Will 14 inch OEM steelies fit over REAR 04-05 WRX calipers ?

[GT Wagon]

Bit of a wierd request but there's a good reason here. Wife has a 97 Legacy L with rear disc. Its the caliper with 12mm bottom bolt and pin on top. One of the rear calipers is toast and I need the car fixed asap. Now I do have a set of 04-05 rear calipers and pads stored away in the basement. The thing is, she runs 14 inch steelies in winter time (OEM wheels). Will the WRX calipers (these are not 4/2 pot reds) cause a clearance issue ?

[mike-tracy]

Interesting question. The rotors are the same size, as I'm sure you noticed, and I want to say yes, but I haven't tried it. I have a set of rear wrx calipers in my shed and they look around the same size as I remember my 96 L having. The WRX rears have a larger piston than the L's, and the brake balance will shift rearward approx 20%.

I'm pretty confident they'll work. I mean the H6 calipers and rear rotors which are around 1" larger in diameter than the WRX's fit OEM 15's easily.

[GT Wagon]

I can now answer my own question: YES.

You are right, they calipers are roughly the same size. Took me a few moments to realize I have the same WRX brakes on my Forester XT so off comes a steelie from the Legacy and onto the rear of the Forester. It fits, barely but it fits. Install was easy (save for all the rusted on parts). Undid the brake line, remove two bolts from carrier and that's it. I must say, there's way less room to get at those carrier bolts on the Legacy than on my Forester. WRX rears bolt right up to the Legacy with no issues. Swapped over the rotors, new set of HPS pads onto the calipers , applied copper grease and done.

Going for a test drive I swear it brakes better than before. Very cheap and easy upgrade.