Simple brakes question?

Hello people,

 

So my 2009 2.5i just tripped 91K miles all on the original braking hardware and I have been noticing slight vibration under firm braking so I took a look at the pads and they appear to be on the way out. I can complain b/c most peoples say their brakes go around 60K miles.

 

So two questions:

Should I get stock OEM Subaru replacement rotors or Centric or plain or parts store rotors?

 

Brake Pads: I hear good things about Wagner Thermo-Quiet pads but I also like the lower dust amounts with ceramic, which would be a better choice?

 

 

In addition to this I will be flushing all the fluid for fresh brake fluid and swapping to braided lines to negate line expansion under heavy braking.

 

Its a DD not a track car, not a fast car for that matter , I just want to stop and feel good about it

I have found the guys at http://www.AZPinstall.com are good with this type of question. Call or email them.

 

They have great prices too.

Eric at Brakeswap is good (he's on this formum as well). www.brakeswap.com

Unless you drive your DD REALLY hard, those stainless lines won't make much of a difference, if at all.

 

I have stock rotors with Hawk HPS pads and recently got the Grimmspeed Master Cylinder Reinforcement Brace. I'm happy with my setup. No vibration during braking or anything and the pedal is responsive.

 

Lots of people run with stock rotors or Centric blanks and are very happy with them and experience no problems.

I have found the guys at http://www.AZPinstall.com are good with this type of question. Call or email them.

 

They have great prices too.

 

Thank you as always Max.

 

The OEM stuff is over priced since it comes from Subaru and they need to make some money just like everyone else. Centric Premiums, which are a blank rotor, hold up extremely well and are well priced at 170 for all four corners. Also the Hawk HPS pads are a nice pad versus the stock ones and again cheaper at 300 for all four corners. They dont dust badly and can hold up to some decent abuse.

 

We sell all this stuff and can have it to your door if need be. Just PM us or call us!

 

-Jake

 

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Also, If you're worried about your lines experiencing thermal expansion under hard braking, I wouldn't be using ceramic pads. I'd get something more aggressive. Your vibration is likely caused by your aggressive driving on a pad that isn't designed for that type of driving.

Unless you drive your DD REALLY hard, those stainless lines won't make much of a difference, if at all.

 

I have stock rotors with Hawk HPS pads and recently got the Grimmspeed Master Cylinder Reinforcement Brace. I'm happy with my setup. No vibration during braking or anything and the pedal is responsive.

 

Lots of people run with stock rotors or Centric blanks and are very happy with them and experience no problems.

 

Does that reinforcement brace really work? My GT's brakes feel like poop all the time, I've read the posts about the Sti MC swap and have considered it.. but I just live with it. I actually just finished changing new rotors, pads, and flushed my fluid and it's slightly better, but no big difference in my braking.

 

I actually just drove an 05 2.5i wagon last night and the brakes seemed better maybe marginally (although I'm sure weight wise it's less since it was a completely empty car, and my GT is completely full with tools etc.

It works, yeah. The pedal feel was immediately improved. I finished the install, started up my car, and stepped on the brake with the car sitting still and it was noticeable right away. Check the group buy thread about people's reviews.... it's overwhelmingly positive.

 

You get used to the higher pedal fairly quickly. After a day or two of driving, you adapt to it.

Very cool, I just found the thread. Funny because when I typed in exactly Grimmspeed Master Cylinder it didn't come up... sheesh!

Skipping the SS lines

 

When shopping around is there a difference in LGT and 2.5i rotors ?

 

I would ideally like a slotted front rotor to aide in gas evacuation under hard traffic stops and good pads (hawk etc) and good fluid all up front. The rear doesn't need replacing but I do need to adjust the parking shoes but i cant find the adjuster in the rear.

Slotted is ok, but not that big of a deal from what I've seen, heard, and experienced. It's funny even on the track you find weekend warriors using blank rotors, and they're pushing the brakes far beyond what you will. I just took off my dba5000 slotted 2 piece rotors to change out the outer rings (ive tracked the rotors several times) and put on basic blank rotors temporarily, and on the street, I don't feel all that much difference. But hey, you might as well try out slots for the fun of it. Have you looked at dba4000? I had a set and they seemed to work decent.

 

Again, you could go blank disks with some good pads and I think you'd be fine. I'm no expert, but I've tried out several rotors and pads (on and off the track) and now have aftermarket calipers.

Centric or deal on stock for rotors

Want ceramic pads but not sure given the responses

Motul 5.1 Fluid

Motul's expensive stuff. From what I hear, it's the best. But do you think you'll really need it? Just trying to save you a few bucks. If you think you'll boil you'll fluid, then by all means, go buy it. Otherwise, something like ATE Type 200 or Super Blue (same stuff, different color) should be just fine.

 

edit: Ack, sorry, I'm confusing Motul 5.1 with Castrol SRF. Castrol is the one that costs an arm and a leg. You'll be fine with Motul. ATE costs about the same, give or take, and performs the same as well.

Found the Centrics for $47/per and went with Hawk pads and the Motul. I know it wasn't needed but whats $7 worth of overkill on a 2.5i. I wanted to go big since i will be selling it soon so the name brand parts should further ease the mind of the potential buyer

 

 

Thanks for the help from all!

I had AZP do my brakes a couple months ago. Centric Premiums, Hawk HPS and SS lines all around with a brake flush. I LOVE it. The pedal is firmer thanks to the SS lines and the pads are much better than stock. I had an "OH SHIT!" moment a few days ago where I was able to stop about a cars' length away from the car in front of me with a little more travel left in the brake pedal.

 

I haven't yet experienced the 'weak initial bite when cold' like some have. I do have a few stop signs, turns and lights before I get to the Parkway though, so they do go through a light warm-up stage.

Yeah I have not notices any "weakness" on these cold morning but I too have 3 stops before I get to I-66 then it is traffic free for 30 miles

I've got the 2.5i front brakes on my car and the gt rears. The fronts are only 11.5" diameter. The gt fronts are 12.4". So yeah, there is a diff between non-turbo and turbo brakes. The wrx fxt and 2.5i all share the same front brakes. 11.5"x0.9". I'm running centrics on my car and they are great performance wise. I'm extremely irritated that the hats are bare iron so they are already rusting. My oem lgt rotors have a satin black coating everywhere except the friction surface. So, bear that in mind when you shop for rotors. Soon, my hats will have a hideous coating of rust.

 

My pads, I'm running performance friction z-rated up front and I can say it's the best pad I've ever owned. I've had hawk hps, axis metal masters and pbr semi metallics. All dusted horribly. The PFC z rated are amazing. They take a little heat but have an aggressive initial bite when hot. They barely dusted after a full day on the Tail of the Dragon in Deals gal.

 

My rear pads, however, suck. They are autozone cmax gold full ceramics. My rationale was that the rears only do about 30% of the braking so ceramics should be fine back there. Well, as it turns out, they couldn't handle the heat. The rear rotors are blued around the hats and there was standing brake dust inside my rims. On my last run onthe dragon, my pads were squeaking.

 

If anyone has suggestions for a rear pad with low dust and better heat tolerance, I'm all ears