ladysmanfelpz Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 So my left front caliber seized up on me and was toasting my rotor. Took it to a local shop and they want to replace both front rotors and brake pads and the left caliber for $550 with labor. I've seen some slot and drilled front rotor kits on ebay with ceramic pads, but are these any good? What's people's experiences with these and/or what would you do in my situation? Thanks subie friends Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TbirdMan Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Honestly, slotted/drilled rotors on a street car are more show then go. Unless you road race or drive like an idiot on the street, it isn't really worth the extra cost. I actually have crossdrilled rotors (previous owner installed) and plan to replace them with standard rotors soon. now a good set of pads will make a big difference, but keep in mind, the harder the pads the more rotors you are going to eat up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FJuan Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Crossdrilled are nice if you're going for looks, otherwise they don't provide anymore performance over blank rotors. Ebay rotors are a 50/50 gamble, unless you know for sure what type of metal they used and how they milled & balance it. If you're looking for quailty crossdrilled, IMO I would recommend StopTech or DBA. As for pads, a lot of members run Hawks HPS or StopTech pads. These are great pads for daily driving. Ebay "no name" pads are cheap, so expect to get what you pay for. My wife's balls are delicious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TbirdMan Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Brembo makes good drilled too, but as was stated, no real world benefit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenMarine Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 DO THE JOB YOURSELF... I just did this exact same job last Friday... Cost me a whopping $93 for the caliper from Autozone ($35 of which I got back for the core)... Then a simple hour and a half on the jack stands (only that long because I had driven the car to Autozone to get the caliper just before and had to wait for the caliper and rotor to cool before I started working on things)... Seriously, I priced EVERYTHING (Rotors, calipers and pads from Autozone) and if you do the job yourself one weekend it'll still cost you less in parts than that shop is trying to charge you for what is honestly less than an hour's work with air tools... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenMarine Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Oh yeah, forgot to mention... If your car is a daily driver and you really don't care about spending a ton of $$$ on it, just go to Autozone. EVERYTHING I listed above (Rotors, Calipers and even PADS!) have lifetime warranty's... If they ever fail (or wear down - Pads) take them back and get new ones... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladysmanfelpz Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 autozone even had the caliper? are calipers universal or was it just luck of the draw they had one for a subaru legacy gt? im in a small town so most likely they wont have car specific parts. and how was the difficulty of install? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TbirdMan Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Most autoparts stores stock one or two of most common calipers. you would be amazed how much they actually stock behind that counter. and no, calipers are not universal, I would say at advance when I worked there we had a couple hundred calipers in the back at any given time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie_sheen Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 racingbrake has good prices too. but like F1 said, dba and stoptech are solid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heresmymind Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 i always did Auto Zone rotors because After auto x season and I warped the hell out of em I'd just trade em in for a new set. for 550$ you can buy subaru 4 pots and wrx rotors w/ pads of rs25 forums or nasioc. if you dont plan on any type of auto x or racing. just stick to stock subaru pads they work great. -B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lulzcow Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Go get a set of calipers and brackets from a junkyard. I got a set from an 02 WRX for 180 bucks, and those came with EBC blue stuff brake pads in them (I got lucky). A set of Stoptech Street Performance pads and DBA slotted and vented rotors both for an 02' WRX together came out to 200 bucks. So for $170 less, I was able to do the WRX front brake conversion with upgraded rotors and pads for a lot cheaper than $550. Do it yourself, just make sure your bleeder valves point up when you install the calipers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lulzcow Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Oh, and it might have been overkill, but those brakes felt like they could stop a train. Totally worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesm113 Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Oh yeah, forgot to mention... If your car is a daily driver and you really don't care about spending a ton of $$$ on it, just go to Autozone. EVERYTHING I listed above (Rotors, Calipers and even PADS!) have lifetime warranty's... If they ever fail (or wear down - Pads) take them back and get new ones... Really? Even the pads can be replaced for free?!?! I know where I'm getting my next set of brake pads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenMarine Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 autozone even had the caliper? are calipers universal or was it just luck of the draw they had one for a subaru legacy gt? im in a small town so most likely they wont have car specific parts. and how was the difficulty of install? They didn't have it in store. They had to order it from the distributer... Ordered it the night before at 7pm and picked it up the next day at lunch... Not too bad for something that cost right about $60 AND has a life time warranty... Never have to pay for a caliper again (for that side atleast) ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stang70Fastback Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Let me get this straight... all I need to do to upgrade to WRX brakes in the front is simply get the caliper and bracket, take off MY caliper and bracket, and bolt the new ones in? The brake lines and everything can then bolt right back up??? It can't possibly be that easy... (I know obviously I'd need new pads and rotors.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenMarine Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 i always did Auto Zone rotors because After auto x season and I warped the hell out of em I'd just trade em in for a new set. for 550$ you can buy subaru 4 pots and wrx rotors w/ pads of rs25 forums or nasioc. if you dont plan on any type of auto x or racing. just stick to stock subaru pads they work great. -B Regarding the 4-pot brakes... Do you know how easy this conversion is to do? Any clearance issues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lulzcow Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Stang. Yes, it really is that easy. Brake lines work just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladysmanfelpz Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Front-Kit-2-Blank-OE-Replacement-Brake-Rotors-and-4-Premium-Pads-Subaru-/300675445071?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3ALegacy&hash=item4601a7314f&vxp=mtr#ht_4831wt_1141 These look good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladysmanfelpz Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 and dang that does sound pretty easy. You don't have to bleed lines or anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick.cfrancis Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Overkill, but I have felt a significant improvement with EBC slotted/dimpled rotors and greenstuff pads. I also bled all 4 with ATE Super Blue DOT4. http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/4416/20110813184642.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegacyLou Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Nick, How are the EBC greenstuff pads, as far as making brake dust? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowsports Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 From a dusting standpoint, my experience with EBC green on my Jetta was not good. Stopping power was fine, dust was very bad. I'm running DBA's and hawk pads now. Hawk's dust a little less than EBC IMO. We all have different experiences and driving habits though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick.cfrancis Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Nick, How are the EBC greenstuff pads, as far as making brake dust? A little more than stock; not bad. After 2x 300 mile trips to Keystone on mountain roads, and multiple highway exits from 80mph to 20 mph, I have only noticed a thin layer of dust. No Subaru can compare to the dust from the old Mercedes 97 W210 E320. After a short drive around the block, the front wheels were completely black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladysmanfelpz Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 can anyone give me install directions preferably with pics? cuz if so i might try to do it with a friend who has some jacks and tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick.cfrancis Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 can anyone give me install directions preferably with pics? cuz if so i might try to do it with a friend who has some jacks and tools. Check the stickies in the future. http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3635775&postcount=3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.