RE: Subaru Impreza WRX PPP: PH Carpool

[TroubledSoul]

Konan said:

TroubledSoul said:

I have some Brembos ready for the front, but need to secure a set for the rear.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/iysgla0u4umjp6h/20140505...

You'll be needing something other than standard WRX wheels to clear Brembos. They're very wide.

Yeah I know. Pre wide track STi wheels or aftermarket 18s will be going on too.

[crispyshark]

TheJimi said:

Which is?

I'll let you test drive both, then you can come back and tell us what you think.

All i'll say is, the engine in the 350 is lovely but a 2.0 litre turbo charged boxer is another level!

[crispyshark]

E24man said:

We've had a few Impreza wagons; a Classic Turbo, a bug eye WRX and a later WRX PPP which was the pick of the bunch. I wouldn't mind another as a winter beater if anyone fancies a 635CSi as a straight swap?

Pics of the beemer??

[E24man]

Just click on my profile, or e-mail me for more

[crispyshark]

E24man said:

Just click on my profile, or e-mail me for more

You Sir, have an awesome stable!

I'm really tempted to take you up on the swap as I've always wanted a shark nose beemer....I just love to scoobs too much though.

That Alpina is beautiful too!

[TEKNOPUG]

So I picked this up this afternoon:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...

First impressions seem good. Very genuine example, clearly not been messed about with. Feels tight and engine pulls well. All the electrics work - even cold aircon. 4 practically brand new tyres (although all no-name and non-matching), recent discs & pads all round - no idea of brand though. Clearly been looked after - oil and belts have been replaced recently. PPP certificate and the Y-Pipe and exhaust are evident. No invoices to go with the work although plenty of old MoTs but can't really grumble at the price.

Time will tell whether it was a good purchase or not but feeling a bit smug at the moment

[TEKNOPUG]

So the brakes are garbage. Might just need a fluid change and bleed but I suspect that an upgrade will be the only solution.

[TheJimi]

Garbage in what way?

[TroubledSoul]

TEKNOPUG said:

So the brakes are garbage. Might just need a fluid change and bleed but I suspect that an upgrade will be the only solution.

Give them a bleed mate. Beware that they are done in a very specific order else you won't get the air out of the ABS system etc.

From memory it's front left, rear right, front right, rear left but DO check that as my memory isn't the best!

[TEKNOPUG]

It may just be a Subaru thing but…….normal driving is fine, just when pushing on and braking hard that something doesn’t feel right. Pedal travel is short, there is initial braking and then the pedal goes hard and if I press down harder, nothing happens. The car stops but there is no modulation, nothing changes the harder I press. They certainly don’t match the performance of the rest of the car. My ’06 Focus 1.8 brakes a lot better. The Scooby doesn’t inspire much confidence. It’s OK driving when just scrubbing off speed prior to a bend; it’s when actually having to pull up to a stop (behind another car for example) when it seems to need another car length or so more than it should.

To be fair though, it has reasonably new discs & pads of unknown make and the brake fluid could do with a change. So I may change the fluid & fit some braided hoses and see if it improves. It could be rubbish pads or even sticking calipers. The pistons are prone to wear, so the calipers may benefit from a rebuild with new seals and steel pistons. But then I’m at the stage where I may as well just order new calipers and discs/pads, as I’ll only end up having to repeat the labour. Godspeed do a kit keeping the Standard 17” wheels, with refurbed calipers, bigger discs & pads and the necessary brackets for about £500.

Or it could just be my driving


Thanks for the fluid change tip - usually I'd bleed from the further wheel from the servo forwards. This maybe a cheap fix if it just requires a specific order.

[TroubledSoul]

Yeah it caught me out too with the bleed order, but someone posted it on Scoobynet, direct from the service manual.

Good discs and pads will make a big difference. I'm putting Brembos on mine but you need either some suitable 18's or a set of pre wide track STi wheels. I just bought a set last night.

Does your car have the Subaru 4 pots?

[vtecyo]

crispyshark said:

I'll let you test drive both, then you can come back and tell us what you think.

All i'll say is, the engine in the 350 is lovely but a 2.0 litre turbo charged boxer is another level!

So is the leather, aesthetics, non chav image, and stereo of the 350. Hence the dilemma.

[TEKNOPUG]

TroubledSoul said:

Yeah it caught me out too with the bleed order, but someone posted it on Scoobynet, direct from the service manual.

Good discs and pads will make a big difference. I'm putting Brembos on mine but you need either some suitable 18's or a set of pre wide track STi wheels. I just bought a set last night.

Does your car have the Subaru 4 pots?

I presume that they are 4-pots at the front - what ever the car left the factory with I guess. Certainly not Brembo.

[TroubledSoul]

Sure, just couldn't remember if the bug eye had the 4 pots or not. They'll say Subaru across them if they are. Good discs and pads do make a world of difference but Brembos are the better option.

[TEKNOPUG]

TroubledSoul said:

Sure, just couldn't remember if the bug eye had the 4 pots or not. They'll say Subaru across them if they are. Good discs and pads do make a world of difference but Brembos are the better option.

Brembo's require 18" wheels to clear though (or some non-wide track STi's which I imagine are hard to find)?

[TheJimi]

TEKNOPUG said:

TroubledSoul said:

Sure, just couldn't remember if the bug eye had the 4 pots or not. They'll say Subaru across them if they are. Good discs and pads do make a world of difference but Brembos are the better option.

Brembo's require 18" wheels to clear though (or some non-wide track STi's which I imagine are hard to find)?

Tekno - you have mail

[TroubledSoul]

TheJimi said:

Tekno - you have mail

You need to keep your eyes peeled. I bought a set of Bug Eye STI wheels for mine just last night.

There's a set in black on ebay at the moment with pretty much new Bridgestone tyres on, starting at £300.They didn't sell at the last attempt.

I wanted 18's but these are mint and cost me £300 with a set of 5mm Bridgestones on, which I think is reasonable.

[Konan]

TEKNOPUG said:

Brembo's require 18" wheels to clear though (or some non-wide track STi's which I imagine are hard to find)?

Even some 18" wheels don't clear as it's all about the spoke design. With the fairly high offset and the thickness of the brembo calliper, they tend to foul up on quite a few types.

As mentioned, 17" STI wheels should fit - Rota GRA 17s are also the right width/offset and clear. I'm hunting for some myself at the moment, would like a set without tyres in an ideal world.

There's a company called Godspeed brakes that make a kit to adapt the WRX calliper out to a much larger disc (something like 335mm) and still fit standard wheels.

[TEKNOPUG]

Konan said:

TEKNOPUG said:

Brembo's require 18" wheels to clear though (or some non-wide track STi's which I imagine are hard to find)?

Even some 18" wheels don't clear as it's all about the spoke design. With the fairly high offset and the thickness of the brembo calliper, they tend to foul up on quite a few types.

As mentioned, 17" STI wheels should fit - Rota GRA 17s are also the right width/offset and clear. I'm hunting for some myself at the moment, would like a set without tyres in an ideal world.

There's a company called Godspeed brakes that make a kit to adapt the WRX calliper out to a much larger disc (something like 335mm) and still fit standard wheels.

Yeah, the Godspeed kit was one I had seen. That would probably be my preference as if I went the Brembo route, by the time I had bought the calipers, discs, pads, wheels, tyres etc, I'd be in for nearly 50% the value of the car

[Konan]

To be fair, the brakes on my track-shed bugeye where awful when I got it. Flush through with some ATE blue and fresh pads on it and it's perfectly good for road use. The reason I'm after bigger stoppers is that they just can't get rid of the heat from track.

I know where you're coming from with the 'feel' of them though. Good bite, plenty of stop and firm... but somehow between hard stop and lockup it feels vague. I might try out a master cylinder stopper on the track-shed and see what it does.