P1 rear brakes - advice please?

[Scooby P1]

My standard P1 rear discs and pads are shot. The discs never get shiny anymore and the front Prodrive/Alcon big brake combo feel rather let down by the rears not really doing anything.

Without changing the calipers has anyone got any good suggestions of what to go for?

Also, are there any improvements i can make to the pads for the front rather than the prodrive ones?

Thanks
Lawrence

[rhinochopig]

Couple of things worth checking

Brake force distribution

and

Are the pistons / seals in the callipers corroded / perished?

A seized/ corroded calliper will exhibit the symptoms you are describing.

[Scooby P1]

i'll let them have a check over the calipers to make sure they work,. but is it worth buying better discs and pads before i send it in? They need doing anyway and it might look nice with grooved ones like the front


and would you recommend upgrading the front pads with these prodrive 330mm alcon discs?

[rhinochopig]

Scooby P1 said:

i'll let them have a check over the calipers to make sure they work,. but is it worth buying better discs and pads before i send it in? They need doing anyway and it might look nice with grooved ones like the front


and would you recommend upgrading the front pads with these prodrive 330mm alcon discs?

Is with most answers in life, it depends.

Get the rears sorted first, i.e. checked that they are working correctly.

The reason I say this is that you can spend silly amounts of money on disk and pad combos, but the point in doing so really only exists if you are running out of brakes at the moment.

The order in which I would upgrade, and I'd do it in stages, so you can find the sweet spot of cost vs performance, is as follows:

Uprated fluid (Motul RBF or Castrol SRF) first and given their relative low cost, then look at HEL braided hoses (or any other make , I mention HEL as they have fantastic customer service) and then drive the car for a bit and see how things are.

Then look at disks and pads.

[Scooby P1]

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

Done the Motul fluid, but will do the hoses. The pedal is quite soft considering how epic the front stoppers are when working at their max!

the rears a garage told me look knackered, the discs are rusty and have a lip so need doing anyway and to be honest, in 5 years of ownership i dont think i have ever done them!

Fronts are £700 a pair which is nice, done them once!

[rhinochopig]

Scooby P1 said:

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

Done the Motul fluid, but will do the hoses. The pedal is quite soft considering how epic the front stoppers are when working at their max!

the rears a garage told me look knackered, the discs are rusty and have a lip so need doing anyway and to be honest, in 5 years of ownership i dont think i have ever done them!

Fronts are £700 a pair which is nice, done them once!

So what sort of driving does the car see - road / track / bit of both?

Camskill pattern parts get some decent reviews and are less than £100 for a set.

I have a set of these fitted on my Evo http://www.superhids.co.uk/brakes/brakes-subaru-im... and they're pretty good for solid disks. I also have some EBC's new Bluestuff NDX pads, which at the moment I'm not convinced by.

You then get into 2 piece discs - Godspeed at the bottom end (£350) and then up into the the Performance Friction, etc. realm.

For fast road and occasional track I'd stick with solid disks and something like the ones I have fitted as they are guaranteed not to warp. Stay away from drilled too as they crack.

[UTH]

If you have an Evo, get Carbotech XP8 pads - amazing!!

i'm finding out now for my brother (Scooby P1) if they are made for his callipers as well.....

rhinochopig said:

So what sort of driving does the car see - road / track / bit of both?

Camskill pattern parts get some decent reviews and are less than £100 for a set.

I have a set of these fitted on my Evo http://www.superhids.co.uk/brakes/brakes-subaru-im... and they're pretty good for solid disks. I also have some EBC's new Bluestuff NDX pads, which at the moment I'm not convinced by.

You then get into 2 piece discs - Godspeed at the bottom end (£350) and then up into the the Performance Friction, etc. realm.

For fast road and occasional track I'd stick with solid disks and something like the ones I have fitted as they are guaranteed not to warp. Stay away from drilled too as they crack.

[FlatPack]

UTH said:

If you have an Evo, get Carbotech XP8 pads - amazing!!

i'm finding out now for my brother (Scooby P1) if they are made for his callipers as well.....

They'll make them for whatever calipers you want, just need to send them an old set of pad backing plates.

[Hol]

The P1 has the same single pot rear calipers as the 4 door STI5/6, which was used as the basis for its drivetrain. All UK and non-R/RA JDM classics used the same rear calliper as well.

You used to be able to get conversion brackets that would let you fit the twin pot rears from a Type R/RA or later impreza. Otherwise you will have to change the hubs and driveshafts to match.

As suggested the best bet is to get your original ones refurbed or replaced.

[Scooby P1]

Hol said:

The P1 has the same single pot rear calipers as the 4 door STI5/6, which was used as the basis for its drivetrain. All UK and non-R/RA JDM classics used the same rear calliper as well.

You used to be able to get conversion brackets that would let you fit the twin pot rears from a Type R/RA or later impreza. Otherwise you will have to change the hubs and driveshafts to match.

As suggested the best bet is to get your original ones refurbed or replaced.

Thanks for the info. I think i'll keep the same calipers, but maybe just change the discs and pads. Are there any grooved discs i can get for the rear? I have the big prodrive ones on the front and it would be nice to match the rears!
Cheers

[Hol]

Scooby P1 said:

Thanks for the info. I think i'll keep the same calipers, but maybe just change the discs and pads. Are there any grooved discs i can get for the rear? I have the big prodrive ones on the front and it would be nice to match the rears!
Cheers

Yes, you can get groved or drilled but, depending on who you talk to, its not seen as a benefit for solid rear disks as most of the braking is done at the front by virtue of weight distribution. Unless you have a major problem with braking understeer on slight corners, I would save your money and continue to brake in a straightish line.

Alternatively, you could contact the guy who used to make the brackets and see if he still has some:
http://bbs.scoobynet.com/group-buys-356/519357-2-p...

[Hol]

Scooby P1 said:

Thanks for the info. I think i'll keep the same calipers, but maybe just change the discs and pads. Are there any grooved discs i can get for the rear? I have the big prodrive ones on the front and it would be nice to match the rears!
Cheers

Yes, you can get groved or drilled but, depending on who you talk to, its not seen as a benefit for solid rear disks as most of the braking is done at the front by virtue of weight distribution. Unless you have a major problem with braking understeer on slight corners, I would save your money and continue to brake in a straightish line.

Alternatively, you could contact the guy who used to make the brackets and see if he still has some:
http://bbs.scoobynet.com/group-buys-356/519357-2-p...

[ST170Bird]

I uprated my rear single pots on the RB5 for a set of 2 pots. I got them from Godspeed, supplied and fitted for £450, if you can do it yourself - even cheaper. And they look better.

[Scooby P1]

ST170Bird said:

I uprated my rear single pots on the RB5 for a set of 2 pots. I got them from Godspeed, supplied and fitted for £450, if you can do it yourself - even cheaper. And they look better.

Have you got any photos of what the rears look like now?

My discs are rusty at the back and never seem to shine up which makes me think the pads and discs are done. Might just go for standard discs with uprated pads and then upgrade the front pads to these Carbotech XP8s my brother keeps telling me about.

[ST170Bird]

Will get some, but they are shiny.

[DaveVXR]

Scooby P1 said:

go for standard discs with uprated pads

This is what you need, a more agressive rear pad will keep the disks clean. I've done this on all three of my Impreza's and the rear disks stay nice and clean.

[Scooby P1]

DaveVXR said:

This is what you need, a more agressive rear pad will keep the disks clean. I've done this on all three of my Impreza's and the rear disks stay nice and clean.

Decided to go for Godspeed grooved rear 266mm discs and their bluestuff pads. XP8 front pads have arrived, combined with brake lines should all make a difference i hope!

[ST170Bird]