johnr

Hi folks,

This is my first foray into the wonderful world of Scoobynet, having only owned the gorgeous beast for a few weeks.

Having trawled through the various postings, I have come to the conclusion that the majority of you recommend uprating the brakes before everything else and I have to say I can see your point.

My question is, do I really need to shell out a large wedge for a full swap or is there a more pocket friendly option, eg can I just change the pads?

Any help much appreciated.

John

GaryC

See other threads for details, but I have:

Mintex 1155s - £60/pair
Bremsport grooved discs - £113/pair

Difference that makes to braking power is awesome.

GavinP

John,

There are several options available (with varying prices) and as with most things, the more you spend, the better the performance:

1. Brake fluid (e.g. AP 5.1 £10 per bottle)
2. Pads - as per GaryC's post £60
3. Standard-size disks/pads £170-230 total
4. Hi-Spec disks/bells (315mm) £400 + pads
5. Wilwood calipers/disks £900 inc
6. Tarox brake kit £1200 inc
7. AP or Brembo kits £1500 inc

Fitting a brake master cylinder support bracket (£50)and/or braided hoses (£50) improves feel and effectiveness.

The "order of merit" for options 5-7 is contentious as no testing of the options back-to-back has been done.

These are approximate prices (excluding fitting) but you get the idea...

If you have a MY99/00 or STi, you can offset some of the cost by selling your old 4-pot calipers, etc - there is a fairly healthy market for these items.

It really depends how much you want to spend (and how good you want the brakes to be).

IHTH

Thanks

Gavin

Jake

If you just upgrade the pads and discs only the brakes work better but not good enough IMHO, so just save the money you spend on uprated pads etc and go for the Brembo or AP jobbies and do the job properly

MarkL

Something I didn't notice mentioned above was stainless steel braided hoses and a master brake cylinder bracket. Both of these will improve the firmness and feel of the brake pedal. To improve stopping power and reduce fade look to the upgrades mentioned above.

GaryC

Jake - would have to disagree with you.

I have spent 10% of the cost of a full Brembo/AP kit on upgrading my brakes as described above. I do 25-30000 miles per year, my car gets 'enthusiastic' driving at weekends (Rivington Hills/Shap/Forest of Bowland/Saddleworth moor etc), and a couple of track events per year. My brake set-up is more than adequate for during the week, and perfectly adequate for weekend 'blasts'. Since upgrading, I have not had brake fade (even after 20 minutes of hard driving/braking), and never 'only just managed to stop in time' and now have stopping power that not only 'hurts', but impressed a 993RS driver.

I am venturing on to the track in July to see how they fair, but regardless of performance, I am not spending £1500-£2000 on improved braking performance for a couple of days a year!

£1500-2000 would be better spent on 'tuition' IMO!

GavinP

I would say your starting point is important on this one - if you have a MY99/00 Impreza with 4-pot brakes, fitting better disks and pads will probably elevate the set-up enough to be happy with (it is all down to personal choice at the end of the day!).

If you start with 2-pot calipers (as I did), I did not feel that the brakes were up to the job until I had 315mm disks fitted (after buying better standard-size disks and uprated pads).

It is a personal thing

Thanks

Gavin

phill chinn

Please excuse my ignorance, I have a MY98 sti,


Do I have 2 or 4 pot callipers?
Braided hoses
Good, bad, or indifferent discs.
Do I need a master cylinder support bracket

I had mintex pads fitted at last service there seamed to be an improvement, would better discs be the next step? and can I by the discs now (AP & Brembo) and the callipers later or is that just too expensive.

Also away from this subject is there a list of all the abbreviation you lot use, cos it's hell for a dyslexic like me

MarkL

Phil,

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you've got an STi V, which should mean you have Subaru 4-pot brakes with the standard rubber brake hoses. The front calipers will have "Subaru" written across them.

Braided hoses will prevent flex in the hoses under braking (reducing the sponginess) and a master brake cylinder bracket will reduce flex in there (also reducing sponginess). Your uprated pads should have improve the braking performance. They may improve the feel too as you don't have to stamp so hard for the same result! Assuming the discs are standard you could swap them for Group N discs or grooved discs that some people have been raving about lately.

Of course you don't NEED any of this stuff, but they're options if you want more from your brakes.

I'm currently using similar kit to you on my MY98 UK-spec car, except with Pajid pads and braided hoses, and the performance is pretty good. I haven't done any track days though. I'm probably going to get the brake cylinder bracket at some point and will change to Group N or grooved discs when mine need changing (or I feel very rich!)

GavinP

Phil,

Just to add a little to Mark's response, the size of disks used for your brakes now (approx 295mm across and 24mm thick) and the AP/Brembo kits are different (i.e. bigger diameter and thickness - 300mm+ across, 28mm+ thick) - so all have to be changed at once.

The brake bracket stops the master cylinder moving forward when applying the brakes (you can try this yourself by putting your hand on the cylinder and getting someone else to push on the brakes). These are about £50 and can be fitted yourself without much hassle -

phill chinn

Mark and Gavin,


Thanks a lot, I’m slowly learning more about my motor from this brilliant site.

I drove my mates UK 98 and fell in love with it, went to David hendrys and fell more in love with the STI's without knowing a great deal about them. But from reading the postings on this site I’m learning more each day, and also from driving it each day.

I think I’ll get the hoses and bracket changed at next service 30,000 as they change the fluid on that one, I believe.

Once again thanks

RESSE

iTrader: (1)

I took my 1994 WRX to Graham Goode (Leicester) and had the delimiter removed and a 180mph speedo fitted.

Brake conversion changed the driverability of the car.

Costs - Front brake conversion £620, Goodridge hose kit £50 labour charge £45 per hour.

johnr

All,

Thanks for the advice, a great help. It looks like it's just a matter of waiting for that all important bonus before making a final decision!

As I forgot to mention it earlier, I have a Dark Green MY98 so keep an eye out in the Wokingham area. Haven't actually spotted many yet apart from a silver N plate 5 door in Tesco car park.

John