Andy Holden

I have a MY98 with standard brakes. I can't afford a Brembo or AP Racing upgarde at the moment, especially if I also need 17" wheels. I would like to do something about the brake fade I get on track days, although for normal road use I find the standard brakes ok.

Are the MY99 brakes much better? A fairly cheap option may be to fit MY99 calipers from someone who has upgraded, plus some Mintex/Pagid pads? Does anyone have any ides?

R19KET

Andy,

Firstly,both AP,and brembo do kits for 16" wheels,either will cost about £1300 + fitting.

A lot of people have uprated pads,hoses,disks
etc',with varying degrees of success.I think a lot depends on your driving style.

Pagid seem to be very popular,along with braided hoses,and dot 5.1.
Why not try these first,it's not too expensive,and if you still feel you need better braking you've only blown the cost of the pads.

Mark.

WESTFIELD

Andy
Watch-out for the internal rim size.
I know of someone who tried to fit standard MY98 rims onto MY99, they don't clear the caliper.

Ian Cook

Westfield, do you mean standard 97MY rims as the 98 and 99 rims are identical???

With regards the 99MY calipers, they are much better than standard 98 MY brakes, and should be about 400-450 as a second hand item, this includes disks, pads and calipers. You may get them cheaper, it depends how much the person who has upgraded wants. Pete usually has some at Scoobysport, but they dont seem to stay in the shop long.

[This message has been edited by Ian Cook (edited 13-06-99).]

WESTFIELD

Ian, Andy
Sorry, my mistake, the rims they tried to fit on the MY99 came from a MY98 but were not standard.

Andy Holden

Thanks guys, I'll speak to Pete about the bits.

You had me worried about the rims for a second there - I've just got some MY99 16" wheels as spares for track days - thought they were identical to mine but you gave me a moment of doubt! (Actually they're not identical as the tyres aren't shagged!)

RobAnderson

There are a decent brake(caliper/disc/pad) upgrade kits available for 16" and 17" wheels that don't cost the earth, for the Impreza, notably Wilwood(£700) and Bremsport(£900).Both have good reputations on the clubman rallying scene.

MarkL

I just upgraded my MY98 brakes as follows:

• [*]
• [*]
• [*]

There is a huge difference in firmness of the padal and braking feel. The stopping power seems to be increased too, but I've taken it easy so far to ensure the brakes are bedded in properly.

Total cost inc. VAT and fitting etc. was around 570 quid.

Difficult to say what effect each of individual components have and I can't comment on improvements in fade resistance, but I am very pleased with it.

[This message has been edited by MarkL (edited 15-06-99).]