Smudge's brake upgrade info

[Foulsmell 120]

Look awesome mate!

[smudge 1020]

A few pictures of the rears which I forgot to put up when they were fitted the other week

 

 

 

And the complete article with my Weds Sports TC105N's as well, ready for the track

 

 

As for the performance, well I had 2 track sessions at Rockingham at the weekend at Japfest 2 where I was able to use the brakes to about 90% of their ability as I wasn't massively going for it given that it's public track time.

 

Overall, extremely pleased with the feel and the stopping power this setup has. At no point did it feel like the back end was light or locking up so I'm pretty happy with the bias. Absolutely no sign of any brake fade after several laps

 

Day to day I get a LOT of squealing from the front brakes, especially when gradually braking at low speeds but it's not the annoying squeak most of us have experienced with the OEM setup. It's that unique squeal you only get from a big set of racing brakes which is actually quite nice in a weird way

[Foulsmell 120]

Looks awesome mate. Well done.

You taking orders ?????

[smudge 1020]

Pfffft this project took me about 6 months in total! No way am I doing it again

[NXB 6]

On 7/7/2015 at 11:59 AM, smudge said:

So I've had a few people asking about exactly what setup I've gone for with my brake upgrade, so thought it was about time I made a separate thread with the details of part numbers and other useful bits

 

As with a few others on the forums, I opted for an OEM replacement from Subaru's extensive Brembo range off the Impreza's. Pretty much any setup from an 02-07 Impreza will fit the front of the GT86/BRZ. The only thing you have to remember is that the GT86/BRZ has a leading brake setup (caliper in front of the axle) and the Impreza has a trailing brake setup (caliper behind the axle):

 

GT86/BRZ (thanks Jay for the picture)

 

 

Impreza

 

 

 

So the front calipers need the bleed nipples swapping from top to bottom to allow you to mount the calipers properly given that the pistons inside are staggered. You can simply bolt them on upside down so that the bleed nipples are at the top, but this would cause uneven pad wear due to the different sized pistons

 

I went for a slightly bigger setup that the standard Brembo's on the Scooby. I decided to opt for an AP Racing kit which consists of 6 pot calipers with 362mm discs. Very similar if not the same kit as this:

 

http://shop.grahamgoode.com/ap-racing-big-brake-kit-362mm-6pot-subaru-impreza-gt-wrx-sti-ggs1364b-64786-p.asp

 

All in all, fairly simple for the front. I obviously had my calipers completely rebuilt and refurbished by the Brake Caliper Specialists up in Nottingham to make them stand out a bit and get some peace of mind that they are like brand new, even though they didn't really need doing upon inspection

 

The rears are a bit different. Subaru were obviously rummaging through their parts bin when they made the GT86/BRZ as you can't simply put a rear set of Brembo's from an 02-07 like you can on the front. The rears require the Brembo's off an 08+ hatchback style Impreza. Whilst they bolt straight onto the hub and there's no real faffing around in terms of fitment, they are quite hard to find!

 

However, if you are lucky enough to find a set, the only modification you need to make it to the dust/heat shields on the GT86/BRZ. They need trimming or bending back very slightly to allow for the larger caliper. But it's a very simple job.

 

The only headache with the rear setup is the discs. Subaru decided to make the rear PCD on the STi with the Brembo's 5x114.3 instead of the usual 5x100 that we all have. Thanks Subaru!

 

So, your options are:

 

- Use the rear discs off the 08+ setup that you would get with the calipers, and redrill to a 5x100 PCD

- Find some new discs that are 5x100 fitment (only the DBA2656-10 option for this as far as I know)

- Find some new discs which will be 5x114.3 and have them redrilled

 

After being given the wrong information and discs on a couple of occasions, I can now confirm the following part numbers for the rear discs:

 

DBA2656-10 or DBA42656SP - these are dual-drilled for both 5x100 and 5x114.3 PCD's but come at a price. The ONLY UK stock I can find is here - http://clarkmotorsport.co.uk/parts/4000-T3-Series-Brake-Disc---SLOTTED-%28Pair%29/Rear-Vented/DBA42656SP

 

EBC GD1511 - slightly cheaper option but will only come in 5x114.3 and need to be redrilled. Cheapest price for these can be found here - http://www.camskill.co.uk/m31b0s3145p80243/EBC_BRAKE_DISCS_EBC_TURBO_GROOVE_BRAKE_DISCS_-_GD1511_-_EBC_Turbo_Groove_Brake_Discs_

 

There are other options from the likes of Brembo and a few others, you just need to make sure that they are the following dimensions:

 

Diameter - 316mm

Thickness - 20mm

Height - 63.5mm (sometimes 63.4mm or 64mm on some websites)

 

There are some VERY similar sizes that will NOT fit, as they have a height of 67.5mm or 68mm which causes the disc to sit too far onto the hub. DO NOT ORDER THESE!!!

 

Front brakes are now on, rears are going on shortly seeing as I'm on my 3rd set of rear discs now!

When you say to swap the bleed nipples from bottom to top, did your calipers have a port at both ends? I have so WRX PRO branded scooby calipers but they don't have the port at the opposite end (gonna get them refurbed). However there is a nice boss where I could drill a port.