victoz

iTrader: (1)

Hi All,

I have '05 WRX 2.5 PPP with stock brakes.

I went on a how-fast session last Saturday and found that the brakes were starting to fade very quickly - only after a couple of laps of Bedford West - to the point where they are really soft and hardly working. When I came back to pits the front wheels were smoking (I can still feel the smell inside ).

On the road I had no issues so far. This is my main car which I use to commute to work every day, and also I'd like to go occasionally to a track day maybe once every few months.

I am thinking this may be good time to replace/upgrade discs and pads; however I am not prepared to spend a lot (yet).

What would you recommend to do?

I was thinking along the lines of grooved discs with bluestuff, also high temperature fluid and maybe also braided lines.

Thanks
Victor

F1 CJE UK

iTrader: (8)

Hard one, the only real way to fix the issue is better brakes!

I did the pads and brake fluid but it didn't give me that much gain and just killed the discs, ended up going for some big boy APs.

victoz

iTrader: (1)

Hmm I don't think my budget will stretch as far as upgrading the entire braking system. I'll have to stick to standard size brakes for now (4-pot calipers can't be that bad, can they?)

Any recommendation on discs/pads/etc ?

I am rather new to Subaru so any advice is appreciated

tarquin crispin

brakes and suspension you dont scrimp on same with fluids really

ajsscooby

iTrader: (5)

Hi,

I have been through various combinations of discs and pads over the last 6 years with standard 4 pots on my Hawk (320hp/375lbs) and ended up with the following for a day of lap after lap, fade free braking (went through 3 tanks of fuel!):-

Standard calipers with SS pistons (no sticking).
Standard plain discs.
EBC Orange stuff front & back.
No anti squeal shims.
Braided hoses & Dot5.1 fluid.

No cause for concern about the brakes at any point during the day.

Downside: The pads were new at the start of the day but only a couple of MM remaining for the drive home.

So, as a standard STi comes out of the factory with less power and bigger brakes I realised that I was pushing the standard setup way beyond their design brief and snapped up a ksport 8 pot 330mm kit that someone was offering on S-net. Loads more braking power and pads hardly worn after a track day.

Conclusion - cost loads over the years on carbon/yellow/kevlar pads, black diamond/groved/standard discs, SS pistons etc etc. looking for that miracle brake solution (big brake performance without spending the money), spent more than it would have cost for a decent setup in the first place which I ended up buying anyway.


Hope this helps.

All the best,

AJS

victoz

iTrader: (1)

This helps a lot, thanks!

I am now looking at Godspeed big brake conversion kit with 335mm discs which fits with standard 4-pot calipers and 17" wheels. Link is here:
http://www.godspeedbrakes.co.uk/~god...id_product=121

Good compromise?

fawor

iTrader: (3)

no, 550, yours are worth 100 =650
and when time come to change discs you have to buy his for silly money
good d2 or ksport 356mm kit with good pads will cost you 915,but You need 18"
buy brembo approx 300 plus discs 100-150 and ebc blue or orange 120-140 or try to find better pads on ebay for similar money and You will end with better set up than kit above with 50-70 quid for braided lines and 5.1 dot brake fluid

F1 CJE UK

iTrader: (8)

I would give some one like Godspeed a call, seems a good guy

Godspeed Brakes

iTrader: (259)

And then add £200-£500 for wheels as the brembo's will not fit under the standard WRX wheels , if your going to give out info make sure its right and in full !

Our 335mm discs are not ' silly money ' when compared to other makes , they are £122 + vat each.

For the money , our 335mm kit with the RIGHT pads to SUIT the driver are unbeatable , but that is only if the Subaru calipers are working properly with no sticky pistons.

For the real hard driver with the standard Subaru 4 pots and 294mm discs , or those doing track days another good pad is the Carbonne Lorraine RC5+ , we have been trying these for the last couple of months , and have done a track day on them and we had zero fade and very good wear rates , the down side of them is they can be squeely at low speeds , they are cheaper than the orangestuff , cheaper than all the good pads infact

Cheers Ian

fawor

iTrader: (3)

244 plus vat is silly for oem discs,dont think yours are ebc,brembo or other steel design discs
main thing with calipers are piston size mean power pressure plus pads size and compound,stis pads are bigger to
he can buy 326mm discs with vanes for less than 100 with no difference to heat transfer,
and easilly sell his wheels-alloys and buy stis 17 for similar money
and You have no idea what kind of wheels he owe,he wrote standard calipers not standard wheels
my info is right and full, what i wrote above is way better system than yours.
next discs and pads change yours 400 mine 240,next when selling car he can swap brembo and sell them for 300 calipers only,he will be lucky to sell brackets , bells and bolts for 200.
do you wanna more info yet

Godspeed Brakes

iTrader: (259)

OEM discs ?? they are our specially made 335mm x 32mm rotors , compare them against all other separate rotors and ours are the cheapest , even against K sport discs

The STi pads are not bigger than our 335mm pads , we use a larger pad than the standard pad to suit the Subaru 4 pots.

victoz

iTrader: (1)

I have standard 17" WRX wheels. Is this correct that 330mm 8-pot brake kits such as Ksport or D2 will not fit?

jura11

iTrader: (7)

They will fit under yours WRX wheels,Brembo will not fit under yours WRX wheels




Jura

AS Performance

iTrader: (4)

as Jura states the 330 kits are designed to fit under std wheels, AP Racing kits also fit............

adamroutley

I've just ordered some new discs and pads (just fronts) from Scoobyworx for a very good price! I'm having them fitted this afternoon so I will report back in a few days how they are.

I went for SWRD grooved discs, Black Diamond Predator pads and the fitting kit. the lot came to £149 and delivered in a few days.

As a side note, Darrell who I dealt with the whole time was fantastic to do business with. Very quick to reply and helped out a lot with discounts from here.

AS Performance

iTrader: (4)

if your using for fast road and light track work the B/D pads will struggle IMO, find they aren't much if any better than a factory quality pad

victoz

iTrader: (1)

Ok, thanks everyone, the picture is a lot more clear to me now.

There is another important point though.

If I were to go for any type of big brakes in front, I would definitely change the balance between front and rear (i.e. under braking front wheels lock a lot quicker than rear, therefore ABS kicks in earlier). So I would have to replace rear brakes as well if I want to keep braking distance to the minimum; and even with all 4 upgraded how do I know if the bias is not changed big time.

From this point of view, swapping discs/pads to the same size seems to be a safer option, though a lot less suitable for track days.

Is this a valid point, what's your experience with big brakes, does the stopping distance get worse or I am thinking too much?

jura11

iTrader: (7)

Hi there

You should be OK,when you will be going with 330mm,you will not screw balance.If you will fit on front 356mm then you can screw balance,then I would suggest at least put on rear Brembo

Not sure if on OE 4pot setup is available Performance Friction Discs and pads,just with above Alyn@AS Performance and Ian@Godspeed Brakes


Jura

AS Performance

iTrader: (4)

for road use and light track you can "balance" the car by using a better spec rear pad to a point............

victoz

iTrader: (1)

Asked Scoobyworld about K-sport upgrade, they say the 330mm kit will fit under 18” rims only (306mm 6-pot kit for 17" rims).

Could anyone who upgraded std WRX with 330mm confirm please?

Godspeed Brakes

iTrader: (259)

if they told you that then they don't know what they are talking about , the 330mm kit WILL fit under 17" wheels , the 356mm kit is for 18" wheels
Cheers Ian

stonejedi

iTrader: (51)

You have been given incorrect info,as jura states 330 disc and K sport calipers will fit under 17 inch wheels.SJ.

stonejedi

iTrader: (51)

Sorry Ian you got there before me.SJ.

victoz

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for quick answers!

AS Performance

iTrader: (4)

can happily supply you a Ksport 330mm kit that WILL fit (not sure what our customers have been doing for wheels in the meantime if they dont)

as do AP RAcing, Alcon/Prodrive, etc..............

even std STi's use a 326mm disc

victoz

iTrader: (1)

Is Ksport kit good quality/reliable? No sticky pistons etc?

Could you give me a quote please (here or via PM) for Ksport
or other options
or the contact details?

I'd probably also need to swap the rear, not sure if entire kit or keep the calipers.