any kind of upgrade since it would be a real solid rotor vs. vented. Any input at all would help. Again, I apologize for the long post and once again beating a dead horse!

[skid542]

I think you are wise trying to get everything cleaned up and refreshed. The rebuild kit probably isn't needed if you are getting even pad wear already, but as you stated, it won't hurt anything and will be nice to have. However, if you are planning on upgrading in the future, aka next 20-30k mi., I probably wouldn't spend the money and time on it unless you have both to spare.

The Brembo solid rotor is not a good idea. For starters, your stock caliper won't work with it as your stock caliper and bracket is setup for a thicker vented rotor. And if you already have a vented rotor, stick with it as it will provide better braking in terms of thermal capacity and cooling. Now if your vented rotor is in need of replacement, then you need to decide if it's cheaper to get the Brembo rotor and a new caliper/bracket than to get a new vented rotor.

The stainless lines are a great idea though. I still need to do that.

I would also add some fresh high quality brake fluid to your list and flush the entire system.

Take this all with a grain of salt of course and if the horse still isn't dead, we'll beat it some more .

And I'm glad some of my info out there is proving useful.

[Dusty B]

^^^ Thanks for the reply. I suppose I should have been more clear (I apologize). The list of parts is copy/pasted from my friends pm on another board. The "stock calipers" for both front and rear would be wrx calipers included in the kit. I thought for the price of all this stuff it was worth it.


However, any thoughts on the wrx master cylinder?

[skid542]

Ah he says, ah.

I would still keep preference on the rear stock (SS) setup than the stock WRX setup unless you need to replace your existing system because it is starting to fail or is just worn out. If you have sticky rubber and are pushing the car, you'll notice the added cooling capacity of the vented rotors. The biggest reason I see for switching to a WRX rear setup is that you have more pad options.

It is a pretty nice price for everything. Pads and lines add up quickly when you start accounting for them.

With regards to the master cylinder. It might not be a bad idea but I don't truthfully don't know enough about the sizing, i.e. piston diameter and volume, to give a good answer on this one.

[Dusty B]

Ah he says, ah.


With regards to the master cylinder. It might not be a bad idea but I don't truthfully don't know enough about the sizing, i.e. piston diameter and volume, to give a good answer on this one.

Nor do I. As we speak I am trying to find out! I am considering buying the whole kit requardless as "just in case" parts. I don't have exceptionally sticky stuff underneith either right now. I'm running potenza re0960's at the moment.

[jamal]

unless the brakes you're getting are the 4/2-pots from an 06/07, keep your rears and just put on the fronts.

The best brake upgrade I would recommend for an SS though is to just get some 4-pots up front with good pads all around and a fluid flush.