I hate the brakes in my 2005 Outback, my 1989 Justy, smaller, lighter, stops on a dime, its so scary (slides really well in the wet, another story).

 

I need to replace the rotors as they are on the thin side. Fluid isnt that old. What has anyone done to make the breaks better. Pedal is fine, just the pwoer isnt there. I know its heavier then my 98 but they just dont feel as strong as I would like.

 

2.5L 4EAT 197,000 miles.

 

I dont have a lot of money to throw at this, as they work as stock, but even stock when new this was a complaint.

Edited October 14, 201411 yr by nipper

Have you thought about making the switch to braided brake lines?

Edited October 14, 201411 yr by grimaceNMike

Just put some hot pads on it.

 

Be prepared for noise and very good brakes 

Try higher quality brakes.  Cheap stuff doesn't work as well.  The ones we use a lot at the shop, and that I put on my mom's Odyssey , are Napa's Adaptive Ones.  They wrok pretty well, and are quiet.  Check out that link for Napa's info on them.  I'd start with better pads and rotors.  If they don't help, then you can look into other stuff.  The problem with the high performance/racing stuff, is they aren't designed for everyday driving.  They work their best when they are hot, much hotter than most people would get them day-to-day.  Plus, as Idasho said, they will be noisy as hell.

run stickier tires?

 

Centric premium rotors and Centric PosiQuiet Ceramic pads would be a good combo.

 

make certain caliper's are sliding well and there are no cracked/broken bolts/brackets. Flush/bleed the system well.

I've noticed the same lack of braking power in my same Outback...

 

But in a panic brake I still managed to make the tires talk to me without activating ABS. Once in a while I've thought about braided stainless lines or better pads. It would be interesting to feel the difference each of those makes individually.

Good luck with upgrades, I'll be reading along closely

if you actually do run max/ultimate tires, and you don't mind the brake dust - StopTech Street Performance tires can work on a a daily-driver. It's what I run on my WRX (with Kumho ECSTA ASX tires)

 

generally though - it's a waste of money to upgrade brakes if you run plain-jane tires. Tires stop your car, brakes stop the wheels turning. (racing, towing, off-road, loaded-up vehicles on mountain roads, those all have their own special considerations of course)

Is there any larger front rotors and corresponding calipers/brackets from another model you can run like maybe the turbo or a WRX? Granted might need larger wheels though of course.

I know the car will stop short. I know the brakes work, just the pedal feel sucks and doesnt inspire confidence.

 

On the Justy its the reverse problem, but It has 13" tires and they are getting harde to find. I wont take the Justy out in the rain if I can help it.

 

I live outside NYC, its not a BMW, brake dust doesnt bother me. 

 

I dont run "plain jane" tires, whatever you are calling those. Even the justy has good tires on it, just too damn skinny. 

nipper - you could try to find a master cylinder brace - I recall one guy that really felt it helped a lot. Thing is, there are a lot more of those made for the Imprezas than the the legacy line. But I know there's one for at least one of the generations of Outback. boxer4racing used to have a lot of legacy go-fast bits. or just try a general search?

You know, I didnt even think of a MC brace.  That actually makes a lot of sense and is a low tech solution. 

Edited October 15, 201411 yr by nipper

looks like Grimmspeed may have one that works - probably need to try to confirm before ordering though;

 

http://boxer4racing.3dcartstores.com/GrimmSpeed-Master-Cylinder-Brace-LGT-05-07_p_52.html