I have been contemplating upgrading my car brakes for some time.

It's not that they are bad feeling, but I think that they could be better.

Well, I think this might be time to do something. As in go ahead and upgrade them, because I been having a small issue with my brakes, the caliper on the passenger rear side keeps sticking. It has caused undue wear on my brake rotor.

When it was in service Friday the service tech. confirmed it.

So I'm at a place that I can either replace the rear passenger side caliper and rotor with factory OEM parts, and pay the dealership about $350.00 for the one side plus resurfacing the drivers side rear rotor and new pads.

Or I can do the work my self and save about $150.00 or for around $600.00 upgrade to a more preformace brake system.

I'm looking at the Power Stop Z23 brake kit. It comes with four new/remanufactured calipers, four rotors, drilled and slotted, four sets of Carbon fiber and ceramic brake pads, all new hardware.

The only thing missing is the parking brakes shoes and spring kit, new brake line and fluid.

It gets good reviews, but I don't know how much better this is in preformace and stopping power over the stock parts.

I'm wondering if anyone here has used this kit, if so what do you think about it? Would you do it again? Did it make much of a difference?

Like I said, the brakes on my WRX is good now, I just wish that they were better.

I can do the installation myself no problems, it wouldn't take me much more than a couple of hours to do. I just don't know if it offers anything over the factory OEM setup.

As it sets now, I have to do something with the rear passenger side, it's not bad now, but the caliper is sticking intermittently, and causing wear. So this is a good time to upgrade.

Also price is a factor. Much over this price and it's out of budget.

ARman

OEM brakes can always be upgraded.
What is your vehicle?
In some case if your wheels have the room a larger front diameter is a big improvement.
You need to have the inner wheel clearance for that.
Additionally, if you vehicle has a forum - highly recommend you go there and check out what has been done.
I am in the process of upgrading my Nissan Titan.
YMMV

Stock WRX and Power Stop rotors are likely close to the same with regards to stopping performance. You should consider DBAs on all four corners.

I would replace the caliper with the issues and use EBC rotors and pads.
Buddy put EBC on his WRX and was very happy the car way a daily driver that also raced SCCA parking lot races on occasion.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
OEM brakes can always be upgraded.
What is your vehicle?
In some case if your wheels have the room a larger front diameter is a big improvement.
You need to have the inner wheel clearance for that.
Additionally, if you vehicle has a forum - highly recommend you go there and check out what has been done.
I am in the process of upgrading my Nissan Titan.
YMMV

What are you upgrading to?

I just bought a 18 Titan XD. Ill be using it to tow a 25ft Airstream. Think it weighs around 7k.

Why is the caliber sticking? Almost always it’s the slider pins. Make sure they are not rusty and are well greased.

Remember the front brakes do most of the braking.

I have always liked Hawk HPS pads for improved street use and feel. Lots of people also like EBC. Not sure which are their street use pads. Good pads will make the biggest difference in a street car. Drilled rotors are not really needed unless your really pushing your brakes and overheating them.

I wouldn’t spend money of all new calibers unles there is an underlining issue. Just replace the bad one.

FWIW. I always check and lube the slider pins on my calibers when I do the breaks. This is the most common cause of sticking brakes I have come across.

quote:

I wouldn’t spend money of all new calibers unles there is an underlining issue. Just replace the bad one.

FWIW. I always check and lube the slider pins on my calibers when I do the breaks. This is the most common cause of sticking brakes I have come across.

As a former racer, tow-er, and car geek, I agree with this. Replace the bad part. If you need more/different braking power, use better pads.

Seperate the problems you are having first and then decide what you want to do.

First the sticking. That could be a mechanical problem with the sliding parts, pins, etc. or in the piston/hydraulics of the caliper. One is an external lubrication problem, one an internal moisture problem in the fluid.
You didn't mention why you need to "upgrade" so I'll give general advice and what I'd do if it were mine. I would think a car like that would already have decent brakes, if they are working properly.

I would fix the sticking problem, whatever that is. Dealership mechanics often do the minimum to throw a set of pads in without much extra effort. If you have the mechanical skills and tools to do this, I would. If its a moisture problem, then you also need to thoroughly flush out the old fluid and replace with new.

I would never put cross drilled rotors, especially of an unknown manufacture on this car. Cast iron isn't all the same by a long shot, cross drilling in most cases is a marketing gimmick and how the holes are relieved after drilling is very important. I would also not turn a damaged rotor as it will tend to warp much sooner.

Brake pads need to be compatible with the specific alloy of cast iron to work properly and not cause problems. Often cars can get a serious vibration and the rotors will show no sign they are out of true. That's because they aren't. The pad material can absorb and "stick" unevenly to the surface of the rotors and you will see spots and uneven heat marks, but no warping. There is a lot more to the science behind brakes than most people know.

The bottom line, if you want this car to perform properly and aren't prepared to throw a lot of money and time at, get the OE parts (shop online for OE stuff and you may save a lot of money) and put them on yourself making sure it's done properly, unlike it may have been done at the dealership. Stick with the basics.

why would you not give the full details on the car you drive?! How many miles on the car, how you drive, etc etc.

Cross drilled and slotted is a complete waste (and often only accelerate wear) if you are paying extra for that. More surface area, large or mulit piston calipers, and quality pads are all you need. If you're not tracking your car, and it's your daily driver - just replace your rotors and upgrade your pads.

I upgraded the brakes on my Subaru and it certainly stopped better but by the time I wore them out I could not wait to go back to the ceramics. Seemed like the front wheels were black minutes after I washed them.

If a caliper is sticking, it can also be a collapsed brake line. Been there, done that. The collapsed line acts like a check valve and causes the high brake line pressure to stay high, when you are just driving around. Seems crazy to me to replace all the brake components to fix a single caliper problem. It's pins or line. Or, a very rusty interior causing the piston to stick.

Having done many hundreds of brake jobs, you're getting good advice. There isn't much to add except to narrow down what is sticking on the caliper. Generally, if the outer pad (opposite the piston) wears faster, the slide pins are sticking. I have had many of them so rusted that the caliper bracket has to be heated and the pin driven out with an air hammer, which usually ruins it. If the inner pad (next to the piston) wears faster, the caliper piston is sticking and failing to back away. If it is dragging and heating up, it can be the caliper, but it might also be the hose. Sometimes it is obvious - the piston boot is shredded and the piston exposed and rusted up. If I see this I generally recommend both. I don't know what kind of parking brake setup this has. It can be integral with the rear caliper (cable attached to it), or there is a little drum section in the rotor with parking brake shoes inside ("drum in a hat"). An integral parking brake has to have the piston simultaneously rotated and pushed in.

The car is a 2013 Subaru WRX. Previous owner well maintained it, all done at the dealership.

OEM parts, non modified car. (One of the reasons I bought it over others).

Car has 118,000 miles on it, runs, drive like a new car.

I live in rural area of Kentucky, twistie, hilly narrow roads. Driving style is "spirited". I don't abuse my car, and I'm not reckless.

Factory OEM brakes are good. I just wish that they were better. Shorter stopping distance.


As what's wrong with the rear passenger side brake is not completely known. I took car in for the standard oil change, tire balance and rotation. I told them I hear intermittent rubbing/grinding in the rear especially when cold.

I was told that there was excessive wear on rear passenger side rotor, and pads. They were not sure if it was the slides sticking or if it's the Piston sticking. They said the lines look fine and all other brake components look fine on the other three. Short test drive and wasn't making any noise at that time.

So, I have to at least replace the passenger side rear rotor and pads, most likely the caliper also. So I figured at minimum I need to replace passenger side rear rotor, new pads, most likely caliper. So resurface (?){not sure if that is absolutely need it} Driver's side rear rotor, new pads.

The thing is, all four rotors and pads are fairly new, they are in very good condition except for the passenger rear side.

I just figured that if I was going to do the work, it would be a good time to upgrade. I just don't want to spend money on something with no real return. The brakes on my Subaru WRX are good, I just wish that they were better.


ARman

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
Having done many hundreds of brake jobs, you're getting good advice. There isn't much to add except to narrow down what is sticking on the caliper. Generally, if the outer pad (opposite the piston) wears faster, the slide pins are sticking. I have had many of them so rusted that the caliper bracket has to be heated and the pin driven out with an air hammer, which usually ruins it. If the inner pad (next to the piston) wears faster, the caliper piston is sticking and failing to back away. If it is dragging and heating up, it can be the caliper, but it might also be the hose. Sometimes it is obvious - the piston boot is shredded and the piston exposed and rusted up. If I see this I generally recommend both. I don't know what kind of parking brake setup this has. It can be integral with the rear caliper (cable attached to it), or there is a little drum section in the rotor with parking brake shoes inside ("drum in a hat"). An integral parking brake has to have the piston simultaneously rotated and pushed in.

I'm not sure which pad was worn more. The parking brakes is ("drum in a hat") type.

Lines looked good, by their account. It was only a visual inspection, and test drive. As it was just in for standard oil change and tire rotation service. They said nothing looked in a dangerous condition just has excessive wear on the rear passenger side rotor and pads.

ARman

I’d buy new Centrix rotors from Rock Auto. Regular ones are fine.

Brakes pads and rotors don't affect stopping distance like you would think.

If you want to stop faster, step harder (and apply increased pressure earlier ) on the pedal. At some point, your tires will break free and you will realize that the tires are the bottle neck for stopping distance.

Upgraded brakes fight brake fade caused by overheating from repeated aggressive braking. Aggressive pads and increased rotor area may be grabbier with less pedal pressure, but you'll reach the same limit of your tire's available traction just the same.

There are a lot of ways to improve the braking in a vehicle.

Once you had the sticking caliper fixed a cost effective way is to get a more “aggressive” brake pad provided the rotor is good.

All brake pads have a coefficient of friction and getting a set with a higher COF will result in increased braking performance.

As someone who races these Subaru's and has lots and lots of experience on various brake upgrades and a zillion street miles otherwise. 1. there is not a chance at all that you will notice upgraded brake components driven on the street. period. Bigger disks, Brembo top notch calipers, pad changes etc. won't do a thing at street speeds. trust me. but if not have at it. If you want what to buy post and I will supply components to consider. But expect to be broke for no real change in outcome.
2. Aftermarket parts can save you money with the same performance but not from anybody that is local, but also not without tradeoffs. Hawk pads are great. Relatively cheap, but also lower mileage than OEM.
3. Brakes are a consumable. If the caliper is junk its junk. Same for the disks.

quote:

All brake pads have a coefficient of friction and getting a set with a higher COF will result in increased braking performance

No it won't. change the feel about braking, initial bite versus pedal pressure, but in the end affect the actual braking result for any competent pad. No.

I put EBC green on my last Expedition with their solid rotors.....I noticed a pretty good upgrade in stopping, but aren't the Subaru WRX's pretty hopped up and have really good brakes to begin with? If it's the model I'm thinking of, I'd stick with factory.