Finally a good brake setup for the XT....

Well I wonder what those are?

 

http://www.legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=66841&stc=1&d=1240710989

 

Thanks Jeremy and RaceBrake, I think you will be selling alot of this setup soon.

 

http://www.legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=66842&stc=1&d=1240711157

 

Install went fine, I couldn't use the vented shim but it's not an issue as there are still two.

 

http://www.legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=66843&stc=1&d=1240711407

 

Followed the instructions of the Hawk pads to bed the brakes in, didn't get to do much more driving but I'll follow up tomorrow. They do grip very well already, I am sure some of that feeling is just getting rid of my worn out pads. Can't wait to install my Whiteline Adj. RSB next.

 

Rotors: RaceBrake 9004-141

 

Pads: Hawk HB432

real nice!!

Very Nice, what's the price? And are you doing the rear the same way?

RacingBrake have it for $110.25 per rotor. Should be nice setup for stage 2.

Slotted and dimpled? or are those drilled?

What's the difference ?? You still have the Outback caliper ??

The difference is the enhanced braking and longer life. The little brakes we have on our OBs cause the rotors to warp prematurely. Vented in any way will help cool the heat. Now another winning upgrade is braided lines.

 

Vented Rotors, New Pads, Braided Lines. That is the way to make an improvement on the OB. A little upgrade like this and you will have better braking then a stock LGT.

OK some more info. Yes they are drilled through as well as vented all along the edge as you can see in the third picture. The cost was just over $170 for the pair of rotors and the Hawk pads were around $70, again thanks to Jeremy at Fred Beans Subaru. I used Napa rotors in the rear with Hawk pads.

 

Again the calipers the XT uses are the same as a WRX, could they be better...sure but they aren't bad if you use good rotors/pads. I will be switching to SS lines when I flush the brake system as well.

 

I haven't had a chance to really test them yet, but I can tell it's been a worthwhile investment already on the limited driving I've done with them so far.

I'm glad this set-up worked out good for you man!

Biker well done on making the best out of a poor setup. Upgrading pads and rotors along with SS lines eventually will get the best performance out of your system as you can get. This is a good setup for a little aggressive street driving.

 

Now for the however. The upgrade you did will no doubt get you better initial bite then stock, maybe on par with the stock LGT setup maybe a little better. Overall stopping distance while better than stock won't be as good as an LGT especially after multiple stops. The size difference is just too great and physics is just against you. The moment arm and increased surface area provided by the larger disc and the heat sink ability of the larger mass is too great to overcome with just an upgrade in materials.

 

For those of you who haven't looked at your brakes recently. All OBXT's have vented front discs and solid rear discs stock. Granted the venting is not as efficient a design as aftermarket rotors but it does its job under most normal conditions. To my knowledge there is no vented rotor disc that will fit our stock rear caliper setup as it's just too narrow so you're stuck with a solid rotor unless you upgrade the caliper.

 

As I and most of the people on the boards agree, especially the racing types, cross drilling is only for show these days as it doesn't serve a purpose anymore with the advancement of brake pads and can be downright dangerous under racing conditions due to the potential for catastrophic failure. Though under street conditions they'll be fine. Slotted however is more of a tossup as far as benefits.

 

SS lines with good fluid and a well bled system will do wonders for pedal feel and response. A good bleed is not only possible, it is essential to good braking.

 

Finally the best braking for your buck comes from your tires. So if you're fortunate to be able to afford a set of summers or if you don't ever see snow grab a set of the stickiest ones you can find and you won't be disappointed with the performance.

 

Have fun with the new brakes and make sure you bed them in properly as that will aid in braking and increase brake life. http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58401 is a very good read for some extra info.

What's the difference ?? You still have the Outback caliper ??

 

Cross drilled rotors have a bad tendency to crack as well as eat up pads much faster.

So really the best all around upgrade is Braided lines and a brake fluid flush?

 

At least the brakes look cool when they are cross drilled.

Both slotted and dimpled and just slotted will give you that "performance" look and also provide great braking results. The best bang for your buck is HPS pads, stainless lines, and a performance fluid.

^^^^What he said.

 

Better rotors won't do much as far as normal street application is concerned. Better rotors may give the pedal a slightly stiffer feel then stock as they might be a little harder metal, most people won't notice it and the overall performance increase will be negligible. Unless you're pushing them at the track or possibly auto-x you'll never see the effects of an aftermarket rotor's superior metallurgy or vent design because you won't ever get enough heat buildup.

 

If you don't plan on upgrading to LGT brakes or possibly something bigger, the best bang for the buck is good pads, steel lines and changing to a better fluid/bleed. Even the lines you can probably skip though they'll give you better feel.

 

Honestly, the biggest gains you'll see in braking will come from better tires. Until you can no longer lock up your tires, your tires are being outperformed by your brakes and are the weak link in your braking system. Sure heat and a bunch of other stuff figures into brake selection too but in the end brakes don't stop cars tires do.

LGT:Just upgraded to DBS4000 slotted +HPS pads all around. Never saw enough data to justify drilled.

I had OEM rotors HPS & SS lines, Motul fluid. There is a noticable difference with the new rotors, stops faster and smooth.

 

Bridgestone RE960AS pole position 225/45-17 made a big difference (5 mos ago). I would rate brakeing improvements:

#1 Tires

#2 rotors/pads

#3 SSL

RB Sells the upgraded rear caliper brackets and rotors to improve rear bias for those that have front BBK...In my case, I put on 04 STI Front Brembos with Hawk HP+ all fours, Motul 600 and braided lines...

 

Before the rear brakes were good, with the Rear Brakes are much much better!!! Really worth the cost compared to STI rears calipers if you have a DD or sometime Xcrosser....

Did the 04 STI Brembos bolt right on to the OBXT without modifications?

Well I have a few good days of driving on the new brake setup now and the pedal feel is greatly improved. They start to bite much sooner when using the brakes and the brakes are more progressive. A worthwhile upgrade to the stock XT brakes.

You still have the Outback caliper ??

 

FSR, I don't mean to pee on your parade, but like the others who've posted here I'm wondering why you didn't go to LGT-spec brakes...

 

I can guess that new rotors and pads was a lot less expensive than new pads, rotors, AND calipers (and I know it's easier).

 

Bimmer

I have 5 kids so I keep my toy expenditures in check, the upgrades I made have improved the braking alot. If I were going to track the car I would go further but not to LGT stuff but to Brembo's. Right now I have better braking, better handling with just the Eagle GT's and I have a Whiteline adjustable RSB and Cobb AP still to install...then a DP but I need to spread the money around. The car is much better overall than the day I bought her, just wish Subaru built it this way to begin with.

I have 5 kids so I keep my toy expenditures in check...

 

I feel your pain. My wife and I have a three-year-old, and I'm the sole bread-winner...

 

One suggestion: I've got the Chase Subaru Mastercard, which gives me a 3% kickback on all purchases.

I've cashed in $100s and $100s at the Subaru dealer for parts, maintenance items, and upgrades.

It makes for really cheap (virtually free) upgrades, i.e. buying WRX parts for my Impreza or (eventually) LGT brakes for my XT.

The best bang for the $ buck $ when improving the braking performance of our Outback XT wagons is with Tires. Fellow member ScoobySTi07 hit the braking issue on the nose. The transfer of friction (brakes) to adhesion (tire patch) by that of high performance summer tires shouldn't be over looked .... but mistakenly this often is the case. Don't get me started on the Gawd awful braking. The Subi bean counters should be shot.

 

Our MY05 Outback XT w/A/T - Competent Street Commuter Wagon:

1. Japan domestic market Bilstein BTS kit w/JDM rear sway bar

2. Summer tires w/OEM 17" alloys (Michelin Pilot Super Sports)

...b. Winter M/S tires w/17" steel rims (Dunlop M2's or Michelin M/S)

3. Brake pads - HP friction pads (Hawk Pads, model HPS street or Pagid brand ..)

4. Brake fluid - HP brake fluid (ATE Blue, Motul, Stop Tech, etc)

 

The above recipe (of many) has a solid, stiff brake pedal character improving the brake performance.

 

QUOTE=ScoobySTi07;2425079]Biker well done on making the best out of a poor setup. Upgrading pads and rotors along with SS lines eventually will get the best performance out of your system as you can get. This is a good setup for a little aggressive street driving. Now for the however. ... Delete text

Finally, the best braking for your buck comes from your tires. So if you're fortunate to be able to afford a set of summers or if you don't ever see snow grab a set of the stickiest ones you can find and you won't be disappointed with the performance.

Delete text QUOTE

For a real budget brake setup, tires and pads and good synthetic fluid (valvoline is great since its $6/qt).

 

Was surprised the OBXT came with 2.5i sized brakes when I got it as well. (11.5" front, non vented 11.5" rear).

 

Also, for me, blank rotors are fine. There really is no difference in going to slots/dimples on a street car - especially when you have undersized rotors to begin with.

 

If I had a choice between used LGT front calipers + $50 generic blanks over $200 stock-sized fancy slotted/dimpled/drilled rotors, I'd pick the former.