03 WRX brake upgrade - opinions?

Discussion in 'Modifications And Maintenance' started by Krazylegz1485, Feb 9, 2020.

  1. Krazylegz1485
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    Krazylegz1485 Well-Known Member

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    Greetings, all. Once again seeking advice and opinions.

    Wife bought me a BIR HPDE class for my birthday, so I'm gonna finally be doing a little driver mod this summer. The end goal is to get into a couple small group track days that require a completed HPDE course (hence the birthday present).

    That said, I'm pretty sure my brakes are in need of an upgrade/overhaul and I'm not sure which route to take. That's where I'm hoping the years of experience here will help.

    My goal - best bang for the buck. As good of stopping power as I can achieve for my budget, best resistance to brake fade, etc. Not planning to sit on the track for hours at a time but I'd like to err on the side of a little too much braking than get myself in an "oh sh!t" situation and wish I had done something more.

    I've currently got stock fronts, H6 rears. Slotted rotors with middle of the road pads (not cheap, but not crazy spendy). Stainless lines on all corners and a GS MC brace.

    My fronts are soon to be in need of rotors. I'll get pads at the same time, and wouldn't be opposed to doing new calipers as well. I'm contemplating either 4-pots or the LGT conversion.

    4-pots gets me a million pad choices (and they're easier to change) as well as the ability to run my 16" stock wheels with snow tires come winter. The possible con, according to what I've read online, is they actually have less stopping power than the stock 2 piston ones I have, but allegedly have "better pedal feel." And that transfers the brake bias a little rearward, which it seems like a lot of people prefer. However, I've already achieved a little of that with the H6 conversion. Thoughts?

    Other option is to do the LGT front brakes. Larger diameter rotor gets me a little stronger braking up front, but sticks with a 2 piston caliper (not necessarily a bad thing I guess?). Cons I saw were have to run 17's, which isn't a problem until next winter (unless I get another set of snows), and also possibly limited on pad choices when compared to the 4-pots.

    Brembo's would be cool but that's definitely not in the budget.

    Definitely all ears when it comes to specific rotor/pad combos suggestions/opinions/experiences.

    Thanks to anybody that takes the time to read all of this. Definitely appreciate it.
    -Cody
     
  2. pbedroske
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    pbedroske Well-Known Member

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    It's been years maybe a decade since I've done any track driving. I haven't don BIR but I hear it's a fast track which will put some considerable temperature into your braking system. For track use, I'd go with something like Hawk HP+ at minimum. ( I have a set for fronts if you're interested). Also good fresh DOT 4 or 5 brake fluid. That will get you by at minimum with what you already have. It's up to you if you want more meat on the rotors or 4 pots for looks/street. HP+ is not a street pad btw.
     
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  3. Chux
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    Chux Well-Known Member

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    Grain of salt, I have zero hands-on experience with track racing like that. My "expertise" comes just from street and rally use (and the rally cars all had booster deletes).


    But, in order to run your stock wheels with the 4-pots, you will need spacers. GC 2.5RS 16x7s are the only stock wheels that clear those.

    IMO, the LGTs are not a great option. Mostly just adding unsprung and rotating mass. IMO without a better caliper, this is a downgrade.

    Going from stock 296mm 2-pots to the 4-pots was a good feel on the rally cars (of course, limited to that rotor size due to wheel size), always with the matching 2-pot rears. Brake pads can make a huge difference. The only back-to-back comparison I had was Hawk HPS and HP+. While the HP+s are awesome, do not use them in the winter, they do not work until you get some heat in them.


    So yea, quality performance (not parts store...) pads, for sure. 4-pot/2-pot is a good idea. The 2-pot rears also have the benefit of being vented, which will considerably help with cooling over the WRX or "H6" setup. Brembo's are awesome, but IMO not necessary unless you're making quite a bit more power and have really aggressive tires.
     
  4. Nhibbs
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    Nhibbs Well-Known Member

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    You def need some Porsche 10 pot brakes

    You will need 22" wheels to fit them but you will be able to stop the rotation of the earth...

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Krazylegz1485
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    Krazylegz1485 Well-Known Member

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    Did not know 2 pots had vented rears... Definitely more to consider now. Haha.
     
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2020
  6. Krazylegz1485
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    Krazylegz1485 Well-Known Member

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    Thoughts on reman/aftermarket calipers? Looks like I could get "new" ones for less than I can get used, junky looking ones on eBay. Even with a core charge. Granted they're not red and don't say Subaru on them, but don't really care about aesthetics.
     
  7. Nhibbs
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    Nhibbs Well-Known Member

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    Link? Are you saying you can buy aftermarket 4/2 pots that fit the Subaru?
    Or are you trying to buy a different car's calipers and trying to make it fit?
     
  8. Krazylegz1485
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    Krazylegz1485 Well-Known Member

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    RockAuto. You can get reman'd calipers for the 06/07 WRX. They look identical minus the fancy red paint and white letters. Only downside is they don't have both sides for the rears.

    LF is $113.99
    RF is $114.09
    LR is $125.99

    All prices including cores (which I obviously wouldn't have).
     
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  9. Krazylegz1485
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    Krazylegz1485 Well-Known Member

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    Although those Porsche ones are pretty cool, I'd probably have better luck with the Cadillac ones people swap on.
     
  10. Nhibbs
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    Nhibbs Well-Known Member

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    I put new calipers on my 1995 Tacoma that were big 4 pot fixed calipers in the front. I got them on Rockauto and they were painted nice shiny black and were like $65 IIRC lol.

    You would have to figure out how to mount them to your knuckle and no clue if wheels would fit but they would be a cheap beefy caliper lol. Might mess up brake bias a bit though.

    I would stick with those remanufactured 06/07 calipers
     
  11. Krazylegz1485
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    Krazylegz1485 Well-Known Member

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    Here's a pretty good write up on Nasioc. Apparently it's pretty common now to find them rebuilt.

    https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2886638

    One little snippet I found interesting, as I was kinda thinking about doing this myself if I went through O'Reilly's.

    "3. rebuilding these things is simple, but at $150 and under for reman calipers including the core charge, then take your stock 02-05 caliper back as core. They will take it and won't even open the box."
     
  12. Krazylegz1485
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    Krazylegz1485 Well-Known Member

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    Definitely will. Was more so slightly joking. I don't have the patience or time to deal with tracking all that crap down and making it work. Bolt on and go is so much more convenient.
     
  13. Chux
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    Chux Well-Known Member

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    Remanufactured ones can be decent. I've used the aftermarket seals and boots that are used on them many times without issues. But I've had a couple reman ones leak or seize (cardone one on my Celica seized after a few years of summer-only use....). I don't think their quality control is very good, so if they get a nasty core, it'll probably leak. I also think they don't use very good grease. But, they'll be under warranty...

    Autozone is awesome about not caring about what the core is, and warranty. It might be worth spending the extra up front so you know you can get it replaced if you have an issue.

    Or, get the cheap ones, and be prepared to rebuild them yourself. I got my hands on a pretty nasty pair a few years ago, and rebuilt them myself. Ended up not having a use for them and sold them (wish I hadn't, as there are kits to put them on an SVX now).



    And yes, vented rear. Honestly I always thought the old Tleg vented rear 260mms (calipers are now very difficult to find) were better than the solid "H6" 290mms.
     
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