GC8 STi control arms?

As some of you know I want to install 4/2 pots on the 'ol L. I found a set of front calipers complete with JDM Subaru WRX STi Ver-6 GC8 control arms, including rotors and knuckles. Seller lists them as 93-01. Should be a direct swap right?

 

I'm in the process of contacting the seller. Thought I'd see what you guys think before I pull the trigger. I worked a bunch more OT after paying the vet bill so I have some more pocket money, lol. Ready to ditch the crappy L brakes ASAP.

 

I was having a hard time deciding between the black or red calipers. Red are pretty sweet but the black will be more sleeper.

Big red brakes are Badass behind some wheels!

Yes they are! They look nice on a silver body w/black wheels, which I have. I have yet to decide on color. I don't want to draw too much attention though. Votes? Lol.

I have seen a pic of your ride a while back after you painted some of your trim or something...nice. I vote for red all day long dude. I wouldn't consider it flashy...more like these brakes mean business.

Yes it will. The only problem is the sway bar endlink. The GC8 control arm endlink mount angles on a 45 degree while the stock goes straight up. I have the gc8 Aluminum control are on my 98 gt

^So how did you get around that?

swap mounts perhaps?

 

i painted the caliper bracket red and the caliper black on my wrx brakes, looked aight... think i sold them to David

Control arms are on their way!!! Also picked up the rear assemblies w/single pistons for another $150. Everything off the same car. Look mint in the pics. I wont be able to install them for a while since I spent all my pocket money today. I'll need to get some new SS brake lines.

 

They will swap right over if I get the sedan mounts. I'll also need the 5mm spacers. But all in all it was way cheaper than buying all the parts individually.

 

I have new KYB GR2s and H&R lowering springs that I will also install at the same time. I won't miss the L brakes whatsoever.

"They will swap right over if I get the sedan mounts. I'll also need the 5mm spacers. But all in all it was way cheaper than buying all the parts individually."

 

 

Monkey, are you saying the BD sedan has the mounts that make this brake swap a more direct job?

The sway bar mounts on my BK are at the wrong angle. But all I have to do is use BD mounts and I should be good to go.

I hate you right now monkey, almost as much as I hate the l brakes.

 

I had a very scary situation last night, I had absolutely stomp on my brakes at 70 mph..guess what my brakes did? A big NOTHING, a guy in his giant truck lost control in the next lane over and almost completed a pit manuever. These l brakes are on the verge of unsafe above 60 mph.

Pleaid, the retrofit rear brake fit wasn't a hard job. Hardest part was drilling off the spot welds on the rear brake dust covers to accommodate the larger rotors. The fronts I just replaced the rotors and pads and reused the calipers. The car stops like a champ now!

I know its not a particularly hard job, monkey has the brakes I have been searching for, the last set of o5 wrx brakes that I could have had in my clutches were $600...the guy selling them bought them off another friend for $150...me no likey being hustled.

 

I don't actually hate monkey hes a smart guy that does smart things to his cars..

Edited May 29, 2013 by pleaidestar

+1 for L brakes being shit

I tried to get 4/2 pots on NASIOC for months and got sick of being dicked around. eBay is a often a better place to find parts. The assemblies were shipped Tuesday and should arrive on the on the fourth or so. The pallet supposedly weighs 250 pounds. Ill pick it up at the shipping terminal and I should be able to stuff it all in the wagon. Hopefully the rotors are in good shape and there is some pad left. Will post pics when they arrive.

 

Edit: will have front and rear control arms, calipers, rotors and brakes for sale cheap in a little while, lol.

Jealous!!!

Monkey, this is so awesome a write up. Take pics and post them once they are On! I really want to see this done. Heck yea!

yeah im pretty stoked for you too, ha

Man, I would love to do the gc control arms on mine

I was poking around ebay and H&R 5mm spacers are about $70 a set. I'm not sure if I need them for the front, the rears, or both to fit the gc8 setup.

 

I'll post lots of pics when I get them and of the install. I'm sure there will be some snags along the way. Ill make sure my bikes are in good order so I can still get to work during the install. I've never done any suspension or brake work besides changing pads.

The pallet arrived today! It was only about 11 blocks away which was very convenient. The seller didn't pack it on the pallet as well as I would have liked, and the pallet looked like it had seen better days, lol. The forklift driver wanted to try and load the pallet directly into the wagon but I didn't think it would fit and cut the straps and loaded it piece by heavy piece.

 

As soon as I got home I opened a beer and got around to dismantling everything until it got dark while at the same time listening to my dear wife's concerns if installing the brakes would interfere with my completion of our house remodel. I reassured her the cabinets will be finished first, lol.

I put everything on the lawn and checked it out. The front control arms look a bit chincy for STi bits so I may ditch them for the later models. You can see the cutouts which probably save about 50 grams, lol. But they had the pink paint on the bolts which makes them kinda cool.

 

First thing I did was remove all of the calipers and they came off quite easily. Next I removed all the rotors with no problems, just a few whacks. Then I pulled the hubs and knuckles from the front control arms. The ball joints came off with just a few whacks with a rubber mallet! Unbelievable!

Disassembly went fairly well. I only broke one ABS sensor bolt with the impact gun.

 

The JDM VER 6 4 pots didn't come a nice paint job from the factory so I'll sandblast them and properly paint them. Powdercoat would be nice but I'm on a budget and good with rattlecans. Vote for colors? Black, red, or silver?

Edited June 4, 2013 by monkeyposeur

One of the rear assemblies appears to have been damaged at some point, either during shipping or before. There is some play in the bearing and obvious damage upon visual inspection. Some marring is apparent where the axle inserts and could be filed out. Trailing arm looks straight. I plan on removing the dust shields and doing the H6 upgrade at some point.

 

Here are some pics of the damage.

The pads look a little worn. I don't know what the specs are. I figure I might as well rebuild the calipers while they are out. The rotors look pretty thick, I'll get them turned and paint them.