My wrx needs some brake work done and I plan on just overhauling the entire brake system. I stumbled upon the h6 rear brake upgrade which is pretty cheap to do. Has anyone here done this and if so what did you think about it?
Super easy. Only need rotors and caliper brackets from a '00-'04 Legacy/Outback or -'06 Baja (despite the name, it does not need to be from an H6 car). I haven't done that swap exactly, but I've done similar ones on other cars just to get larger rotors, and it generally feels like a decent upgrade, certainly for the cost/effort. Larger rotors does mean more unsprung AND rotating mass, so it's not all positives.
You can reuse the stock brake caliper? Is there any advantages to the outback caliper? My rears seem to be eating pads and rotors so I was planning on getting the outback caliper too. Probably unneccesary but I like the idea of new calipers. My issue is most likely dirty/sticky pins.
Caliper itself is identical, as are the pads. Only difference is the caliper bracket, which is only different to accommodate the larger OD rotor. I like the idea of new calipers. But I don't like the $300 ea price tag for actual new calipers, and I don't like the reliability of re manufactured ones. The only thing I haven't been able to repair myself on a caliper is a broken-off bleeder. Caliper hone is like $12, and seal kits, pin boots, and even new pistons are cheap aftermarket. I just rebuilt one of the fronts on my '97. Piston was $16 (not always needed), Pin boot set was $5, piston seal and boot was $2, it took me about 10 extra minutes. Reman caliper is like $65.... I were you, I'd run to UPull and grab some caliper brackets (not listed on their price list, but the whole caliper is $12 w/$2 core, both locations show at least one suitable donor vehicle right now), order up a pin boot set, some decent aftermarket rotors and sounds like you need pads.
I'm anticipating breaking bleeders so I guess we will see what happens. Sounds like rebuilding is a good way to. How ever getting the piston out of the caliper sounds like a head ache. Is there any way to tell if you need a new piston? They seemed fine when I did my brakes last
I did this upgrade on my old WRX, like said above it was very easy just bigger rotors/caliper brackets/pads
