Upgrading stock 2011 WRX brakes to Brembos

**Ginsubie** · 03-04-2012 10:43 PM

I just completed upgrading the stock brakes on my 2011 WRX to Brembos and thought I'd share my experience.

The project began when I was able to score a pair of front Brembos off a 2004 STi and a pair of rear Brembos off a 2008 STi.

The guy who sold the fronts to me was going to rebuild and repaint them, but decided last minute to go with a set of 2008 STi Brembos. As a result, he was willing to let me have this set for a very good price. He had already stripped the paint off the calipers, which was great for me since I wanted to repaint them to match the rears anyway. He also included a Brembo rebuild kit in the purchase price.

The rear calipers were a real find. They were practically brand-new because the guy who sold them to me took them off his 2008 STi as soon as he bought it and replaced them with a BBK. So these had no wear on them at all.

This is what they looked like when I got them:

The next step was to get the front calipers repainted. I got them powder-coated glossy black to match the rears:

I decided to pair the Brembos with a set of DBA 4000 ClubSpec T3 rotors and Stoptech Street Performance brake pads. I really like the look of the new rotors:

The guys at KNS Brakes were extremely helpful. They knew exactly which rotors I needed to get: 2004 STi front rotors and 2008+ STi rear rotors. The DBA rotors were already dual-drilled for 5x100 bolt pattern, so they were simply bolt-on.

Now that I had all the components together, it was just a matter of installing them on my car. The guys at Yimi Sport Tuning took care of that for me.

Installing the front calipers and rotors was a very straightforward process:

The rears, however, were more complicated. The stock rear rotor dust shields are too small for the larger DBA rotors to seat properly. So, the lip all the way around and portions of the dust shield itself had to be cut off for proper fitment. On the other hand, once the rotors were taken care of, the 2008 rear STi Brembos bolted on my WRX with no problems whatsoever:

Once everything was installed, the next step was to flush the lines and replace the brake fluid. I decided to go with Motul RBF 600.

After bleeding the lines, it was time to reinstall the stock rims. FYI, in my case, the stock 2011 WRX rims did NOT clear the front Brembo calipers without scraping. A set of 3mm spacers took care of that problem.

Here are a couple of pics of my car after everything was complete:

This Brembo conversion was a long-time desire of mine, ever since I got the car. I must say it feels great to finally get it all done!

**xFalleNx** · 03-05-2012 05:54 AM

Nice job man, looks good.

**rage-wrx** · 03-05-2012 08:53 AM

Good work.Those rotors look beautiful.

**Ginsubie** · 03-05-2012 09:00 AM

Thanks, guys!

**jgardiner** · 03-05-2012 10:53 AM

So the stock 17" rims cleared the rear calipers? I had heard that the 3G STI calipers needed an 18" wheel. I may have to look at this again.

**lokey** · 03-05-2012 11:08 AM

Nicely done! How many threads/turns did you get with the 3mm spacers on?

**Ginsubie** · 03-05-2012 01:45 PM

Originally Posted by jgardiner

So the stock 17" rims cleared the rear calipers? I had heard that the 3G STI calipers needed an 18" wheel. I may have to look at this again.

Yup, the stock 17x8 rims cleared the rear Brembos with no problems. It's the fronts that are tight.

Originally Posted by lokey

Nicely done! How many threads/turns did you get with the 3mm spacers on?

To be honest, I'm not sure. But I was watching the guys at Yimi Sport put the wheels on, and they didn't seem to indicate there was any problems getting the nuts on firmly.

**Mikie13** · 03-05-2012 01:57 PM

Looks good! Notice an improved performance in braking yet? Brembos on all STIs are basically the same models, so there's no reason why the 08+s would need an 18in wheel if all the others required only a 17in wheel.

You put the spacers on all 4 corners correct?

**Ginsubie** · 03-05-2012 02:05 PM

Actually, I only put the spacers on the front to clear the Brembos. The rears I left alone. The spacers are a stop-gap measure until the set of 18x8.5 Hyper Black Rota Grids I ordered arrives.

**Pavia** · 03-05-2012 02:27 PM

Maybe I missed this, but did you need special rotors to get the parking brake working?

**Ginsubie** · 03-05-2012 03:15 PM

No, the drum on the DBA 4000 rear rotors are pretty much the same size as the stock rotors, so the parking brake works as is. I do have to lift on the parking lever a bit more now than before, but that can be adjusted. In any case, the parking brake engages firmly with the new rotors.

**Mikie13** · 03-06-2012 08:44 AM

Originally Posted by Ginsubie

Actually, I only put the spacers on the front to clear the Brembos. The rears I left alone. The spacers are a stop-gap measure until the set of 18x8.5 Hyper Black Rota Grids I ordered arrives.

Gotcha...was just thinking of AWD complications...usually any kind of difference can put added stress on the AWD system, similar to having two axles with different offset, or different width like a staggered setup, etc. Probably not the best idea to run long with that.

You gonna throw some stickers on the front calipers to match the rear?