Why Upgrading Your Subaru WRX or STI Brakes ISN'T Worth It
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- Опубліковано 11 чер 2024
- Why upgrading your Subaru WRX's or STI's brakes just isn't worth it.
If you are considering new brakes for your WRX or WRX STI or are in need of replacing your ride's brakes, you might be tempted to install a big brake kit or Brembo brakes on your WRX, well watch this video first. I am a firm believe that upgrading your brakes just isn't worth it. Getting better brake rotors and brake pads will make a difference, but don't spend more than OEM. FactionFab and Stoptech make great options for the Subaru WRX or WRX STI that won't break the bank.
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This young man is providing excellent advice and is spot on 100% correct! I agree. When it comes to looks, there's no question. Big Brake Kit all day long. No debate there. However, when it comes to performance for a daily driver, a Big Brake Kit (BBK) is overkill, and not cost-effective. Simply because BBKs are designed to perform best on the track at track temperatures. That's what BBKs are designed for. To reduce brake fade under intense and consistent pressure. That being said, a new set of slotted rotors and high-performance ceramic pads will stop any daily driver as good or better and save lots of money too. Good advice and well said.
People don’t understand that as long as your callipers have the ability to lock up your wheels then there is no point upgrading them. What causes brakes to heat fade is the pad/rotor combination and the brake fluid in use. A larger calliper does have a slightly higher ability to absorb and dissipate heat but this effect is basically negligible in relation to the difference that brake fluid and pad/rotor compound make.
Thank you for sharing that real talk with us sir! This was food for thought.
My pleasure
I recently upgraded my 18 Impreza brakes from the 2 pot sliding calipers to the 4 pot fixed 06/07 wrx calipers. Direct bolt. Cost me $600 for the calipers and $300 for the pad, and $200 for the rotors. The difference is night and day. I go through pads every 15k (that’s how much I use the brakes). In hilly San Francisco, where the freeways are like crowded race tracks, and you constantly get cut off and need to hit the brakes with some force, totally worth every penny. The other thing you don’t talk about is brake pedal feel. The sliding calipers are sloppy and spongy feeling. Fixed calipers fix the problem and the brake peddle feel is firm and linear now. I don’t think 6k to go to 6 pot Bren is are worth it, but defiantly, the 4 pot fixed calipers are night and day better than the 2 pot sliding calipers that came stock. I did this after needing my brakes and they just weren’t there. I avoided an accident but it’s scary when the brakes just aren’t there. Do I need them most of the time? No, but that’s the same with seat bets and airbags. You want them there when you do need them.
if you can find a good deal do it, got lucky and found the older STI 06 brembos fully refurbished/new pads and rotors for $700. the stock setup on my 18 wrx was never an issue, but the adding braking/stiffer pedal plus the look it adds is great but not necessary for a daily
While I appreciate your opinion and see where you're coming from, for me its more about improving the aesthetic of the car and if it happens to help with stopping along the way its a bonus.
this is the 2nd time ive seen him discouraging people to do stuff. its like i dont think he understands why ppl mod their cars or something. or cant quite calculate the actual benefit of real performance parts. maybe its a poor understanding of tuning in general, not to intentionally be rude or put him down im just trying to figure out why he keeps telling people not to do stuff by saying it ISN'T worth it. bold claims
100% agree. By this token, why do anything to the car? If you are going to get a tune, what are you going to accomplish aside from possibly diminished reliability? Your little 2/10 of a second on a 0-60? Even if you tracked the car, whom do those lap times matter to? You can just enjoy the car the way it is.
Think about rims and tires. What the hell do you need those for? Like you are going to feel any difference if you don't track the car and you just use it around town.
The STI doesn't need those, because most people don't drive it at a track and just scoot around like an average Joe. I have a Cayman S as a toy car and it weighs less than the WRX, so the stock brakes would likely work fine for the Cayman and yet she's got massive multi-pot on the 4 corners.
I live in southern Ontario and the calipers on the WRX have already rusted. The car is perfectly fine, but that stuff isn't. They also look awful and I'm going to buy a nice set of rims and I'll be seeing those things a lot better then. I can purchase 08-14 STI brakes for less than 2k. I do the work myself and I have better braking, less fading if I am driving lively and every time I walk up to the car, especially with nicer rims, I'll have a much improved sight.
I ran the OE pads and rotors until about 80k I'm running r1 concepts pads and drilled and slotted rotors now and I love them. They bite hard when warmed up don't dust a lot and we're not a bad price at all for the value
I never considered it, but this is the path I'd go if I autocross
You failed to mention the difference between wrx, and sti brakes... (which is significant)
Great information brother. I own a 2020 STI now world rally blue. Only 10K miles on it. It's almost at Carmax for me to pick up. Stay safe brother
wooooahhh congrats! Good deal?
Them Carmax prices are wack last time I looked
@@davidjameson3419 Not too bad. I financed through Capital one. Oh yeahhhhhhh.😎
I upgraded my 2018 WRX standard 2 pot calipers to powerstop 4 pot calipers with steel rotors. 2009 STI is a direct bolt on for 2018 wrx and even the stock banjo bolt fits. (front only) I spent about $700-$800 for everything and installed myself. I know I will sound like a DB but I can absolutely feel the difference from stock. I did the upgrade after having to apply the brakes in an emergency. (car pulled out in front of me while I was driving.....quickly) I felt the brakes fading. Scared the crap out of me. I now have total confidence in my brakes! I would not spend $3k on brakes for a daily but under $1k......sure!
woah that's a deal an a half!
By chance did you have to use the sti caliper bolts to bolt onto hub ? In process of this currently
@@dougied6034 Yes I did.
I went stoptech rotors and hawk pads, they are ok. 2 years later and I have to do it all over again. The rotors are rusted out and my rears are almost done. What setup do you recommend that doesn’t brake the bank?
That’s odd. I’ve gotten mine to fade after just a couple hard corners we must drive completely different.
Just put some Girodisc two piece rotors on my 18 RA. Dropped 21 pounds of unspring weight.
My OEM STI brakes warped at high speed/heavy braking, so i went with power stop drilled,slotted,plated rotors. Carbon ceramic pads. Found them for 600 and definitely a great improvement when i’m auto crossing but like this guy said with daily driving you do not notice the difference!
How about tōge? Im considering buying brembo kit for my 21 wrx, I do heavy braking for about 5 mins at a time several times a night. Havent had issues yet but its got under 4k miles lol
So for my wrx should I just buy Subaru rotors/calipers I got the oem brake’s everything factory right? It’s more expensive tho but I got breaks just need rotors and calipers any way you can help me out it’s a 2015 wrx premium cvt
where can i find these kits i want to buy everything one shot i dont want to break the bank
I’m tryina find dual caliper brackets for the 2015+ STI model and I can’t find any 😅 starting to think it’s cuz ppl don’t wanna see an AWD rally car go sideways on a drift track. And now wondering how many ppl would be pissed if I did it with the 2018 neon brembos lmao
What is the grinding/whirring sound at 2:20 and 2:24? I've heard a softer version of that sound in my WRX and I'm trying to track it down.
i just replaced 4 bearing in my transfer case behind the tail shaft housing because of an annoying whining that got worse at speed it could be that
If you were driving track setup cars on the street and expecting good braking, you missed the point. Track brake setups (mainly the pad compounds) require heat put into them which is easily attained on the track. Swapping out pads that are oriented towards mostly street and some track would have been better with those setups and would have been noticeable on the street. All major pad manufacturers state that braking will increase with heat, to a point. There are plenty of videos and sites that have brake tested various swaps and found improvement through actuale stop testing. The stock brakes on the street are adequate and do what they are supposed to do. They are designed to stop the car at normal highway speeds and not on consecutive hot laps at VIR. If the person upgrading their brakes are not intending to go to the track on a regular basis, I agree that they do not really need upgrades. If they want to shorten the length of stopping due to repeated high speed stopping wherever they go, then big brake kits with the appropriate pads will help them in that regard. Most will not need this.
Okay but I can I get new calipers for the stock brakes?
I was in an accident a month ago with stock/OEM breaks on my last Subaru going about 45-50 mph. I was out for a long time and let me say they I wish I had upgraded the break system. maybe not 4-5 grand upgrade but at least brembo, calipers, and break pads. Do you saying it’s north worth it I disagree.
I got a 2023 wrx and I’m upgrading to a 6/4 setup. Oem brakes suck. I’m going full ROTORA, $5800. The sti stuff cost too much for used parts. People want over 2k for beat up front calipers only.
Do you think upgrading a 2016 stage 2+ WRX with a 4 pots caliper like the ones used in the older versions of STI would be putting money down the drain?
Get 2018 sti 6 piston calipers🤔
needs proper tire and suspesion upgrade or the brake upgrade is only vanity
I swapped out the brembo front pads for ceramic pads on my 2020 STI less brake dust and overall better pedal feel🤷♀️
Any squeak?
With 9.5 inch wide tires and stainless lines you will indeed notice the difference even on street. You are correct tracking is the most reasonable but the subaru 4/2 pots are cheap and are basically as good as the brembos (unless really really hard driving) but having a huge HP output you need better brakes. It's common sense and very heavily backed by many many of studies. If you are stock your statement if correct but try stopping a 400whp wrx full tilt on stock brakes... not a good idea at allll... yes it'll do it kinda safely but the whole point in to try to minimalize braking distance incase of emergency when doing full pulls in Mexico. Yes they are definitely worth it and yes my decision is backed by many many of professional tests done by many many of car companies and engineers.
I just want better brake pressure. More pistons
I beg to differ. The stock pads even with upgraded pads/rotors are garbage. Maybe changing out the River lines to stainless steel lines might be the only upgrade if you don’t want to upgrade to big brakes. But the sti brakes are far more , I daily drive my car and don’t use the brakes to their full potential but the stopping power for when I’m on backroads or even highway driving the difference is noticeable and I will never good back to stock brakes. There is also the aesthetics of the bbk which look awesome behind the wheels. For those of you wondering if you should do it I recommend the upgrade it’s worth it. Ive been a mechanic for the last ten years so it was an easy upgrade for me. Bought calipers used on eBay cheep powder coated then myself rebuilt them and installed. 10000x would do it again.
Edit I also only spent about 1500 on the whole setup I had to buy bolts for mount calipers and got stop tech pads rotors and stainless steel lines for all four wheels. Again very much worth it. To each their own tho.
You can and will see the benefit of a big brake kit in daily driving the minute you need to stop on a dime. People don’t buy big brakes to find the fade. People buy big brakes to lengthen the time it takes until they do find fade. $4k is a cheap price to pay for better stopping power.
I dont know, I always drop Rotora big brakes on my cars. I have the money and I think if you dont have Brembos then do it. The factory brakes are junk and fade super fast even on the street or highway.
Bro off the topic my tuner told me that by upgrading my jpipe, headers, intercooler, up charge pipe, air intake, boost controller and getting pro tune on 2020 Wrx my engine will not last 100k? Is that true? Even if I don’t redline the engine or beat on it?
I don't believe that
Those mods aren’t too crazy. There’s plenty of people running those exact mods and haven’t had any issues. You should be fine as long as you’re not beating the hell out of it.
That’s true there are a lot of people driving with those mods but does their motor actually last to 100k? That’s what the tuner was saying that these fa20 engines have weak rods n are not made to really handle that horsepower unless you go with forged internals
Get pads first, oem pads suck. If you overpower the performance pads then next step is big break kit.
For the wrx definitely worth putting brembos on,
You think!?
@@AutoEnthusiast I would say the upgrade of pads, brake lines, and even rotors, are worth it for they will give you a better feel with minimal cost. But going with a totally monstrous big brake that has 4+ calipers, without the need for constant 60 to 0 braking, is an overkill, and most for aesthetics....
@@MrTian1212the feel is just better pad force distribution, has no effect on braking distance
If power on demand makes no sense off the pedal, you may argue that there is no need to go up to sti, since daily driving wont see the car maxed out. Heck why drive a wrx at all, a yaris can get the job done from A to B. Fact is the extra tap in power comes at a cost. Some are willing to pay for the extra horses while discounting braking power from daily driving is plainly amusing.
Yea, but they look great through the rims
1k for my Black Brembos. Not lookin back.
Owned a WRX before my STI…. Wouldn’t give up Brembos for nothing! Absolutely worth the money…. I was avidly against the Brembos when I had my WRX…. Saying things like “ it’s so unnecessary” or “ it’s just a 4 banger you won’t be going that fast” -- boy was I wrong! Couldn’t go without my Brembos. Once you experience them it’s a game changer.
Situationally: one time I was up to 110 in my WRX and it was flat out scary trying to get the car down….. and quite frankly it was shaky.
The STI Brembos are 100% worth it…. Speaking from a guy who has been on both sides.
😎 shout out to my fellow subie owners
Do yourself a favor if your interested in big brakes and trade your WRX in with some cash down for an STI…. I’m definitely not advocating going out and dropping 3-4k on big brakes for your WRX. If your gonna do it just get the whole package ( meaning the STI).
@@boostid8026 first sentence.. "I owned a WRX before my STI"
after a 10 year in Subarus on europian road (not USA "roads") Brembo sloted discs and Ferodo DS Performance is greta combination, over and out.
Sorry, but this makes no sense….you dont say WHY that upgrade is worth it. As for US “roads,” i have driven thousands of kilometers in Europe - we have roads in North America that match whatever you call European roads. Expensive brakes, like the ones you have, matter on the track. This is because normal brakes stop just as well, but do get hotter quicker. So, your update is worth it for the cooling, on the track. For normal, spirited driving, the video is absolutely right - OEM brakes are good. Enjoy your “roads.”
@@tomrakusan1179 First of all road in europe are much narrow (generally) second we got much more bends third traffic is more dinamic with a lot of changing speed and direction, all of that means lot of breaking. Combination I mentioned is cheepr than a DBA fast street combination but much, much better (talking about OEM discs and pads) working from a first bite (cold) and really hard to overheat. Try.
@@tomrakusan1179 bro, stock sti brakes (2014-2017) suck as hell. 3-4 hard breaking situations during country ride and they fade badly. For a daily dirver, i'd reccomend something like dba 4000 t3 rotors and ferodo ds2500 or equivalent. Perfect brakes, great bite and they are much more fade . For average driver with more agressive style during joyride, it's fckin perfect. You can get alot for approx 1500 usd (4 rotors, 4 set of pads and armored brake lines).
Or, ... if you drive like me and melt brake pads, then on my daily driver WRX, yes I need bigger stuff.
But subie speed said I need to, 😂
My advice.. do whatever you want to your car.
Pointless video 9000, pretty much anyone who has done 5mins of research knows don't bother spending 5k plus on an big brake kit, but if you want more go slotted rotors pads fluid braided lines, master cylinder stopper and to make the most out of stock brakes without having to pay more for consumables get brake ducts, if you questmy experience I've got an sgt hatchback which is a wrx drivetrain with basically a twin scroll sti engine, and I've put black sti brembos with DBA t3 rotors, project.mu hypercarbon + pads, stop tech lines, motul rbf 660 fluid, Cusco master cylinder stopper and verus engineering front brake ducts. I've pushed it to the limit for as long as 200 treadwear tires last and never got any fade, is worth it through and through, just don't throw away money on a daily, easy