minimalist brake upgrade

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WRXish
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minimalist brake upgrade

Post by WRXish »

As near as I caninterpret what I have read, going from the standard l wagon 10.2 inch rotors to the 10.9 inch rotors used on the ss wagon is a matter of changing caliper mounting brackets on the front and reusing the standard calipers and the rear stays the same. Could someone who really knows weigh in on this and tell me what else I need to make that upgrade work?
Pntaste4evr99
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Re: minimalist brake upgrade

Post by Pntaste4evr99 »

I swapped my stock 2 piston SS calipers and rotors onto my 93 L wagon no problem. Bolted up fine, if im not mistaken they use the same pads too...
94 Winestone SS 5MT Rob 550 20g. (Pickle)
Original WA car with 460k miles and climbing
WRXish
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Re: minimalist brake upgrade

Post by WRXish »

I am trying to upgrade rotor size only and keep the single piston calipers...better braking without spending a fortune. So my intent is to use the larger SS rotors with the standard single piston caliper and the pads that match the standard caliper. Will that work?
Alphius
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Re: minimalist brake upgrade

Post by Alphius »

The single piston caliper with it's bracket will not fit over the larger rotors. You'd be best served with 02+ Outback front brakes (same as 02-05 WRX) as long as you have 16" wheels. If not, then 96-99 Outback/GT brakes are the same size as SS brakes but with a better caliper. No matter what you do, you'll need calipers, brackets and rotors to match. The single pistons won't fit over any larger rotor.
jamal
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Re: minimalist brake upgrade

Post by jamal »

I don't know if the 1-pot will fit on a 2-pot bracket. Maybe, but I would guess no.

The non-turbo imprezas up to, like, new ones have the 276mm rotors. Should be fairly easy to find a complete set of calipers and brackets in good shape.
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Legacy777
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Re: minimalist brake upgrade

Post by Legacy777 »

Have you run across this thread/spreadsheet from me yet?

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=25054

The front brakes between the non-turbo & turbo Legacy utilize a different caliper. The turbo legacy has a dual piston caliper while the non-turbo is a single piston. For the rear, since the turbo legacy uses a vented rotor (same diameter) you'd need a new bracket & caliper.

However, with that said...play with my brake math spreadsheet and look at WRX fronts and H6 rears. See how that affects your brake torque. The larger rotors will increase brake torque and heat capacity.

If cost is the primary concern you can find some of these parts at local yards, NASIOC, or facebook subie groups.
Josh

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