Front Brake upgrade done.

tselway · 07-23-2002, 09:10 PM

Got the front brake upgrade done a couple of weeks ago, and just got the pics back today. This is an easy and cheap upgrade for pre-my03 Forester owners. All parts Subaru OE. The Brake feel and stopping is noticably better that before.

Original Rotors 10.7", new rotors 11.4"

Parts I used:
1 x 26296AE081 - WRX front brake kit
2 x 26225AE000 - WRX front caliper bracket
2 x 26310AC041 - WRX front rotor

before pic :

after pic :

* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

mach_six · 07-24-2002, 12:30 AM

How much did it cost you for the "cheap" upgrade?

tselway · 07-24-2002, 08:54 AM

Cost me about $600 CDN. That would be $300 - $400 US for you.

I was looking to replace rotors and pads anyways, so the only additional expense to me was the brackets which were about $95 CDN each.

Tony

Mr Wolf · 07-24-2002, 11:55 AM

Tony - did you get the parts from your friendly local Subaru dealer or did you order them from somehwere?

Cheers.

tselway · 07-24-2002, 12:57 PM

yes, got the parts from my "friendly local Subaru dealer "

lakepop · 07-24-2002, 08:12 PM

How about the actual swap. Was it a remove/replace operation OR were some mods required to put it back together.
This is a very interesting mod and is an ideal one to document for us in a step by step fashion.......unless it is truly just a straight forward brake job.................THANKS!

ForesterPerformance · 07-24-2002, 08:38 PM

Subaru is pretty cool in that with the brackets, the mounting holes are the same on all their cars. Pretty much, all of their suspension parts are interchangable. They may be the wrong spring rate or strut valving for your application, but it'll fit.

My friend and I did the same sort of swap on his Impreza L. Got the rotors, calipers, and brackets from a Legacy and bolt-bolt-bolt it was done. Easy as pie.

tselway · 07-24-2002, 09:33 PM

Straight parts swap.

The rears, on the other hand require modification to the dust shield to get the larger H6 rotors to fit.

Ginseng · 07-25-2002, 12:42 PM

Looks great!

If you think brake feel is improved, wait til you try stainless steel lines. Or did you already have those?

Wilkey

tselway · 07-25-2002, 02:19 PM

I don't have those yet

Ginseng · 07-25-2002, 09:27 PM

You're gonna love your brakes when you do finally get the stainless steel lines. IMHO, they do the most for improving the solidity of the brake pedal. As for the WRX bits, I wonder if you're gonna get the "groovy rotors" problems that so many WRX's have had.

Wilkey

ferretboy · 07-28-2002, 11:54 AM

Tony what size wheel are you using and does this brake set up still allow the stock S Alloy wheels to fit? My buddy who regularly runs canyons out here in L.A. at night has this set up with mintex pads and loves it. I was thinking of using DBA gold rotors with this set up. what do you think?
~ferretboy resting after a 100 mile canyon run

DO · 07-28-2002, 12:41 PM

tselway

Your car is coming along nicely. I like your new wheels.

tselway · 07-28-2002, 02:31 PM

DO: thanks. It will make it easier for you to spot me around town

ferretboy: I am using 16x7 +42 wheels. I assume that my stock wheels will fit. I have not tried. There should not be an offset problem as these are the same brakes that come on a WRX which has a stock wheel of 16x6.5 +55. I'll check next time I feel like taking the wheel off.

TonyS

STBnick · 07-29-2002, 05:11 AM

Putting on 4 pot brakes from the WRX will not work with stock Forester alloys (16 * 6.5 with offset +48).
However, using the 7 inch wide alloys should not cause a problem.
The design of spokes may still cause a problem in the end so best take your car to a wheel dealer and do a wheel swap before it ends in tears.

Looks like the brakes in these pictures are 2 pots with a distancing bracket to cope witht he bigger rotors.

Wait a few months and you may see 4 pots on the market from people upgrading or crashing!

The 4 pots will fit straight on the hub carrier without any additonal brackets or work.

Nick

tselway · 07-29-2002, 11:16 AM

The brakes in the pic have the original 2-pot caliper. The US spec WRX comes with the same 2-pot caliper not the 4-pot one like in the UK.

TonyS

Peaty · 08-30-2002, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Wait a few months and you may see 4 pots on the market from people upgrading or crashing!

US WRX's have 2 pots in the front not 4 pot fixed calipers. Plus the 4 pots will not fit under the the US WRX stock wheels either. Look here:

http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/sho...=&threadid=349

Peaty

STBnick · 08-30-2002, 10:44 AM

Good grief

So what you're saying is that the US WRX has the same 2 pot brakes as a non turbo Forester, albeit with a distancing bracket for a rotor thats 0.7" bigger.
Sounds like Subaru US don't understand how the WRX is going to be driven.

The very same 2 pots on the old pre 1998 Turbo Impreza in the UK are bad enough.

Put them on the new (heavier) WRX and theres gonna be plenty of whining from owners that they warp, wear out quickly, fade, just aren't up to the job..etc etc.

Nick

tselway · 08-30-2002, 12:08 PM

That would be correct. Hence all the thread in the Suspension, Brake & Wheel forum about brake upgrades.

STBnick · 08-30-2002, 12:14 PM

There's other sections??
All you need in life is the Forester threads

Nick

07-23-2002, 09:10 PM	#1
tselway Scooby Newbie Member#: 7490 Join Date: Jun 2001 Chapter/Region: E. Canada Location: NS, Canada Vehicle: 2008 Legacy 2.5i Deep Bronze Metallic	Front Brake upgrade done. Got the front brake upgrade done a couple of weeks ago, and just got the pics back today. This is an easy and cheap upgrade for pre-my03 Forester owners. All parts Subaru OE. The Brake feel and stopping is noticably better that before. Original Rotors 10.7", new rotors 11.4" Parts I used: 1 x 26296AE081 - WRX front brake kit 2 x 26225AE000 - WRX front caliper bracket 2 x 26310AC041 - WRX front rotor before pic : after pic : * Registered users of the site do not see these ads. Last edited by tselway; 07-23-2002 at 09:33 PM.

07-28-2002, 11:54 AM	#12
ferretboy Scooby Specialist Member#: 4782 Join Date: Mar 2001 Chapter/Region: SCIC Location: I'm not fast, you're just slow Vehicle: well SF9, AE92 SF9-Brack and AE92-faded	stock S slloys fit? Tony what size wheel are you using and does this brake set up still allow the stock S Alloy wheels to fit? My buddy who regularly runs canyons out here in L.A. at night has this set up with mintex pads and loves it. I was thinking of using DBA gold rotors with this set up. what do you think? ~ferretboy resting after a 100 mile canyon run

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07-24-2002, 08:54 AM	#3
tselway Scooby Newbie Member#: 7490 Join Date: Jun 2001 Chapter/Region: E. Canada Location: NS, Canada Vehicle: 2008 Legacy 2.5i Deep Bronze Metallic	Cost me about $600 CDN. That would be $300 - $400 US for you. I was looking to replace rotors and pads anyways, so the only additional expense to me was the brackets which were about $95 CDN each. Tony

07-24-2002, 11:55 AM	#4
Mr Wolf Scooby Newbie Member#: 13719 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Calgary Alberta Canada	Tony - did you get the parts from your friendly local Subaru dealer or did you order them from somehwere? Cheers.

07-24-2002, 12:57 PM	#5
tselway Scooby Newbie Member#: 7490 Join Date: Jun 2001 Chapter/Region: E. Canada Location: NS, Canada Vehicle: 2008 Legacy 2.5i Deep Bronze Metallic	yes, got the parts from my "friendly local Subaru dealer "

07-24-2002, 08:12 PM	#6
lakepop Scooby Specialist Member#: 3851 Join Date: Jan 2001 Chapter/Region: MAIC Location: WNY/NVA Vehicle: 2007 Outback Ltd. Champagne Gold	How about the actual swap. Was it a remove/replace operation OR were some mods required to put it back together. This is a very interesting mod and is an ideal one to document for us in a step by step fashion.......unless it is truly just a straight forward brake job.................THANKS!

07-24-2002, 08:38 PM	#7
ForesterPerformance Scooby Specialist Member#: 5424 Join Date: Apr 2001 Chapter/Region: South East Location: not where you are... Vehicle: BRP STi Version 3 Type RA V-Ltd RHD	Subaru is pretty cool in that with the brackets, the mounting holes are the same on all their cars. Pretty much, all of their suspension parts are interchangable. They may be the wrong spring rate or strut valving for your application, but it'll fit. My friend and I did the same sort of swap on his Impreza L. Got the rotors, calipers, and brackets from a Legacy and bolt-bolt-bolt it was done. Easy as pie.

07-24-2002, 09:33 PM	#8
tselway Scooby Newbie Member#: 7490 Join Date: Jun 2001 Chapter/Region: E. Canada Location: NS, Canada Vehicle: 2008 Legacy 2.5i Deep Bronze Metallic	Straight parts swap. The rears, on the other hand require modification to the dust shield to get the larger H6 rotors to fit.

07-25-2002, 12:42 PM	#9
Ginseng Scooby Specialist Member#: 3800 Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: DE Vehicle: 2002 WRB WRX Sedan 2011 Sky Blue Forester Pr	Looks great! If you think brake feel is improved, wait til you try stainless steel lines. Or did you already have those? Wilkey

07-25-2002, 02:19 PM	#10
tselway Scooby Newbie Member#: 7490 Join Date: Jun 2001 Chapter/Region: E. Canada Location: NS, Canada Vehicle: 2008 Legacy 2.5i Deep Bronze Metallic	I don't have those yet

07-25-2002, 09:27 PM	#11
Ginseng Scooby Specialist Member#: 3800 Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: DE Vehicle: 2002 WRB WRX Sedan 2011 Sky Blue Forester Pr	You're gonna love your brakes when you do finally get the stainless steel lines. IMHO, they do the most for improving the solidity of the brake pedal. As for the WRX bits, I wonder if you're gonna get the "groovy rotors" problems that so many WRX's have had. Wilkey

07-28-2002, 12:41 PM	#13
DO Scooby Specialist Member#: 5553 Join Date: Apr 2001 Chapter/Region: E. Canada Location: Moncton, NB, Canada Vehicle: 2002 impreza wagon silver	tselway Your car is coming along nicely. I like your new wheels.

07-28-2002, 02:31 PM	#14
tselway Scooby Newbie Member#: 7490 Join Date: Jun 2001 Chapter/Region: E. Canada Location: NS, Canada Vehicle: 2008 Legacy 2.5i Deep Bronze Metallic	DO: thanks. It will make it easier for you to spot me around town ferretboy: I am using 16x7 +42 wheels. I assume that my stock wheels will fit. I have not tried. There should not be an offset problem as these are the same brakes that come on a WRX which has a stock wheel of 16x6.5 +55. I'll check next time I feel like taking the wheel off. TonyS

07-29-2002, 05:11 AM	#15
STBnick Scooby Newbie Member#: 16249 Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: UK Vehicle: 2006 WRX STi Spec D Grey metallic	Putting on 4 pot brakes from the WRX will not work with stock Forester alloys (16 * 6.5 with offset +48). However, using the 7 inch wide alloys should not cause a problem. The design of spokes may still cause a problem in the end so best take your car to a wheel dealer and do a wheel swap before it ends in tears. Looks like the brakes in these pictures are 2 pots with a distancing bracket to cope witht he bigger rotors. Wait a few months and you may see 4 pots on the market from people upgrading or crashing! The 4 pots will fit straight on the hub carrier without any additonal brackets or work. Nick

07-29-2002, 11:16 AM	#16
tselway Scooby Newbie Member#: 7490 Join Date: Jun 2001 Chapter/Region: E. Canada Location: NS, Canada Vehicle: 2008 Legacy 2.5i Deep Bronze Metallic	The brakes in the pic have the original 2-pot caliper. The US spec WRX comes with the same 2-pot caliper not the 4-pot one like in the UK. TonyS

08-30-2002, 10:44 AM	#18
STBnick Scooby Newbie Member#: 16249 Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: UK Vehicle: 2006 WRX STi Spec D Grey metallic	Good grief So what you're saying is that the US WRX has the same 2 pot brakes as a non turbo Forester, albeit with a distancing bracket for a rotor thats 0.7" bigger. Sounds like Subaru US don't understand how the WRX is going to be driven. The very same 2 pots on the old pre 1998 Turbo Impreza in the UK are bad enough. Put them on the new (heavier) WRX and theres gonna be plenty of whining from owners that they warp, wear out quickly, fade, just aren't up to the job..etc etc. Nick

08-30-2002, 12:08 PM	#19
tselway Scooby Newbie Member#: 7490 Join Date: Jun 2001 Chapter/Region: E. Canada Location: NS, Canada Vehicle: 2008 Legacy 2.5i Deep Bronze Metallic	That would be correct. Hence all the thread in the Suspension, Brake & Wheel forum about brake upgrades.

08-30-2002, 12:14 PM	#20
STBnick Scooby Newbie Member#: 16249 Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: UK Vehicle: 2006 WRX STi Spec D Grey metallic	There's other sections?? All you need in life is the Forester threads Nick