The size of the brake pads and rotors are determined by the engineers to provide optimum balanced braking. You don't need bigger rotors, pads, and calipers for 18'' wheels.
… thats why he’s looking for the parts that match his car. Good lord.The size of the brake pads and rotors are determined by the engineers to provide optimum balanced braking. You don't need bigger rotors, pads, and calipers for 18'' wheels.
I will assume you just don't understand what I wrote. He can easily look up the parts online. The XT brakes are different but there is no special setup for 18'' wheels.… thats why he’s looking for the parts that match his car. Good lord.
I believe Powerstop is a respected brand but have no experience directly. Others can chime in.
Is K6931 the kit with slotted/drilled rotors and carbon/ceramic pads?
I'll express my opinion about drilled rotors.
IMO, Drilled rotors are one of the last things to consider, after everything else has been done including fully flushing the system with high-boiling point fluid, use of high carbon steel rotors and the best pads you can find, braided stainless hoses, replace all hardware kits and hyper-anal meticulous cleaning and assembly of all parts.
Rotors are drilled to increase surface area and thereby increase cooling. The downside is that it also reduces mass and therefor, the amount of heat a rotor is able to absorb. More mass = ability to stop harder and stop more often before the brakes fade. Keep in mind that race cars have massive rotors to begin with and so drilling still leaves a lot of mass. Race cars also have cooling ducts which direct fresh air to the brakes. I think for most street cars with small-ish rotors and no cooling ducts, drilling probably reduces performance. I've no numbers to prove this but that is what I suspect.
Drilled rotors sometimes experience cracking around the holes. I don't know if manufacturers have fixed this since I first read about it but it is a concern of mine. As an example, Porsche doesn't drill their rotors but casts their blanks with holes. The holes are then finished with the rotor surface. This is done to prevent cracking but it raises cost. Porsche rotors can be $1500 each.
Everyone is free to do what they want and drilled rotors look killer. I however, would focus on
1) flush with good quality, high-boiling point fluid such as Motul RBF 600 or ATE 200
2) Use high-carbon steel rotors. "High Carbon" is a grade of steel. Call or email the manufacturer and ask what their rotors are made of. If they say "Gray iron" or some other grade then it isn't high carbon.
3) New hardware kits and meticulous assembly. Don't forget to scrub the rust off the hub to rotor mating surface with a wire brush.
Consider using a slotted rotor if you are using an aggressive pad. I don't consider ceramic to be aggressive. Slotting helps to move dust and gasses away from the friction surface and removes negligible mass. I'd rather have a high-carbon steel rotor with no slots than grey iron rotor with slots.
The DBA rotors on my car have heat paint which turns white when a predetermined temperature is reached. The heat paint is visible on the edge of the rotor in the photo below. Green is the coolest at 458°C/856°F. Normal street driving in my car has not even triggered this to turn white. They've never reached a temperature which triggers any of the heat paint. The point here is that the rotors aren't getting hot enough where drilling will be a benefit. They are cooling perfectly on their own without holes.
View attachment 580455
+1. If you were to look for high carbon brake discs/rotors, Brembo Sport and DBA 4000 and 5000 series are top tier. Anything beyond that and you're getting into race type stuffEveryone is free to do what they want and drilled rotors look killer. I however, would focus on
2) Use high-carbon steel rotors. "High Carbon" is a grade of steel. Call or email the manufacturer and ask what their rotors are made of. If they say "Gray iron" or some other grade then it isn't high carbon.
Consider using a slotted rotor if you are using an aggressive pad. I don't consider ceramic to be aggressive. Slotting helps to move dust and gasses away from the friction surface and removes negligible mass. I'd rather have a high-carbon steel rotor with no slots than grey iron rotor with slots.
How about Centric brakes, there is one fit perfectly to Forester? Centric 906.47033. I read some good reviews about Centrics.@mikforxt18
OE parts can be looked up at parts.subaru.com.
I just tried to look up the rotor part numbers and now I'm very confused.
They list some rotors under 16" and 17" sizes. There are no such thing.
Others are listed as fitting both the XT and non-XT vehicles. That doesn't make sense. There are definitely two different size rotors for XT vs non-XT.
I don't know what to say other than try Rock Auto or Buy Brakes.
Thanks for the info. I'm more looking to change the brakes, not upgrade them. Actually the OEM is enough for me, but local dealer is selling almost double the price of US dealer, so I'm still looking around. When I was very young, I had Subaru impreza WRX, and now I could tell that the Forester's brake is nothing special at all, nowhere near the impreza's brake. So aftermarket brands won't be worse than the already-bad Forester OEM brake. LOL. Looking for something that will fit perfectly and last at least the same with OEM (35K miles/50K kms). I read Powerstop is only good in the first 10K miles.+1. If you were to look for high carbon brake discs/rotors, Brembo Sport and DBA 4000 and 5000 series are top tier. Anything beyond that and you're getting into race type stuff
I have Brembo Sport slotted front brake discs on mine and have been thoroughly happy with them. I would have no issue going with the DBA 4000 T3 slotted or HD non-slotted series of discs either.
Brembo Sport pads and DBA pads would be highly recommended too - Depending on which compound you went with from DBA for your application OP. Performance Friction and Pagid Fast Road and Track compound pads are also extremely well respected globally and would make great options far and above the performance of OE spec discs and pad friction material..