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Any recommendations on brake pads for a 92 Legacy FWD. I'm still on stock rotors with 14" wheels. Thanks

I've got Axxis Metal Masters and they've been pretty good. Feels a little better than stock. Not too much brake dust either. I've also heard the Ultimates from the same company are good.

-Brian

I must say, I was very very impressed with the mintex pads that mike sheilds at SPD tuning sells. I like the idea behind them too. As I understand it, they are "baked" in a kiln to offgas until they don't offgas any more. As a result, when they are on your car getting beat, they don't ever off gas no matter how hot they get, viola, no brake fade! I guess you could still boil your fluid, and there is probably more stuff to this that I don't understand, but they really seemed awesome on my 2.5 GT. Quite a bit of brake dust though. I really want to try these with a set of cryo-treated rotors on my turbo, although I can't decide if I should upgrade the front brakes first. I wonder if I got WRX brakes or some aftermarket 4 pots if I could run my stock front legacy turbo brakes on the back of the car? Theres probably some reason its a really bad idea, as I've never heard of it done.
Micum

nobody does it because it will lock up your rear wheels too easily. The rear brakes are small because there is not much weight on them in braking. The only reason to do this is if you have significantly larger rear wheels and a swanky suspension.

Even if it fit, you'd also lose your parking brake, since the rear brakes have a drum-in-a-disc design.

don't even think about puttin front brakes on the rear.....it just plain will not work

if you want an upgrade......especially if you get WRX fronts, get a set of H6 sized rear rotors. They are 11.4" in diameter. They are solid....but oh well. If you really want vented, there is an 11.4" rear vented rotor overseas....but expect to pay through the nose for it.

I've got Axxis Deluxe Plus and I highly recommend them. They are sooo smooth when braking and the initial bite is better than stock. Also, they are totally silent. Overall good value for money(under $100 for front and rear) I dont know about longetivity or dust yet (I only have 40 miles on them so far) but they should definately dust less than stock.


'90 Legacy LS AWD 132,000 miles.

whats the best way to remove a rusted caliper bolt? i tried with all my strength and couldnt budge it. i dont want to strip it. TIA

You should try some Liquid Wrench. It helps loosen most bolts really well.

-Brian

I suggest PB Blaster. It's a similar product to Liquid Wrench. I've seen it do amazing things.

Also, heat cycling with a torch can help. Just be sure not to ignite or burn anything.

Be sure to use a 6-point wrench. A 12-point wrench can round the head off much more easily. Also make sure whenever you're applying torque that the head is securely fitted into the wrench.

Hammer around the whole area gently to see if you can break up some of the seizedness.

I've had to put a box wrench on and then use a jack to turn it in order to break caliper bolts before. With other hard-to-remove bolts I've used a cheater bar (a steel pipe up to 6 feet in length).

I'll try that PB blaster if i can find it in canada.If not then off to the mechanic to pay a hefty sum also,do you think its safe to drive on four lug nuts instead of 5.I stripped one due to forcing it in.thanks guys

Jr.SubaruLvr wrote:I'll try that PB blaster if i can find it in canada.If not then off to the mechanic to pay a hefty sum also,do you think its safe to drive on four lug nuts instead of 5.I stripped one due to forcing it in.thanks guys

It's fine for temporary driving, though some go forever with a broken stud. It'd be advisable to replace it.

MK

It's not a big deal to drive on a broken stud for a short while, yes, but it's also pretty easy to replace. An auto parts store should have a new lug stud for you for only a few dollars. If not, a dealer will have it for several dollars. You can basically just remove the wheel, brakes, and ABS tone wheel (if you have ABS) and then hammer the bad stud out. Then pull the new stud in with a stack of washers and a nut. The service manuals say never to hammer them out because you could damage the wheel bearings, but I replaced all 10 of my front lug studs this way and my bearings seem okay around 10 thousand miles later.

As a general warning: Always be sure all your lug studs and nuts are thoroughly clean and dry! Get a tap and die if you need to, or at least use a wire brush and brake cleaner. Also always make sure they're torqued correctly. Get a torque wrench if you can't judge the torque by hand. Snapping lugs is no fun.

It's not that easy on the rear though. You also have to remove the parking brake portion of the rear disc brake. Not that big a deal, but the first, and only, time I did it I had a hell of a time getting that little bitch of a bolt out.

-Brian

Oh, good point -- I had only done it on front wheels. What was the really hard part?

It's not necessarily hard, just a PITA. Once you get the ABS toner/ring/wheel thing off, you can't just pull out the broken/stripped stud. You need to remove the parking brake mechanism which is kinda like a drum brake inside the rear rotor. Once you do that, you can push the ABS ring back far enough to extricate the stud. You'll see what I mean if you ever have to replace one. It drove me crazy for a few days. IIRC, I did a write up of the procedure.

-Brian

applegump wrote:I've got Axxis Deluxe Plus and I highly recommend them. They are sooo smooth when braking and the initial bite is better than stock. Also, they are totally silent. Overall good value for money(under $100 for front and rear) I dont know about longetivity or dust yet (I only have 40 miles on them so far) but they should definately dust less than stock.


'90 Legacy LS AWD 132,000 miles.

where did you buy your pads?

www.get-primitive.com & www.stoptech.com

has them.