I am facing an internal dilemma that I think many of us here have faced at one time or another... Budget vs. Wants/Quality/Effort As some of you have seen, I recently picked up a full set of 2002 WRX Brakes: Rotors, Pads, Calipers, Brackets. The plan was to upgrade the Front Caliper Brackets on my RS with the WRX ones, and then upgrade to the larger WRX rotors and pads. Well, it turns out the Pads are no good, and probably no good to re-use, even if they we're in better shape... The rotors have cleaned up okay, but new ones are only $29 or so... The calipers, while I do not need them, are also rough. I was hoping to sell those here or on Ebay... but it is looking like they need a rebuild, including Pistons in at least a few... this means that each caliper will run $20-$40 depending on the number of pistons and if the boots need replaced or not. The brackets, which I really needed, are rusty, but working and just need a bit of TLC. I bought the set for $40, but it looks like I need $80-$150 to refurbish the extras and sell them. Then factor in needing Pads, possibly rotors, and wanting to paint my calipers right, my $40 score became a $200-$400 investment which may take awhile to re-coop in selling the the extra parts... My problem gets worse when you consider that this will make the front braking bias much greater, so I will need to upgrade the rears to H6 Rotors, brackets, and pads. Another similar investment... Sorry for the long back-story, but how do you all manage the hidden expenses of projects as well as upgrading to what you want (upgraded brakes w/ Hawk Pads, new rotors, and red calipers) vs. what you can afford (budget pads, existing rotors, no paint, just cleaned)?
I research what I buy long before I buy it. And I price shop. And I utilize eBay. And I don't purchase before I am sure I have enough to cover all the expenses that MAY(WILL) come up. In your situation, I would have thought about the entire braking system rather than just the front bits. That was your first mistake. You wouldn't buy just the front two wheels, you'd look for a set of 4. You wouldn't buy just the muffler, you'd buy the whole pipe and all the bolts you need to do it. Motor cars can be broken down into systems. Each system should be considered as a whole as you are planning mods for it. If you plan on upgrading your suspension, you don't just buy the springs...you think about what the struts will do with those springs, and how the bushings will react, and how the swaybars fit into the equation.
Thanks readyMix. I jumped on the brake parts as they we're a good deal... I think more research would have certainly helped me here. I reflected a bit more after the post and figured worst case was I spent $40 on some parts I can't install yet. I really don't need to install these parts tomorrow. They can wait a bit for when I can afford the other necessary parts... I think that saving more and researching more is probably the key... I would love to hear other opinions/stories/ideas as well.
i have a set of wrx pads that id give u for the price of shipping that have about 25-40% pad left for the front
DONT BUY USED BRAKE PARTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not to be a jerk, but its just a very strong feeling I have. Trust me, for being responsible for THOUSANDS of brake jobs, its just not worth it! Brakes are the most important part of ur vehicle (lets be honest here, they keep u alive) tires are second btw. If ur going to spend money on a brake upgrade, invest in new wear material, hydraulic components are the ones to be sold and reused, ect.. Again, sorry, just my .02 readymix is right, but it seems like ur doing what u can with ur situation. i say work on getting the whole braking equation sorted before install... I'd be happy to help, stop by if u want
Do you plan on keeping the car?? If so, I would invest in some good pads. A $29 rotor is a round piece of steel, and you will be lucky if it is truely round. These parts would/could save your life. Why would you cheap out there?? BTW, now you know why you picked up all those parts for $40. Get a set of good rotors. Something that has some mass to it. Check out frozenrotors.com. MNSubaru gets atleast 10% off, and cryo rotors will probably outlast the car. Get a good set of pads based off of what you plan on doing with the car. Again, frozen rotors and more than likely hawk hps pads will do the job for a DD. Make sure you flush the fluid. If you can purchase all the parts at once, do a little at a time. Cheap rotors + cheap pads = warped/deposit filled rotors that will crack and fail. Russ
Well after the additional comments here and from a few other sources, I'm keeping the Brackets, but scrapping the Pads, Rotors, and I'll throw the Calipers out on craigslist to get them out of my apartment... I should come out maybe $20 in the hole for stupidity. Not bad, considering the other option might have been literally being in a hole... I'll buy some new pads and rotors to fit the larger bracket since it is just dirty. I'll do the same thing for the rears, except I can actually purchase the rear bracket individually for only $20 or so new from the parts store and then I'll add the upgraded rotors/pads. Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Bora, I'll stop by the shop soon and talk to you... WRX1, thanks for the feedback on FrozenRotors. I knew we had the discount, but I didn't know they were a local shop. Edit: To WRX1's first question... I plan on keeping the car for awhile. I'd love to upgrade to a WRX, but it's going to be at least 5+ years I'd say. Also, it is a DD, but I would love to start getting into some Autocross or other form of racing this summer maybe...
Research first agreed. Although it would be terrific to be able to buy frozen rotors and hawk hps pads, braided lines brand new etc. These are all excellent parts btw. I am wondering what the advice is for pattertj regarding his last statement about budget.
EXACTLY. I started looking at a set of red four pots on NASIOC for $450, then I went on subaruparts.com and found out that I can get NEW ones (most likely professional rebuilds, eh) for $500 shipped. This is for fronts only, but come on. Let me think about this for a minute. for $50, I can get something that isn't filthy and in need of a rebuild. Sounds ok to me. Another thing I have always applied when looking at an upgrade/researching an idea I have is the BUY IT F-ING ONCE policy. Don't "upgrade" to something you don't really want to, or buy something cheaper only to replace it with what you really want later. Now you're spending money twice. That's stupid. You may have to wait an extra month or two in order to buy something, but you got what you really wanted/needed the first time.
Research and patience will save you time, money, and frustration. However, don't think that this will be the only time you waste money on parts you don't need or use. Plans and ideas change. Maybe you'll experiment with something that doesn't work out. Who knows. Anyways, $40 is not an expensive lesson, so don't beat yourself up over it.
