Need a Brake Upgrade Badly, Need Help with Options

[Soul Shinobi]

My 1998 Legacy L Wagon with 5.3i ABS, has junk for brakes. They're rusty, they're dragging, it's pretty awful; but I don't just want to replace them, if I'm going trough the trouble I want to upgrade but I'm not too familiar with the options. I'm no stranger to working with brakes, I rebuilt the calipers on my '92 Legacy (man that was a lot of work!) and I've done a pad and rotor (disk) job along with stainless steel brake lines on my friend's '04 WRX, among other things. Also, I will be referencing the legendarily useful "brakemath.xls" spreadsheet (click to download (http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8080/subaru/techinfo/brakemath.xls)).

The front brakes on my Legacy are dragging the worst, so I'm pretty well set on getting remanufactured calipers from a local Subaru dealer (I've got some Subaru bucks and the guy in parts gets me a little bit of a discount). At first I was ready to go get the stock calipers, but now I'm wondering if I can use the two-pots from the GT model of the same generation. I still intend on using the rotors for my car so I don't have to replace the backing plate (I assume I would have to) and I'm also running stock 14" wheels so a bigger rotor is likely out of the question. Do you think the GT 2-pots will fit? I don't know if the bolt spacing differs.

For the rears I guess I'll stick with the stock calipers (remanufactured again) since the wagon ones are as big as it gets without going to a real high performance setup or getting the H6 bracket (or backing plate) and rotor, which I can't do because like I said I'm running 14" wheels for now.

For pads I was thinking of Hawks HPS or Performance Ceramic pads all around, I may post a wanted on NASIOC when I'm ready to buy and see if a vendor can hook me up. I was looking at R1 Concepts' site and they have a Hawks HPS set front and rear for $152 with free shipping (link (http://store.r1concepts.com/Items/Item.aspx?SKU=hpsc09867-201.07220-201.04710&caSKU=hpsc09867-201.07220-201.04710&caTitle=LEGACY%20Wagon%2098-99%20L%20Brake%20Pads%20-%20Hawk%20HPS%20-%20Front%20%2b%20Rear)), they also have Axxis Ultimate pads which I'm considering. Are there any other good options? What's a good place to buy?

One thing I have no clue what to go with is brands for rotors. Subaru wants ludicrous amounts of money, and I don't know who has above average quality for a decent price. I'd like to spend around $100 for a set of 4, not $280 at the dealer. Anyone familiar with the E-Line at R1 Concepts?

Last thing is the intended use of the car. It'll be a daily driver; maybe auto-crossed; drifting (braking and weight shift style) likely (definitely in the winter). I mention this in consideration of putting the GT brakes on the front, since this will shift brake distribution forward around 20%. This is better for straight line speed reduction, but I don't know how it plays out for drifting or winter braking. I image a more even distribution may help in the winter, but I could be wrong. Any thoughts appreciated!

EDIT: updated with some info I found.

[Huffer]

If you call Autopartswarehouse.com directly they'll do a better than advertized deal on the calipers, rotors and pads. They can get Hawk HPS pads (support US business hooray!) too.

I got two new calipers (plus core charge), rotors, pads for around $250 shipped.

Your 14" wheels won't clear the 2 pot caliper.

Rotors - you can just get the Autozone ones or opt for the Brembo blanks that work well too. Don't get a dealer rotor. Too expensive for a chunk of iron.

In winter you want great tires + ok brakes. Locking up the wheels in winter is bad thing.

My recommendation to you:
15" wheels + good tires
BD/BK GT size calipers & rotors all round.

[Soul Shinobi]

They've got a few other brake pads there too, how are Akebono ceramics, anyone use them?

Those caliper prices seem to be just about the same as the dealer's, not counting the discount I can get. Oh yeah and I've got Subaru bucks to blow, I'll go with OEM for those. :grin:

You sure the GT brakes won't clear? They look just a hair bigger on the outside... Have you tried to throw a 14" on one of your GTs? EDIT: Oh yeah, forgot your GTs have bigger disks too, so likely that won't work and still doesn't answer my question. :-?

Man it'd be cool just to say I've got Brembo parts. :p At $65 per rotor that's a bit much for me, what other brands aren't bad for around $100-$150 total? These EBCs look trick, but I don't know if it's hype, plus the zinc plating would have to wear through before the pads are properly bedded (though the plating would help with rust).

No idea how winter driving's gonna be. This car has ABS and my '92 Legacy didn't, which is good, I gained some good skills from that. I have to say, money's a bit tight so good wheels and tires are a bit off into the future unfortunately.

[Soul Shinobi]

Alright, decided to go with Axxis Ultimate pads from r1concepts.com and I'll likely be getting EBC Ultimax plain rotors from autopartswarehouse.com. I'm not crazy about the gold zinc coating as a friction surface on the rotors, but at least it should minimize rust. Also, I may get Goodridge G-Stop Stainless Steel Brakelines from tirerack.com since they have the model that will fit my wagon perfectly (I hope :razz:). I'll probably be getting doubles of everything since a friend of mine also has a 1998 Legacy L Wagon in need of brakes.