96 legacy brake upgrade

[pamike]

i did some searching and didn't find the answer i was after. so, my legacy has the single piston front calipers and stock rears. from what i've seen i just get the calipers, brackets, rotors and pads off a wrx for the front and it bolts right in correct? can i use the 02-05 wrx brakes? and for the rear, do the 02-05 wrx brakes bolt right up? or should i go with the h6 rear setup? and the one thing that i couldn't find is with the h6 rear brakes, what wheel size is required? i have 16" snowflakes and i have no plans on changing my wheels so whatever i use will have to work with my current wheels.

now the good part of this is that i work for a reman company and i can get the calipers and brackets for free. so i want to go with the best ones i can get since all i have to buy is the rotors and pads. thanks, Mike

[Wiscon_Mark]

You should be fine with the front brakes with that setup. I believe the H6 rear brake upgrade is more popular because it's a little smaller that other rear brake upgrades, but I'm not sure about fitment on the 16s. I would think you'd be fine as I don't remember any 17" wheels on the BE models from stock.

This thread might help you out: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=20576 (http://www.sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=20576)

And I'd recommend looking through the member's rides to see who's done the upgrade (I know quite a few have) and ask them some questions.

[geckoboy86]

I have done 02 WRX brakes all around. Love em. Its a little front bias compared to the factory ones.

Parts needed:
WRX Calipers, Brackets, and Brake Pads (Front and Back)
WRX front Rotors.

Everything was bolt up. Only issue is securing the brake line to the strut in the front which wasn't that hard.

I'm looking into doing a rear H6 because I want to balance out my car again. WRX rear brakes use the same rotor as my 95 L. H6 rear brakes are only a few mm shy of being the same size rotor as the front WRX. I don't see a reason for me to do the 06-07 WRX 4/2pot.

[Huffer]

04 Legacy GT brakes front and rear - my exact setup on my 98 LGT - you can run 16x6.5" wheels ET 53 on them without any issues.
You may need a bigger master cylinder to cope with the extra fluid/pressure in the system.
It's a cheap, easy upgrade. I recommend examining your existing brake lines and replacing them at the same time if you need.

If you want something that's a no-brainer, go with 1998-99 Legacy GT brake calipers and pistons + pads and rotors all around. You'll get the two piston front, 1 piston rear and a decent sized rotor for heat disappation. The Subaru BRZ runs a 2 piston/1 piston setup, on a sub-2700lb frame w/ 200hp, so there shouldn't really be any need for your vehicle to go much bigger.

Good luck!

[pamike]

i'm probably gonna go with the 04 LGT brakes. now if i needed a different master cyl, what car would i get that from? reason for doing this is my car is lifted with grabber tires and i feel i need a little more stopping power. but if i'm gonna upgrade why not go big that way i can't say i should have gone bigger.

[Huffer]

If you got a master cylinder from any 97-04 Legacy, it'll work. Do some part comparisons to make sure its not the same size otherwise you'll just be wasting money.

[98legwag]

I have done 02 WRX brakes all around. Love em. Its a little front bias compared to the factory ones.

Parts needed:
WRX Calipers, Brackets, and Brake Pads (Front and Back)
WRX front Rotors.

Everything was bolt up. Only issue is securing the brake line to the strut in the front which wasn't that hard.

I'm looking into doing a rear H6 because I want to balance out my car again. WRX rear brakes use the same rotor as my 95 L. H6 rear brakes are only a few mm shy of being the same size rotor as the front WRX. I don't see a reason for me to do the 06-07 WRX 4/2pot.

What was the issue with securing the brake line to the front strut? Shouldn't it be secure already? Also, how do the wrx rear calipers and brackets differ from ours?

[geckoboy86]

I have done 02 WRX brakes all around. Love em. Its a little front bias compared to the factory ones.

Parts needed:
WRX Calipers, Brackets, and Brake Pads (Front and Back)
WRX front Rotors.

Everything was bolt up. Only issue is securing the brake line to the strut in the front which wasn't that hard.

I'm looking into doing a rear H6 because I want to balance out my car again. WRX rear brakes use the same rotor as my 95 L. H6 rear brakes are only a few mm shy of being the same size rotor as the front WRX. I don't see a reason for me to do the 06-07 WRX 4/2pot.

What was the issue with securing the brake line to the front strut? Shouldn't it be secure already? Also, how do the wrx rear calipers and brackets differ from ours?

Depends on what all you swap over. I was mixing and match WRX and L brake and suspension parts at the time. The wrx brake lines to them at bolt on and not a clip on like my 95 L struts.

Can't remember now if I had to swap the lines over or not when I did it.

As for the rear,
I believe the piston is a bit bigger for the rear in the WRX. Swapping everything over will just make buying brakes easier as they will all be for the same car.

Also, I've been told that I can do the H6 rotor upgrade in the rear with just new rotors and caliper brackets. I can reuse my 02-03 WRX calipers and pads.

Sorry if any of this doesnt make sense. I'm at work and trying to type this up fast.

[98legwag]

Another question about the swap. I am going Saturday to check out and possibly get 04 wrx brakes. Will the stock brake line from my car work with the wrx calipers?

[pamike]

ok i finally got my set of 04 lgt calipers and brackets. my only concern is the rear brake hose. my current hose is routed in from the side of the caliper where as the 04 lgt calipers have the hose going in from the top side of the caliper. the lgt hose has a 90 degree bend in the metal end so it can go in from the top. will my currents hoses work? i have no problem buying the newer hoses as they are only about $10 each. are the lgt hoses the correct length and do they have the correct fittings to bolt right up to my car?

[Regardie]

ok i finally got my set of 04 lgt calipers and brackets. my only concern is the rear brake hose. my current hose is routed in from the side of the caliper where as the 04 lgt calipers have the hose going in from the top side of the caliper. the lgt hose has a 90 degree bend in the metal end so it can go in from the top. will my currents hoses work? i have no problem buying the newer hoses as they are only about $10 each. are the lgt hoses the correct length and do they have the correct fittings to bolt right up to my car?

Don't take this as threadjacking, but I have a question for you about your rear H6 brake line issue.

First some answers for you.

The H6 calipers do bring the brake line in from a different angle. A few people have just ground off the alignment tabs and used their old brake lines. The actual H6 car has a two piece brake line, hence the 6 line kit if your going full SS replacement. No the 04 LGT lines will not fit.

You also have to remove the dust shield in the rears, drill out the welds and the bigger rotor will fit.

Now for my questions to you. Do you have, or are you willing to get one of the 04 rear caliper brake lines with the 90 degree bend? I'd like someone with the H6 parts to compare the stock BD/BG rear line length with a 90 degree end on it to see if it will fit. You don't have to actually fit the H6 end connector, just hold it in place and see if the stock line seems long enough to work with the different end.

I don't have the H6 parts yet for my 97 or I would do it myself.

There is a Techna-Fit Stainless Steel brake line group buy going on now and I would be interested in custom rears to go with the stock fronts I got last year and I'm guessing that there are several people who have done the upgrade who might also be interested.

[jamal]

if you use 99-07 impreza calipers with the h6 brackets you won't have a problem with the lines.

[pamike]

ok i finally got my set of 04 lgt calipers and brackets. my only concern is the rear brake hose. my current hose is routed in from the side of the caliper where as the 04 lgt calipers have the hose going in from the top side of the caliper. the lgt hose has a 90 degree bend in the metal end so it can go in from the top. will my currents hoses work? i have no problem buying the newer hoses as they are only about $10 each. are the lgt hoses the correct length and do they have the correct fittings to bolt right up to my car?

Don't take this as threadjacking, but I have a question for you about your rear H6 brake line issue.

First some answers for you.

The H6 calipers do bring the brake line in from a different angle. A few people have just ground off the alignment tabs and used their old brake lines. The actual H6 car has a two piece brake line, hence the 6 line kit if your going full SS replacement. No the 04 LGT lines will not fit.

You also have to remove the dust shield in the rears, drill out the welds and the bigger rotor will fit.

Now for my questions to you. Do you have, or are you willing to get one of the 04 rear caliper brake lines with the 90 degree bend? I'd like someone with the H6 parts to compare the stock BD/BG rear line length with a 90 degree end on it to see if it will fit. You don't have to actually fit the H6 end connector, just hold it in place and see if the stock line seems long enough to work with the different end.

I don't have the H6 parts yet for my 97 or I would do it myself.

There is a Techna-Fit Stainless Steel brake line group buy going on now and I would be interested in custom rears to go with the stock fronts I got last year and I'm guessing that there are several people who have done the upgrade who might also be interested.

i don't have the line with the bend. however i was thinking of just buying them and if they won't work i'll just return them. they are only like $10 each at advance auto. but looking at the caliper, it shouldn't take to much to grind down the caliper with a dremel to make the stock line fit.

[pamike]

now i know the lgt's front rotor is a larger diameter than a non gt. but are the pads the same for both? i was just looking at pads on advance auto web site and they are showing only 1 front pad but 2 different rear pads depending on if it's a gt or not. now i thought the rears would all be the same h6 setup and the fronts would be the different ones?

[mike-tracy]

The below part number should be part of the auto-part store's part number or interchange list.

(from: http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=36289)
Front 2-pots

D563:
1991-1994 Legacy Turbo
1995 Outback

D721:
1996-2002 Legacy
1998-2001 Impreza RS
1/2002-7/2002 WRX
1998-2002 Forester

D929:
2002-2009 Legacy/Outback (non-gt)
2003+ Impreza/Forester
8/2002-2005 WRX
2008+ WRX

D1078:
2005-2009 Legacy GT
Tribeca

Rear 1-pots

D471:
1990-1999 Legacy
1993-1998 Impreza
1993-1997 SVX

D770:
2000-2004 Legacy
2005-2009 Legacy GT
1999-2002 Impreza

D1004:
11/2002-2005 WRX
2003-2007 Impreza

D1114:
2005-2009 Legacy 2.5i/outback
2008+ Impreza/WRX
2009+ Forester

[Wiscon_Mark]

FYI, the 95 Outback has single piston calipers.

[pamike]

so if i'm understanding this correctly, i would need the D929 for the front and the D770 for the rear. just wanted to make sure of the right part numbers before i go to the parts store. i've had bad luck with advance auto giving me the wrong parts before and now i usually just tell them the part numbers so i know i'm getting the right stuff.

[mike-tracy]

FYI, the 95 Outback has single piston calipers.

You know, I believe you're right. I've never seen a 95 outback with 2-pots shared with the SS. The FSM shows the only front brake rotor option as 260x24mm for all legacy models for 95. 96 shows 277x24mm for those equipped with the 2.5. Those of you thinking of upgrading using used SS front brakes take note that hardware is antique! And uses really obscure pads.

Hmm. Jamal?

[jamal]

uh... funny enough I was just looking this up. It does appear that the 95OB got 260mm rotors and 1-pots. And then for 96 the outback and GT got the same calipers as the 94 turbo legacy. So I guess I should change that.

This should be accurate and up to date:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthr ... ?t=1265631 (http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1265631)

[Wiscon_Mark]

That actually explains something to me. I had read that you could fit 2 pot brakes under my wheels (same wheels as the SS) so I went and got 2 pots from a 98 GT, and they didn't clear perfectly. But the info I got was from the 96 Outback that had the older 2 piston calipers and 97-99 had different 15" wheels with more clearance.

[pamike]

ok well i finally got everything i needed to swap my brakes. i did it yesterday. my old pads were half missing/falling apart so this explaines why my brakes sucked. new setup works awsome. i just went with advance auto rotors and their platinum pads. i spent about $250 on pads and rotors and i got the calipers and brackets for free from work so i'm happy. i had to drill out the spot welds and remove the rear dust shields but it was easy as they were rusty anyway. front shields were fine, i just bent them back a little.