Replacement Discs and Pads that fit
 

Hey all,

So, I've had my RB5 for 20 years now - since new - and about 15 years ago I uprated the front Brakes and they're only now worn to a point that they need replacing. However, I cannot find anything that fits!

My brakes are Brembo 6-Pot Calipers with Red Dot 330mm grooved & vented discs and High Performance Brembo Pads. They've lasted VERY well indeed and must have done 50k miles in that time. The pads must be a pretty hard material to have worn at a similar rate to the discs themselves! I expect I could get a little more life out of them with a fresh set of Pads alone, but the discs are worn, if not quite worn out, so I thought it best to replace both at once.

Anyway, I was at my Subaru specialist asking about getting replacement Discs and Pads - I want to keep the Calipers obviously - and he was struggling to identify exactly what would be a direct replacement. Apparently, this particular brake kit uses a "Ten bolt" Bell Housing, and is quite different (incompatible) to any normal replacement 330mm disc, so I'm a little stuck. The only advice I've got so far, from my Subaru specialists brake specialist, is that the bell housing would need to be changed to allow fitment of a more widely available disc and pad set. However, more measurements would need to be taken to identify what might fit.

I've only thought about brakes for the RB5 once, and that was 15 years ago when I got the current kit, so I've little knowledge of such things.

I was wondering if anyone knows about the (I assume quite popular) Brembo 6-Pots + Red Dot Grooved and vented Discs kit I have. I recall it being a very quick and easy fitment at the time, no faffing about, so I never thought it was anything other than a direct replacement. I didn't fit them, but stood and watched the guy who did it for me - he was done within about an hour or so.

I have the manual that came with the kit in front of me now, and here's any information I think might be relevant when it comes to identifying them:

Kit is called "Gran Turismo High Performance Brake System".
It's a two-piece floating Disc.
It states NOT to remove Discs from Bell...but I may have to.

If anyone can provide advice it'd be welcome, but I'm aware I'm not providing much information, though I can try to look things up in the manual if there's something specific I should be looking for.

Cheers,

G.

Hi
Check what calipers you have , as you mention 6 pot calipers, then Gran Turismo calipers , which are 4 pot calipers , whatever you have we can help you with discs , and there would be no need for new bells.
Email me photos of your kit so I can see what you have
ian@godspeedbrakes.co.uk
Cheers Ian
01656 723060

Hi Ian,

I appreciate your response.

Hmm, well, the Calipers are 6-Pots and the manual that came with the kit does indeed say "Gran Turismo" but perhaps they are from two separate kits? I'll snag the photos the Subaru Specialist took, to save me taking the wheel off again. Will post back here when I have them.

Edit: Ok, I looked at the Photo's and they are indeed 4-Pots - shame they were sold as 6-Pots! As I've never had cause to want to change the pads, I'm only noticing now - 15 years later. Damn lol. I will email you the photo's I have.

G.

As performance are worth a call.
http://asperformance.com/

Thanks JDM Stig, appreciate you taking the time to respond.

I've actually been in contact with Ian at GodSpeedBrakes via email and a phone call today, so I'm sorted now. Ian was very helpful and I'll hopefully have the new discs and pads with me next week, for fitting the week after.

Cheers,

G.

Hi all,

I thought I'd post a little update here as things haven't really gone to plan.

I ordered the Godspeed Discs as advised above and, when they arrived I got myself booked it to get them fitted. Took a while to get a booking as the guy I use was quite busy and finding a mutually doable date meant I had to wait a little longer. Which is fine.

Anyway, removing the old discs went quite smoothly, considering they'd been on there for 15 years. However, there were problems fitting the new discs to the existing Bell - which was something I was concerned about you remember.

The issue is that the new discs are manufactured to be slightly thicker than the ones they replace where the Bell bolts on. I understand they do this for added strength, which makes sense, but at no point prior to purchase was I informed that this meant the existing bolts would not fit. I took an afternoon out to get this done and, after a couple of hours of the mechanics time pulling my old discs off, cleaning things up etc. we were stuck with a part that did not fit. I thought at first that perhaps replacement bolts were supposed to be included in the kit, so my mechanic called Godspeed. They were fully aware that new bolts would be needed (argh!) but that they didn't sell them. They went on to say that they can be bought elsewhere, which is fine, but that's really not the point.

We just ran out of time that day, not anticipating such issues as the kit was supposed to be a direct replacement. Godspeed really need to communicate the need for any extra parts beforehand. It's not like I just placed an order online, I called to discuss this. They seemed fully aware of my Gran Turismo kit, which was reassuring, and there replacement discs were made to fit it.

I've been a little hesitant to post here before this was resolved, but I feel Godspeed haven't really been as helpful as they could have been here. Being told you can just buy them from a shop doesn't really help on the day when you're out of time. I have emailed Godspeed again this evening, asking if they can perhaps give me a direct link to the Bolts I need, as I'm pretty clueless about this sort of thing and don't want to get the wrong part and much my mechanic about again.

Hopefully this is just a miss-understanding / communication error, but it's made things a little tricky for me as I've kept the car off the road since and the brake really need doing. Also, getting another day when both myself and my mechanic are in sync might be a challenge by its self.

Anyway, if anyone is ordering replacement discs that are "direct replacements" do be aware of possible manufacturing differences and that additional items might be required. I've learnt this the hard way, so please ask the question.

Cheers,

G.

Interesting read mate, hope you get it all sorted :thumb:

Why not order the discs and bells as a full kit

Why not just take an old bolt to your local engineering merchant and get some stainless ones a bit longer. Simples

you certainly dont want stainless steel in a stressed situation, its too brittle................

Because I was told I didn't need to and the kit I bought would fit my existing bells. Remember, this is a kit I was recommended by Godspeed, not one I just ordered incorrectly.

Don't know who that might be, I'm largely clueless about this stuff. Plus I'm not in a position to dismantle my own car. This is why I ordered a kit that was sold as a direct fit to avoid any hassles. If I'd know it wasn't a complete kit and doesn't fit then I'd not have bought it.

I wouldn't know what material they should be, so I've asked my mechanic to source what's needed for me. It's just getting the time to do it all.

I'm pretty disappointed really. I mean I spoke to someone who knew the exact kit I had on the car already, they sold me something they said would fit on the existing bells, but they fail to mention the need for additional bolts - something they knew about. Pretty poor show really. Plus they've gone totally silent and haven't responded further to my requests for help.

I have considered returning the kit and contacting AS Performance as JDM Stig suggests, but I expect I've waited too long now. The discs took a little longer to get to me than originally thought, just a day or two, but that had a knock-on effect to getting the car booked in. So, it's been about five weeks now.

Problem is, I don't even know the right questions to ask regarding the needed bolts. I know they need to be a little longer, but I've not got the precise measurements. Would they need new nuts as well, or would the existing ones be fine etc. That's why I've left it for my mechanic to sort, when he gets the time.

I just fail to understand why Godspeed wouldn't disclose that I'd need new bolts beforehand, when they evidently knew I would. A simple link to a website selling the right ones would have been all I needed, then I could have gotten those ordered too, and not had this hassle. The cars been off road for several weeks now, bar the failed trip to get the brakes fitted.

This might seem a trivial thing to someone who knows about brakes and stuff, but not for me, especially with my current poor health which prevents me doing many things. Driving the Subaru once in a while is therapeutic even if it causes me discomfort. Hopefully things will be sorted before we run out of summer!

G.

Hi Gary
The rotors we sent you will fit , and are only slightly thicker where the bells fit on , we have done quite a few sets of these over the years , and no one else has had an issue using the original bolts , our discs are 1mm thicker , so I don't understand why you say your bolts are 3mm too short , that would mean your original discs were 3-4mm thick where the bell fits on , which would never be the case as they would shatter , the disc where the bell fits on needs to be at least 6mm thick to stay reliable.

The bells you have are a completely different design to any other bells on the market , and the bolts fit the full depth of the bells , ours are a top hat design so the only bolts we have in stock are to suit our bells , and are 25mm long , I don't know the length of bolts needed on your set up , I made drawings for those discs about 15 years ago , and only had a disc to copy , not a bell , so have never measured a bolt .

When you emailed us when Len at Subaru4u told you the bolts were too short , which we were surprised about , we told you to pick up a set locally , they are only 6mm socket cap bolts , and will be readily available from any good bolt suppliers , you said on email that you couldn't find one , and Ben did a quick google search and found these straight away local to Len

SWG LTD
Unit A
Castle Ind Park
Castle Way
Newbury
RG14 2EZ

Which you replied

Cool, I'm sure Len can find some then. We just ran out of time on the day sadly. I did pass on that address. Sadly I'm not in Newbury, so cannot get them myself.


Cheers,


Gary.


What would have been the sensible thing to do , is measure the bolts while Len was trying to fit them , not just put it back together and say you need different bolts , yes I can supply any bolts needed , but I don't know what length you need.
Your last email to me stated that both Len and yourself was too busy to do it now , so as your car has been put back together , I don't see why there is an issue with you not being able to drive it , as your first post says the brakes are worn , but not worn out.

So you saying we are not helping you is a bit unfair , we will help you as much as we possibly can

Cheers Ian