Some LGT brakes suck?

Quoted from the sticky above:

 

the brakes are horrible.. pedal is too squishy and if i need to stop on a dime, im in trouble. other than the constant rotor warping and the horrible ebrake that doesnt grab... the brakes are just not strong enough for the power of the car stock, let alone stage 2!

 

That's exactly how I'd describe my brakes. Squishy pedal, alarmingly unresponsive after one hard stop, sometimes requires pumping, any attempt to slow down hard from high speed will cause nasty pulsing (not ABS) and after that the brakes are nearly unusable till they cool down. Not nearly enough braking power for this car. Yet I've heard from other people that their brakes are fine, and I don't think this is just a case of different perception.

 

It seems I'm not the only one experiencing this, so my question for those who have experienced this then solved it - what did you do to solve it? I'm planning on doing new pads, fluid, resurfacing the rotors (pretty sure I've got some warping now) and steel brake lines as well as possibly adjusting the brake pedal. Any advice on good street pads?

The problem you're having may be a manufacutirng issue. I had to take my car in after 500 miles to get the rotors resurfaced (free of charge of course) but after that I havent had any issues at all. The brakes are more than adequate for fairly aggressive driving but I'm still going to upgrade to steel brake lines which significantly improve brake response and are an excellent bang for your buck mod.

My brakes are fine..... mb you have an issue?

haha i got quoted YESSSSSSSS! i think that everyone drives like 12mph everywhere who say that their brakes are fine

the rotors are not the problem... so get new aftermarket pads (ALL 4 WHEELS!) and stainless steel brake lines... and you should be happy for a while..

haha i got quoted YESSSSSSSS! i think that everyone drives like 12mph everywhere who say that their brakes are fine

 

What? I am stg. 2 batchit.

so, if you had 500hp you could still be driving 12 mph :)

Search for "brake shake"

 

The stock brake pads' temperature range has a low upper limit, which is easily exceeded with mild/aggresive highway braking driving. This leads to pads deposits all over the rotors and then brake shake.

 

Replacing them with some aftermarket pads will cure the issue.

 

I had the same problem. The dealer turned my rotors twice to no avail. But then when I moved to aftermarkets pads, brake shake was history.

 

Once you have aftermarket pads, you will easily be able to lock up the stock RE92s, so take care or get stickier tires.

Ive auto-xed on my stock pads they are fine. Mediocre but fine.

the rotors are not the problem

 

Like I said I suspect there's a manufacturing defect i.e. unsurfaced rotors that has crept into the 2006 LGTs. You have a 2006 right?

I complained about the lousy brakes almost a year ago, and got blasted by some of the above members....how surprising....

 

Ive had 3 new cars since then, and all of them have better brakes than the Legacy....

I agree there's a big problem. I've been driving different cars for almost 40 years now and I've never had the sort of problems I've been getting with my current GT. Really is pissing me off given the price. Still it's their problem so I'd be taking it back as long as necessary until the problem is fixed for good. I might one day give up and replace the rotors and pads with something better but nobody should be forced to do this with cars of today.

Like the minority here, I, too, believe that our stock brakes actually work just fine.

 

I didn't feel this way when I first got the vehicle, but upon the advice of guys like Keefe and Rob and several others who track/Auto-X their LGTs, I took my ride out to an empty parking lot, set up some scenarios, and learned to get a feel for what she could do at the edge of the envelope.

 

Subjectively, I agree, our brake "feel" is not something that I am keen to show off to any of my friends. While it allows for perfect limo-stops, it's mushy and did not exactly feel accurate (at least to my rather un-practiced, non-racer, soles) at the upper range of its travel.

 

Still, objectively, our braking distances are not that far off of the averages of comparable vehicles in this segment - many published tests bear this out, and while my own practiced panic stops were definitely far from confidence-inspiring, they did show to me, first-hand, that objectively, the car will stop, despite a seat-of-the-pants feeling that may say otherwise.

 

My driving, yearly, is split between several very long road-trips that involve nearly pure highway driving at high speeds and daily commutes that require descent down a very long and steep hill - never have I experienced brake fade in either routine or emergent circumstances (I will confess to being one to routinely bleed my brakes, but until installation of my Rotoras, I've never changed pads/rotors/lines), and I consider myself lucky that I also have managed to somehow avoid the pad-deposit issue that seem to plague many LGT owners.

 

For me, the decision to jump to a BBK was based nearly solely on aesthetics - I wanted something to fill up my wheel-voids. As I've confessed publically, I don't drive nearly hard enough on public streets to truly put my much more capable Rotoras to-use, nor do I track/Auto-X the vehicle.

 

Nevertheless, I still do appreciate the increased stopping power that I get from this upgrade (much of this credit, though, must also be given to the much sticker "summer" tires; and even for my all-seasons, their increased footprint also offered me better stopping than on the stock RE92s) - including the added heat-resistance, much-improved pedal feel (even without stainless lines, caliper rigidity has gone a long way to firming up the brake pedal and making it much, much more capable of being modulated with accuracy, even by my lay skill-level), and pads that I can almost "feel" biting, through the sole of my shoe.

 

Get some better rubber, some better pads, and maybe even stainless lines - many of my most trusted brothers here say again and again that these small upgrades make a world of difference in both the subjective feel as well as objective performance of our LGTs in terms of braking, and I totally agree with them.

 

Like the minority here, I, too, believe that our stock brakes actually work just fine.

 

...

 

Subjectively, I agree, our brake "feel" is not something that I am keen to show off to any of my friends. While it allows for perfect limo-stops, it's mushy and did not exactly feel accurate (at least to my rather un-practiced, non-racer, soles) at the upper range of its travel.

 

See, this is the problem. A friend of mine (who also posts on this board and has an LGT) said pretty much the same thing when I initially described the problem. He's not having the same issues I am, and both our LGTs are 2005s. That's why I named this thread "some LGT brakes suck" because not everybody is experiencing this problem. Believe me, this is not about "feel", this isn't nitpicking and it isn't subjective. If I do one hard stop the brakes are quite literally useless after that. It's not about feel, it's about "holy shit my brakes stopped working."

 

Get some better rubber, some better pads, and maybe even stainless lines - many of my most trusted brothers here say again and again that these small upgrades make a world of difference in both the subjective feel as well as objective performance of our LGTs in terms of braking, and I totally agree with them.

 

 

I appreciate everybody's advice, I'll definitely get some new pads and get my rotors resurfaced.

Dont bother resurfacing rotors most shops dont do it right and end up mounting it off axis. You end up with a rotor that is worse off than what you started with once you wear it in again. If there was a problem with the casting there will ALWAYS be a problem with the casting no matter how many times you grind it down.

 

Insist that subaru replace your rotors with NEW castings.

 

Seriously I dont know what all the fuss is about these brakes are MUCH better than following cars I have driven, had experience with:

 

91 accord

95 accord

98 accord

03 maxima

05 maxima

96 4runner

95 Jeep Cherokee

98 Jeep Cherokee

97 z28

02 WRX

 

They are not far off from:

 

97 M3

04 G35

04 350z

 

 

Perhaps there is a QC problem but I certainly dont think there is a problem in thier design. Mine work perfectly fine even stock.

 

Now that I have pads and lines they are just shocking as to how much decelleration they can produce. A moderate press of the pedal have all 4 azenis chirping for traction. I question the need of EVER buying a BBK.

Get some better rubber, some better pads, and maybe even stainless lines - many of my most trusted brothers here say again and again that these small upgrades make a world of difference in both the subjective feel as well as objective performance of our LGTs in terms of braking, and I totally agree with them.

 

I have 20k miles on my car.

 

If I change the brakes pads will the brakes squeal when stopping?

Ive auto-xed on my stock pads they are fine. Mediocre but fine.

 

 

I've even tracked my stock pads, rotors and stock brake lines, they are fine. Only thing that I did do was replaced the fluid.

..."some LGT brakes suck" because not everybody is experiencing this problem. Believe me, this is not about "feel", this isn't nitpicking and it isn't subjective. If I do one hard stop the brakes are quite literally useless after that. It's not about feel, it's about "holy shit my brakes stopped working."

 

Ah! I get it, now!

 

Man, READING >> ALLEN this AM!

Xaqtly, it sounds like you have some major bubbles in the line. Do a really good bleed and see how that works...

Dont bother resurfacing rotors most shops dont do it right and end up mounting it off axis. You end up with a rotor that is worse off than what you started with once you wear it in again. If there was a problem with the casting there will ALWAYS be a problem with the casting no matter how many times you grind it down.

 

Insist that subaru replace your rotors with NEW castings.

 

Seriously I dont know what all the fuss is about these brakes are MUCH better than following cars I have driven, had experience with:

 

91 accord

95 accord

98 accord

03 maxima

05 maxima

96 4runner

95 Jeep Cherokee

98 Jeep Cherokee

97 z28

02 WRX

 

They are not far off from:

 

97 M3

04 G35

04 350z

 

 

Perhaps there is a QC problem but I certainly dont think there is a problem in thier design. Mine work perfectly fine even stock.

 

Now that I have pads and lines they are just shocking as to how much decelleration they can produce. A moderate press of the pedal have all 4 azenis chirping for traction. I question the need of EVER buying a BBK.

 

The above sounds good until you look at the facts. EG, of the about 150 cars tested by C&D (April) about 8 cars/SUVs had longer stopping distances than the LGT. And a BBK will NOT help. Any good BBK company will tell you this upfront (EG Brembo, Stoptech).

 

Course you can always disable the ABS, but this will also disable the EBD, so the car will ,in effect, have casters on the rear wheels.

 

Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh:(

My autocross instructor(drives 04 WRX STI) had the following to say about the brakes on my LGT. "work good, feel is shit." About sums it up in my book.

^ I need to learn how to "sum up!" Great summary by your instructor!

My autocross instructor(drives 04 WRX STI) had the following to say about the brakes on my LGT. "work good, feel is shit." About sums it up in my book.

 

Yeah, that's why I'm even more convinced now that there's a definite split in build quality somewhere. It may just be the rotors that are causing it, I don't know - but clearly, some LGT's brakes work fine but with soft feel, and other LGT's brakes work very poorly, to the point of being positively dangerous.

 

My LGT would not be driveable on the track because after a few turns the brakes would basically be unusable. As in "OMG I can't slow the car down we're going to die." I'll see what I can do about getting the dealer to replace my rotors, hopefully they'll go for it. If not, I'll replace them myself.

did you bleed them...

I complained about the lousy brakes almost a year ago, and got blasted by some of the above members....how surprising....

 

Ive had 3 new cars since then, and all of them have better brakes than the Legacy....

 

3 new cars? Did you win the lotto?