Picked it up............
Discussion
Collected the WRX yesterday but only drove it home. Went for a thrash this afternoon and I have to say the brakes are poor...after only one session of heavy braking they were humming loudly followed by fade. Can anyone tell me a good type of discs and pads that will improve things. God knows what will happen if I really give it some beans---
Thanks all.
Thanks all.
Nice to hear you finally got it. Lets see some pics 
There are many conversions you could try but they'll cost money any way you look at it. One of the very first things i did with my car was upgrade the rotors and pads all round. The std WRX 4pot front calipers are pretty good really and they have to be because most of the braking is done by the fronts, the rears don't get as much hard use as the fronts so rear pads will last twice as long or more than the fronts. Your first port of call would be to get some decent pads all round, and see how that affects the braking. If that works well for you leave it at that until your OEM rotors need replacement and then get some upgrades.
I recommed EBC RedStuff pads all round first off as the cheapest way to upgrade your brake performance. They are very good, don't produce as much dust as other pads i could mention and are kind to your rotors. They are a piece of cake to do and very quick to change. I recommend getting the brake fluid drained from your brake system also and replacing with DOT5.1 as it has a much higher boiling point than DOT4. Most garages will do that for you and charge about £35+VAT if you provide the fluid (recommended).
My next step would be to to upgrade the rotors, so i got some EBC dimpled and grooved as a direct replacement for the OEM rotors, all round. I would have to say my car stops pretty well from some very high Leptons
for something that weighs 1400Kg. I've got a spare set of dimpled and grooved front rotors, and some yellowstuff pads ready for a track day. 
Hope this helps.
There are many conversions you could try but they'll cost money any way you look at it. One of the very first things i did with my car was upgrade the rotors and pads all round. The std WRX 4pot front calipers are pretty good really and they have to be because most of the braking is done by the fronts, the rears don't get as much hard use as the fronts so rear pads will last twice as long or more than the fronts. Your first port of call would be to get some decent pads all round, and see how that affects the braking. If that works well for you leave it at that until your OEM rotors need replacement and then get some upgrades.
I recommed EBC RedStuff pads all round first off as the cheapest way to upgrade your brake performance. They are very good, don't produce as much dust as other pads i could mention and are kind to your rotors. They are a piece of cake to do and very quick to change. I recommend getting the brake fluid drained from your brake system also and replacing with DOT5.1 as it has a much higher boiling point than DOT4. Most garages will do that for you and charge about £35+VAT if you provide the fluid (recommended).
My next step would be to to upgrade the rotors, so i got some EBC dimpled and grooved as a direct replacement for the OEM rotors, all round. I would have to say my car stops pretty well from some very high Leptons
for something that weighs 1400Kg. I've got a spare set of dimpled and grooved front rotors, and some yellowstuff pads ready for a track day. Hope this helps.
Edited by ScoobieWRX on Saturday 22 September 00:05
bull996 said:
Thanks for the reply...I will get searching for some parts. Just a quickie-what Model year is mine? Its the ugly bug eye one, but i am not sre which parts year to be buying for?
It doesn't matter if it's a MY52 or MY02, they use the same parts like mine, and that's a BugEye too.It's not quite that simple though.
For example, MotulRBF600 is a DOT4 which exceeds DOT5.1 specs by some way and has higher dry and wet boiling points than most 5.1 fluids.
MotulRBF600 dryBP = 312*C wetBP = 216*C
DOT 5.1 spec 275*C 184*C
Speaking as someone who got through a huge number of (free) EBC pads evaluating them for EBC, I would also caution you that you should consider your usage pattern carefully.
Undoubtedly, Redstuff are good pads, but they tended to disappear pdq under prolonged heavy usage, that is why they are kind to discs. A side effect of this is they tend to retain more heat in the pad and less in the disc , transferring more heat to the caliper then the fluid which obviously causes fade. If you have decent bells/rotors which can dissipate heat well you want a more aggresive pad IMO.
Yellowstuff have better heat resistance but I found them poor for retardation when not fully hot.
Sorry to sound argumentative ScoobieWRX but I feel your reply was over-generalising a subject I have spent a huge amount of time (and money) on over many years.
I would always suggest approach the problem in the order
1. Fit braided hoses and the best performing fluid you can afford
2. Maximise caliper/disc cooling
3. Fit higher temerature pads (bearing in mind cold performance as well as hot)
4. Fit better discs
5. Fit better calipers
You can cover 1,3,4,5 in one go by fitting an improved performance brake kit. It all depends how much you want to spend.
I'm currently on my 5th set-up on my shed and still haven't found things I can't improve...
For example, MotulRBF600 is a DOT4 which exceeds DOT5.1 specs by some way and has higher dry and wet boiling points than most 5.1 fluids.
MotulRBF600 dryBP = 312*C wetBP = 216*C
DOT 5.1 spec 275*C 184*C
Speaking as someone who got through a huge number of (free
) EBC pads evaluating them for EBC, I would also caution you that you should consider your usage pattern carefully. Undoubtedly, Redstuff are good pads, but they tended to disappear pdq under prolonged heavy usage, that is why they are kind to discs. A side effect of this is they tend to retain more heat in the pad and less in the disc , transferring more heat to the caliper then the fluid which obviously causes fade. If you have decent bells/rotors which can dissipate heat well you want a more aggresive pad IMO.
Yellowstuff have better heat resistance but I found them poor for retardation when not fully hot.
Sorry to sound argumentative ScoobieWRX but I feel your reply was over-generalising a subject I have spent a huge amount of time (and money) on over many years.
I would always suggest approach the problem in the order
1. Fit braided hoses and the best performing fluid you can afford
2. Maximise caliper/disc cooling
3. Fit higher temerature pads (bearing in mind cold performance as well as hot)
4. Fit better discs
5. Fit better calipers
You can cover 1,3,4,5 in one go by fitting an improved performance brake kit. It all depends how much you want to spend.
I'm currently on my 5th set-up on my shed and still haven't found things I can't improve...
DocJock said:
It's not quite that simple though.
For example, MotulRBF600 is a DOT4 which exceeds DOT5.1 specs by some way and has higher dry and wet boiling points than most 5.1 fluids.
MotulRBF600 dryBP = 312*C wetBP = 216*C
DOT 5.1 spec 275*C 184*C
Speaking as someone who got through a huge number of (free) EBC pads evaluating them for EBC, I would also caution you that you should consider your usage pattern carefully.
Undoubtedly, Redstuff are good pads, but they tended to disappear pdq under prolonged heavy usage, that is why they are kind to discs. A side effect of this is they tend to retain more heat in the pad and less in the disc , transferring more heat to the caliper then the fluid which obviously causes fade. If you have decent bells/rotors which can dissipate heat well you want a more aggresive pad IMO.
Yellowstuff have better heat resistance but I found them poor for retardation when not fully hot.
Sorry to sound argumentative ScoobieWRX but I feel your reply was over-generalising a subject I have spent a huge amount of time (and money) on over many years.
I would always suggest approach the problem in the order
1. Fit braided hoses and the best performing fluid you can afford
2. Maximise caliper/disc cooling
3. Fit higher temerature pads (bearing in mind cold performance as well as hot)
4. Fit better discs
5. Fit better calipers
You can cover 1,3,4,5 in one go by fitting an improved performance brake kit. It all depends how much you want to spend.
I'm currently on my 5th set-up on my shed and still haven't found things I can't improve...
Agree with every single word!For example, MotulRBF600 is a DOT4 which exceeds DOT5.1 specs by some way and has higher dry and wet boiling points than most 5.1 fluids.
MotulRBF600 dryBP = 312*C wetBP = 216*C
DOT 5.1 spec 275*C 184*C
Speaking as someone who got through a huge number of (free
) EBC pads evaluating them for EBC, I would also caution you that you should consider your usage pattern carefully. Undoubtedly, Redstuff are good pads, but they tended to disappear pdq under prolonged heavy usage, that is why they are kind to discs. A side effect of this is they tend to retain more heat in the pad and less in the disc , transferring more heat to the caliper then the fluid which obviously causes fade. If you have decent bells/rotors which can dissipate heat well you want a more aggresive pad IMO.
Yellowstuff have better heat resistance but I found them poor for retardation when not fully hot.
Sorry to sound argumentative ScoobieWRX but I feel your reply was over-generalising a subject I have spent a huge amount of time (and money) on over many years.
I would always suggest approach the problem in the order
1. Fit braided hoses and the best performing fluid you can afford
2. Maximise caliper/disc cooling
3. Fit higher temerature pads (bearing in mind cold performance as well as hot)
4. Fit better discs
5. Fit better calipers
You can cover 1,3,4,5 in one go by fitting an improved performance brake kit. It all depends how much you want to spend.
I'm currently on my 5th set-up on my shed and still haven't found things I can't improve...
I too have tried numerous set-ups on my 06 STi over the last year and now believe my brakes are as good as they are going get without resorting to a £2k+ caliper upgrade. I'm using stock Brembo calipers with uprated 2-piece front discs, uprated pads all round, braided hoses and 5.1 fluid and trust me they are awesome! I've tested them side-by-side with a friends very well sorted AP 6-pot set-up and although lacking in the subtlety of the APs there is next to nothing to choose between the two.
I have set up some bespoke brake cooling for track use as well and it makes a HUGE HUGE difference!
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