G32BTurbo

04 XT with 79,XXX miles and recently I've noticed very bad brake shudder while braking at high speed. Also, pedal pressure has changed and it takes more effort to stop now. I don't know when the brakes have been changed last. At any rate, I'd like to upgrade. Not necessarily bigger but def better than stock. What do you all suggest?

Gopher XT

You should invest in some high quality rotors and pads if you do not plan on tracking the car. Some Racing Brake Rotors (supporting vendor) and some hawk pads would be a great option. You will love the difference

I have brembo's cross drilled rotors on my wifes outback and I love the difference.

Hemiheaded18

+1
And I'd suggest a flush as it sounds like you may have boiled the fluid or at least come a little too close based on the loss of pedal feel.

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Rejoice O young man in thy youth - Ecclesiates

guroove

+1 on the pads, rotors, and flush. I personally wouldn't waste the money on slotted rotors. I have heard of people getting good results with the duralast rotors from autozone.

The shuddering feeling is from the rotors being warped. The increased effort sounds like either air, water, or both have entered the fuel lines, or you have boiled some. DOT 4 fluid will resist boiling better, but from what I understand may need to get flushed more frequently. Whatever you do, don't use DOT 5 fluid. DOT 5.1 is compatibile with DOT 3 and DOT 4, but DOT 5 isn't.

Also, the biggest difference in braking performance will be your choice of pad, but there are a lot of tradeoffs involved there. Better braking generally means more dust, noise, and accelerated rotor wear. If wear and dust are a concern, ceramic pads are nice, but won't give the stopping power of a semi-metallic pad.

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2005 Obsidian Black Pearl XT w/4eat

Legacy

My 2 cents

1) shudder = warped rotors, DO NOT resurface them, just replace
2) Get your fluid changed completely if this is your first time. Suggest buying blue fluid so you'll know when you bleed that all the old junk is out.
3) you don't need slotted/drilled rotors even for track use. I run cheap $25 (yes $25) rotors at the track on lapping days and they haven't warped in 2 summers use. Proof in the pudding
4) For street use a Hawk HPS type pad will be much better than stock.

A lot of people go insane with brake upgrades then hate the results. Excessive wear, dust, screaching.... For the street keep it simple.

Hemiheaded18

Don't forget price in there.....

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Rejoice O young man in thy youth - Ecclesiates

Gopher XT

I actually had problems with the Duralast rotors; they kept warping on my wife's Outback. The nice thing about them is you have a two year warranty, so if they do warp, then you just take them back to the Autozone no questions asked. I just got tired of changing out the rotors and decided to upgrade to Brembo rotors and I have not been disappointed.

guroove

Very interesting. I actually haven't tried to duralast rotors. I've been using the brembo blanks, which are actually cheaper than the OEM rotors. I was just using the duralast rotors as an example. I think people tend to get modifications or parts that they don't need or that look cool, without knowing what they are getting.

Thanks for the info about the duralast rotors!

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2005 Obsidian Black Pearl XT w/4eat

Hemiheaded18

I have Brembo blanks on my current car and have had no issues whatsoever.

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Rejoice O young man in thy youth - Ecclesiates

The Black Box

+1 for slightly more aggressive pads and brembo blanks or the equivalent rotor and of course fluid flush.

Don't waste your money on fancy rotors. They don't do jack shi... except waste money.

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'08 XT LTD/MT

G32BTurbo

thanks for the replies. should i do front and rear or just front? what i've gathered is:

brembo blanks or vendor rotors
hawk pads
flush fluid

another question. do I have to get forester specific rotors and pads or will anything from an impreza work?

The Black Box

Change whatever pads are worn out. I'm pretty sure the early WRX pads are the same.

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'08 XT LTD/MT