Stainless brake lines for BK brake upgrade

[Dobie0791]

Hi guys,
I have been lurking on this forum since I picked up a BK legacy L this summer. I bought it for a family hauler but also own a 2005 STi and 1993 Toyota 4x4.
The BK was a single owner, garage kept, super clean, California car with less than 54,000 miles on the clock when I picked it up this past June. Since then I have added 16"x6.5" BBS wheels with new General G-Max tires to it. I am in the process of upgrading the brakes on this car, which is the only thing I don't like about it.
I plan on buying rebuilt 2002 WRX front calipers and new centric premium rotors on the front and rebuilt 2003 outback 3.0 rear calipers with the centric premium routers in the rear. Stop-tech street performance brake pads all around.
My question is which stainless brake lines should I buy? Rockauto sells stop-tech stainless brake lines for the BK. Are these still the best fit, or is there a better choice with the upgraded calipers on the car?

Thanks!

[Navi271]

I bought Techna-Fit stainless brake lines for BK/BG's. If I remember right, the alignment tab on BK/BG brake lines don't meet up on the back of an H6 rear caliper which is why I went with 2002 WRX calipers in the rear with H6 rotors and brackets. The problem is there's an alignment tab on the brake lines meant for your stock calipers, but you can grind the tab down if needed and still install them correctly onto the H6 caliper. Another member, Huffer, mentioned this problem and having to grind down the tab in his Member's Ride Thread on his white GT wagon:

With my recent brake upgrades, the 04 LGT calipers don't 100% match my older 98 LGT calipers. This is OKAY. The big difference is that on the BACK of the caliper, where the banjo brake fitting bolts on, there are some "alignment" tabs. These are not compulsory to use, and if you have done a lines + caliper upgrade like myself then you will likely NOT be able to use the alignment tabs anyway.

All you need to do to make sure you brake line fits flush with the caliper is to:
a) grind the alignment tabs off - you only need to cut away a small portion
b) rotate the banjo so that the brake line goes through the slots or avoids them altogether.

Now Stop-Tech brake lines, I have no idea. I haven't heard anything bad about them. Look for some reviews I guess.

Everything else in the upgrade looks good. You may want to invest in paint as well for the calipers. They usually don't come with any sort of rust inhibiting coating, it's just bare metal.

I just did my brake upgrade last summer, and it made the car feel so much better when braking. Good Luck!

[Wiscon_Mark]

You can buy calipers that are painted. The NAPA eclipse remanufacturered calipers can come painted black.

[Dobie0791]

Thanks Navi- I will order the wrx caliper and H6 bracket and use BK fitment brake lines. I want the fit to be as oem as possible. Not worried about the StopTech brake lines quality. They make some of the best brakes on the planet.

Mark- thanks. I am going to paint them. The cost from RockAuto is half of Napa.

Now to find some gen 2 sways off of an Outback...

[Wiscon_Mark]

Mark- thanks. I am going to paint them. The cost from RockAuto is half of Napa.

Until you pay for shipping and then shipping again for the core charge, it is.

I've found that NAPA is actually pretty close when you count core charges and shipping. It does depend on exactly what part you're looking at though.

[Navi271]

Actually I never figured that out...

You're buying parts for 3rd gen legacy and a WRX to replace parts on a 2nd gen legacy. Does the core have to be the exact same working or nonworking part you're replacing it with?
I figured they wouldn't take a different kind of caliper back, and didn't seem I'd get much back for the core anyways, so I never sent anything back and avoided those shipping costs.

[camroncamera]

I bought Techna-Fit stainless brake lines for BK/BG's. If I remember right, the alignment tab on BK/BG brake lines don't meet up on the back of an H6 rear caliper which is why I went with 2002 WRX calipers in the rear with H6 rotors and brackets. The problem is there's an alignment tab on the brake lines meant for your stock calipers, but you can grind the tab down if needed and still install them correctly onto the H6 caliper. Another member, Huffer, mentioned this problem and having to grind down the tab in his Member's Ride Thread on his white GT wagon:

With my recent brake upgrades, the 04 LGT calipers don't 100% match my older 98 LGT calipers. This is OKAY. The big difference is that on the BACK of the caliper, where the banjo brake fitting bolts on, there are some "alignment" tabs. These are not compulsory to use, and if you have done a lines + caliper upgrade like myself then you will likely NOT be able to use the alignment tabs anyway.

All you need to do to make sure you brake line fits flush with the caliper is to:
a) grind the alignment tabs off - you only need to cut away a small portion
b) rotate the banjo so that the brake line goes through the slots or avoids them altogether.

Now Stop-Tech brake lines, I have no idea. I haven't heard anything bad about them. Look for some reviews I guess.

Everything else in the upgrade looks good. You may want to invest in paint as well for the calipers. They usually don't come with any sort of rust inhibiting coating, it's just bare metal.

I just did my brake upgrade last summer, and it made the car feel so much better when braking. Good Luck!

^^^ What they said lol

I also did the WRX Front/H6 Rear brake upgrade: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.p ... 54702.html (http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/2nd-gen-lgt-brake-upgrades-wrx-front-and-h6-rear-154702.html)
Here is the (minor) problem with the alignment tabs on the H6 rear caliper:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_5590_Edit_01_Text-1.jpg

If I were to do it again I would look into the WRX rear caliper mentioned above, combined with the H6 mounting bracket.

As far as stainless brake lines, I used a set from a growing local vendor, Nameless Performance http://shop.namelessperformance.com/
They don't seem to be listed on their storefront, but send em a message. Excellent customer service. The lines are Made in USA, DOT-approved, and of the highest quality. Been running mine for 3+ years.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Actually I never figured that out...

You're buying parts for 3rd gen legacy and a WRX to replace parts on a 2nd gen legacy. Does the core have to be the exact same working or nonworking part you're replacing it with?
I figured they wouldn't take a different kind of caliper back, and didn't seem I'd get much back for the core anyways, so I never sent anything back and avoided those shipping costs.

I can tell you that the guys at NAPA only check to make sure you didn't put bricks back in the box when you bring 'em in.

[Regardie]

Yes, the H6 bracket and the 02 WRX caliper will allow you to use a 2nd gen set of brake lines. The third gen lines for the rear have a hooked end and are two pieces per side so you can't directly swap them. The only other thing I can add about rear brake upgrades is that in 05 the GT got vented rotors instead of solid, at the same diameter, but with that you would need the 05 GT caliper as the rotor is much thicker. It will still fit under a set of 16s though.

[camroncamera]

Yes, the H6 bracket and the 02 WRX caliper will allow you to use a 2nd gen set of brake lines. The third gen lines for the rear have a hooked end and are two pieces per side so you can't directly swap them. The only other thing I can add about rear brake upgrades is that in 05 the GT got vented rotors instead of solid, at the same diameter, but with that you would need the 05 GT caliper as the rotor is much thicker. It will still fit under a set of 16s though.

Great info, thanks for sharing. So you are saying that the '05-'09 LGT rear caliper is in fact definitely wider than the '00-'04 "H6" Legacy rear caliper, in order to accommodate the wider vented rotor? This makes perfect sense, although I thought that I had read that it might be merely a difference in pads. Visually, they appear to be the same design/style, but it would be cool to see them photographed side-by-side for comparison.