Reid's Brembo Swap Guide (fitment info, Helicoils, how-to's, part numbers, pics...)

[scoobycolm]

Great info
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2711647 - source NASIOC


Table of contents:
-Info (this post)
-Reconditioning: Snapped Mounting Bolt Extraction
-Reconditioning: Helicoil Install
-DBA Rotor Pics
-MachV Rear Adapter, Braided SS Line, Motul Fluid, Mounting Bolt Pics
-Install Day
-After Pics

Full Build Here: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=2665770
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Info: STI Brembos


Some good info/Sources:
KNS Brakes - Brembo Fitment Guide for all years <--- so helpful!
Brake Supersticky: brake upgrade FAQ, tech in, Brembo info, and other upgrades
The STi Brembo Brake FAQ - including "will STi Brembos fit on [x]?"


Here is the summed up version. This post is very GR heavy but some info pertains to other years too.


Caliper Info:
-Brembos came on all years US STI (04-14). Metallic gold with a red Brembo logo from 04-07 and gloss black with an STI logo from 08-14.

-The front calipers are the same fitment from all years (04-14). Bolt on to any WRX. You WILL need new mounting bolts (Subaru Part #901120103, thanks Overland!)

-The rear calipers are different. 08-14 WRXs can bolt on 08-14 STI rears. All gold rears need adapters for all year WRX. Comes with mounting bolts.

Bracket Adapter links here (years are for the WRX, NOT the STI Brembo):
MachV (02-07 WRX) and MachV (08-14 WRX)
KNS Brakes (02-07 WRX) and KNS Brakes (08-14 WRX)

KNS Brakes' adapters require slight grinding of the rear hub to fit. MachV makes no claim that their adapters need grinding. I believe this is why MachV's adapter comes with groves to allow for clearance of the WRX hub. Even so, I still needed to grind to get the holes to line up properly.

EDIT: Looks like KNS is the bracket supplier for MachV Motorsports. Both will need slight grinding to install.

Rotor Info:
-All year STI had 5x114.3, excluding 2004 which had 5x100

-Front rotors for a 2004 STI will be bolt on

-Rear rotors for a 2004 STI can be used on an 08+ WRX if you install an oversized ebrake shoe

-Best route, 08+ STI dual drilled rear rotors. You can buy 08+ STI rotors and redrill or buy these from MachV (Centric Blanks or DBA 4000s)

Tip: You can avoid over paying for "adapter rotors" by knowing the part number of what you are buying. For example, I learned that DBA rotors come from the factory dual drilled if you buy the rotor with the "-10" in the part number. After finding this out I sourced my own rotors for much less.

Example:
DBA T3 4000 Series Front Rotors Part #: DBA4654S-10
DBA T2 Street Series Rear Rotors Part #: DBA2656S-10

Brake Line Info:
-You will need new lines to fit the Brembos. Get STI fitment for your year WRX.

Clearing Wheels:
-It is confirmed you WILL need spacers on the front OEM 08-14 WRX wheels (3mm)

-It is confirmed here that 5mm is the minimum spacer to clear STI Brembos with Rota Grid 18x9.5" +38 wheels

-It is confirmed that Rota SVNR 18x10" +30 clear STI Brembos with no spacer (not sure why the EVO guys complan about these wheels lol)
Reconditioning: STI Brembo Thread Fix - Bolt Extraction
Touch Up Paint: MachV Paint

I found a set of Brembos on our classified section with good paint and decent pads. Took the plunge. Once they arrived, I began to clean and inspect. I used simple green and several toothbrushes. Took the pads off, cleaned the pins and clips, then separated everything into zip lock bags. The calipers were then inspected.

The ad said they were in full working order, which was half the story. One side (1 front and 1 rear) were near perfect, paint and threads. So those 2calipers got polished and touched up. Also cleaned the threads out a bit.



The problem is now with the other side. They were polished to see condition, but before they can be touched up, I need to fix the threads...

Since the caliper is aluminum and the mounting bolts are steel, they are subject to galvanic corrosion which exists when 2 different metal come into contact. These metals have different electrode potentials and over time electrolytes from one become deposited on the other. This forms a super strong bond when paired with many heat cycles. Very often when Brembos are removed, the threads are now taken out still attached to the bolt or the bolt snaps completely. Depends how strong the bond was. On one of the rear calipers, both bolts snapped. On one of the front, both thread where stripped out.

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To deal with the best of a bad situation, I chose to first attempt to extract the bolts out of the holes. Knowing that only goes well sometimes, I was prepared to drill them out completely.

Example tools of choice:
-Titanium Drill Bits (you will NEED titanium)
-Extrator Bits
-M10x1.5 Tap (Rear)

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First bolt in the rear came out with some struggle. Thankfully the extractor worked and the threads were intact. Retapped and moved on.

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The second hole was a true PITA (which is what I was expecting). Extractor was not working, at one point I had 2 long steel rods used to add more torque on my wrench. Nothing. I then continued to drill the hole larger, one size at a time, then again trying the extractor bits. Nothing.

It was time to just go for it and hope for the best. I slowly drilled out the rest of the bolt trying not to hit the threads. Finally the f'er gave up...

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[scoobycolm]

Reconditioning: STI Brembo Thread Fix - Helicoils
Part Number (front): 770-3095 (M12x1.5)
Link/Info: http://www.helicoil.in/helicoil.htm
Where to buy: eBay or any Napa

note: front bolt size is M12x1.5, rear is M10x1.5

As I said before, the caliper is aluminum and the mounting bolts are steel. (repeat from above) They are subject to galvanic corrosion which exists when 2 different metal come into contact. These metals have different electrode potentials and over time electrolytes from one become deposited on the other. This forms a super strong bond when paired with many heat cycles. Very often when Brembos are removed, the threads are now taken out still attached to the bolt or the bolt snaps completely. Depends how strong the bond was. This caused the threads to be stripped out.

Turns out I needed more than just the one caliper fixed. I did 3 of 4 front caliper holes just for peace of mind. On the day of the install, I will have aHelicoil kit for the front and rear calipers ready incase something goes wrong with the other threads. The finished Helicoils are extremely strong. Glad this worked out!

The kit comes with the coils themselves (x6), a special sized tap, and an "inserter" or "introducer". IDK, call it what you want. I didn't really use it for this application.

My story starts in the part room at work. Here, I found an entire Helicoil kit with everything I needed EXCEPT the special sized tap. Turns out the tap is named "STI" (funny huh). This stands for "screw thread insert" tap. Since the point of a Helicoil kit is to make the existing hole functional again, the threads need to be tapped out a tad bit larger than the existing hole. The tap IS a size M12x1.5 but with the STI.

EDIT: I was informed that a M12x1.5 STI tap is the same size as a M14x1.5 tap. I have not confirmed this myself but throwing it out there to anyone that may be in the situation I was once in. Worth some testing! (Thanks vision.dynamix!)

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So, I thought "nice, work has everything I need. Just need to buy a new M12x1.5 STI tap." Well not that easy. I couldn't find these in our stores, and on line they where the price of the full kit. I ended up just buying my own kit.....

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Notice the horizontal tab. This will be used to guide the coil into place and spin it.

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This entire time, I had the calipers masked off. Don't want to ruin the finish.

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The kit doesn't come with the drill bit you need. You will need to buy that. The size is circled in red below. For my M12 kit I needed 31/64".

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Then, start drilling as straight as possible. Ideally a drill press would be best.

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Then, you'll tap using the STI tap from your kit.

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Once tapped, insert your coil. Add Locktite. I didn't use the entire included introducer piece, just the bolt looking part since it drives the coil in using the tab at the bottom of each coil.

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Finally break off the horizontal tab on each coil......

And it is that simple. I took my time to make sure everything was straight. The finish product is super strong. Let the Locktite dry overnight at least.

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Now I will have a steel on steel contact instead of aluminum and steel. Should work MUCH better.

 

[scoobycolm]

Now onto just some part pics....

Review/Pics: DBA T3 4000 Series Rotors
Link: http://www.dbausa.com/products/clubspec-t/
Part #: DBA4654S-10

Review/Pics: DBA T2 Street Series Rotors
Link: http://www.dbausa.com/products/street-performance/
Part #: DBA2656S-10

Note/Tip: DBA rotors with '-10' in the part number means they are dual drilled for 5x100 and 5x114.3.

I bought these because I wanted a midrange rotor. The DBAs have great reviews so I went with it. The reason I bought T2s for the rear was to save some money. Not too much to explain about rotors! Here are pics showing a few things that might be interesting; slot patterns, box with part numbers, and a few more detail shots.

Note: I didn't get any good pics of these, but the painted lines across the rotors are actually a temperature color changing paint. "Thermo-Graphic Markings" is the proper term. Here is a good link explaining how these work: http://www.dbausa.com/thermo-graphic-paint-markings/

Left - T3 (fronts)
Right - T2 (rears)

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[scoobycolm]

All the MachV stuff....

Review/Pics: MachV Motorsports Rear Brembo Adapter Kit
Link: http://www.fastwrx.com/collections/b...ckets-only-kit

Since the rear Brembos don't bolt directly up to the WRX hubs, we need an adapter bracket. Again, nothing much to explain here. Comes with hardware and the craftsmanship it great!

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Review/Pics: MachV Motorsports STI Brake Lines
Link: http://www.fastwrx.com/collections/b...nes-08-wrx-sti

Another great MachV product. Comes with hardware.

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Other fun Brembo stuff....

Pics: Motul 5.1 Brake Fluid
Link: http://www.fastwrx.com/collections/b...-1-brake-fluid

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Pics: Front Brembo Mounting Bolts
Part #: 901120103

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[scoobycolm]

Install: Brembos

I didn't take too many pics because I was dirty and working but I do have a few thoughts to share to make this easier for the next person. I ran into 3 problems throughout this entire install. The MachV adapters didn't fit great and needed to be modified, the stock brake lines where hard to get free, and the Rotas did not clear the front Brembos.

My plan of attack was mount everything first (Calipers, rotors, pads) and then, after everything was correct, install the lines and bleed. This way if something didn't fit I could stop the install and reverse the process easily since this is my daily driver. So on to the install....

First thing I did was jack the car up safely and entirely. Remove wheels. The front section of the car went super fast. Everything was installed and bolted right up no problem. Remember, install bleed nipples upward. Installed the new SS lines to the Brembo caliper and left the car end for after the rears were mounted. Maybe an hour tops for the fronts (no lines).

The first step in the rear is to either cut or bend the dust shield out of the way. I knew this needed to be done. I first tried to removed the shield all together but it is riveted on there. So, I used the "beat it with a hammer and bend it out of the way" method. Although, I would suggest cutting it lol.

The rear was where I found my first problem. One of the MachV adapters slid right on and into place, but the holes didn't line up perfectly. So I beat it into place with a hammer, bolted it up and moved to the other side. The other MachV adapter wouldn't even slide into place. Previously, I checked both sides to confirm that they weren't side specific. Also checked to make sure it wasn't my hubs being slightly different thicknesses. It was the adapter... So I got the grinder out (despite buying the MachV versions to avoid this step) and started grinding the hub in very small steps. Eventually it fit like the first adapter on the previous side. So I continued to beat it into place to get the holes to line up and done..... Again, install bleed nipples upward. After that the rearcalipers mounted right up and I was ready for the lines to be installed on the car side.

Here is a pic showing how the adapter is used:

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Second problem came from the stock lines. This can be avoided with the right tools. Since my brake knowledge stopped at calipers, pads, and rotors, I didn't really know what to expect with lines. That is why I'm here to help you guys! The small nut that needed to be spun on the stock brake hardline is a 10mm. I attempted this like anyone lacking brake knowledge would... With an open ended wrench. It was snug but I expected that. I ended up stripping the nut with the open ended wretch. At this point, I had rounded 2 sides of the nut. Asked a buddy for help and he immediately said I was doing this all wrong and needed something called a flare nut wrench. The moment I got one in my hand it made sense. The box wrench didn't have enough grip on the nut, duh.. The flare nut wrench covers most of the nut while still allowing fitment on the brake hardlines.

"flare nut wrench" from google:

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Stock calipers and lines off. They are 2/1 Tokico calipers for those that don't know:

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Comparison in the front:

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After all the lines were installed, we bled the system. Always bleed as far as possible from the brake fluid reservoir first, then move closer. In our case, PR, DR, PF, DF. EDIT: It was brought to my attention that Subaru recommends a different order, PF, DR, DF, PR. This is due to the diagonal connection between calipers. That way you should never lose brake power on one axle completely if something becomes damaged. I believe this mostly applies new or completely empty systems but this order is published from Subaru to establish consistency with their techs. I did it the old fashion way by far first, close last with no problems, but that is because I still had a mostly full brake system. On each Brembo caliper there are 2 bleed nipples. Bleed inside first then outside. This is why the calipers were installed with the bled nipples upward (air travels upward). We bled the entire system, then double checked it again. I'll probably check again in a few weeks.

Many hours later, we were done. I installed the rear wheels. Went to install the fronts and no go.... I bought these wheels way back in the OBS years, but I always assumed they cleared Brembos because I've seen plenty of STIs and EVOs using Rota Grids. I thought the 9.5" would be fine. Not so. Luckily I had spacers sitting at home, so for a few days I had huge 8mm spacers up front. I ordered 3mm and 5mm hub centric spacers to see what is the lowest I can get away with.

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Finally, inspect, test, and bed in. Everything went great. Followed normal Hawk bed in procedure. After driving for a day or so, I notice a much more responsive pedal feel. After a few hard test stops, I'm hooked! My e-brake is slightly loose, so I will need to go back and adjust that soon. Besides the few hi-cups, the install went well. All can be easily avoided/fixed with the right tools.

A few days later I received the hub centric spacers. Here is a nice pic outlining the fitment:

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[scoobycolm]

Final Pics

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