[dreamdrivedrift]

Do the brakes in the Forester feel mushy? I am shopping for a Forester and have test driven a few, and all of them seem to have a mushy feel. I did a little search but didn't come up with anything.

To be more descriptive, the pedal feels kind of dead at the beginning of pedal travel then you hit the "mush" section where the car doesn't do much stopping until you push harder, but it still feels mushy and nonresponsive. Is this the same way with all foresters? It was kind of scary, to be honest, when I first experienced it.

 

[parad1mg]

Hi and wlecome to the forum!

no i dont believe it is.

well, on our '06 X the brakes had a generic unresponsive feel with the stock/oem brake pads and rotors. This all went away and met our standards of a proper brake feel and expected daily driver performance when I changed the rotors and pads to a brand of my choice.

But I would strongly suggest that you still check all areas that concerns the brakes like fluids (maybe it's due for a flush or it's low?) and potential leaks (brake lines, etc.) before jumping in on buying new pads and rotors.

After you've checked your brake system and find out that there's nothing wrong with it and the rotor is still in great shape then try getting better brake pads.

Search the forum too. There's a ton of information about what pads people have used and their opinions about them.

Goodluck!

 

[dreamdrivedrift]

Hi and wlecome to the forum!

no i dont believe it is.

well, on our '06 X the brakes had a generic unresponsive feel with the stock/oem brake pads and rotors. This all went away and met our standards of a proper brake feel and expected daily driver performance when I changed the rotors and pads to a brand of my choice.

But I would strongly suggest that you still check all areas that concerns the brakes like fluids (maybe it's due for a flush or it's low?) and potential leaks (brake lines, etc.) before jumping in on buying new pads and rotors.

After you've checked your brake system and find out that there's nothing wrong with it and the rotor is still in great shape then try getting better brake pads.

Search the forum too. There's a ton of information about what pads people have used and their opinions about them.

Goodluck!

Thanks! I guess it's probably just because I'm not used to the car. The brakes were checked during the PPI from a dealership and were reported to be in good condition.

 

[funkymonkey1002]

All foresters have mediocre brakes. One problem is that the brake pedal/brake booster/master cylinder is mounted to the thin firewall which can flex quite a bit. Also the dual stage brake booster puts much more pressure the harder you press it (not linear at all). Good pads, and good fluid helps a lot (stainless lines can help too).

 

[stan_t]

Which model? Some non-turbo Foresters have disks on the front and drums on the rear, FXTs have disks on all 4 corners.

Yes, my brakes are mushy also. I will install steel-braided brake lines sometime soon and change the brake fluid. I'm still on stock fluid at 50K (I know), not stock pads though.

Alot of people go for the brake upgrade but I try to follow the thought that if you can lock up your brakes (which I can), you have enough braking force. I believe the feel can be improved through using better fluid, brake lines and master cylinder.

Stan

 

[bonevvladimir]

Mine are a bit soft and kind of out of feel, but, no matter what, they stop very well, especially compared to my Accord. The only negative side i see is that u can hit the ABS pretty soon on slippery conditions i guess cause u're applying much more force then u think u do. I think the main reason for that is the soft Firewall, Brake booster and finally the brake pads and rotors . . .

 

[adc]

The Brakes are OK but I do agree they are a bit weak. They are certainly adequate and you get used to them. Honestly if they annoy you go to stainless lines.

 

[Patrikman]

I think it is probably normal. Every Subaru I have ever been in (minus an STi) had lackluster brake feel. This includes my former OBL, my current Forester L, serveral LGTs and, some WRXs I have driven.

 

[parad1mg]

oh, just adding some info.. i have drum brakes at the back.

i can quickly induce whiplash to annoying passengers with just new rotors, stop-tech pads and the stock rear drums. i wont be installing SS lines on ours since there is ZERO mushiness in our subbie and i dont really need them for a daily driver.

 

[dreamdrivedrift]

Thanks guys I think you guys hit exactly what I was talking about. I think that the brakes I feel are strong enough just not as linear as I'm used to

p.s. I'm surprised the subaru forester forum is this active, it's a nice surprise :icon_biggrin:

 

[stan_t]

Don't be, we are a pretty grown-up group but do like to play and love to give feedback. One thing that's cool about this forum -- it's not full of one-liner responses and everyone contributes a great deal.

Even on the XT, we basically get Bugeye brakes, yet our cars are closer to the weight of an STi. I guess the engineers figured we wouldn't be really flogging our cars, but we do anyway :icon_biggrin:

Stan