...and my brakes were on fire. Really. Flames, smoke and a stinky smell.

 

 

So...some REALLY HEAVILY spirited driving...and the pedal got soft...but it still slowed well. Finally, came to a stop at an empy intersection....SMOKE rolling from the wheel wells....out of the car i go to investigate.

 

Flame licking from the caliper. "Oh crap. Im on fire." So thinking back to Dave Coleman and Josh Jacquot's little rally article back in Sept 2002 SCC issue..."After crossing the finnish line, I immediatly go into a paranoid delusion that Ive mistakenly pased the finnsh control and must reverse back. Coleman hunts though the notes in fulility as the car begins to fill with smoke. Smoke? Holy crap. We're on fire.

Several inebriated spectators carry on about the flaming brake pads as te errie orange glow they're casting on the ground gains intensity. We find the finish control just as the falmes dissipate much to the amusement of the control workers."

 

Yeah..so i said, Holy crap, im on fire. Shrugged, and hopped back in. Kept on going...the brakes started to drag alot...but cooled off some...they still were smoking when i got home...adn contenued to for the next 20 minutes....and the pedal got REALY mushy. I better bleed them tomorrow.

 

So....does anyone remember that webpage in the land of OZ that has those slotted/crossdrilled rotors for these cars?

is this what you are looking for:

http://www.ricambisport.com/

YYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Although i think there was another page....the one that is Austrailia....as this one is in NY....but still.....SLOTTED AND CROSS DRILLED HERE I COME!!!!

 

Bobcats now.....

i want the cross drilled slotted rotors and graphite pads, pity i can afford it, those would look so sweet on the rx.

YYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Although i think there was another page....the one that is Austrailia....as this one is in NY....but still.....SLOTTED AND CROSS DRILLED HERE I COME!!!!

 

Bobcats now.....

Dude....a word of advice.

 

Don't waste your money. You will do nothing but crack those rotors.

 

Buy a good set of rotors (brembos) and a good set of pads.

 

You will have no problems.

 

I run Brembo Rotors, PBR Metal Master pads on my car and haven't had a problem, and it is rallied about once a month.

and remember, when cooking brakes, never use the ebrake soon after to park...will cause warpage!!!

What kinda driving are you doing? The only time ive ever gotten a rotor to light up was when i drove with my e-brake on. No fire tho.

 

-Brian

The only Brembos for SUbes I found were drilled or slotted.

Ok, so where are these brembos you guys are talking about??

 

And the kind of driving im doing to get the brakes that hot....Petter Solberg Style.

 

There are alot of back country roads around here...VERY fun...and during certin times of the day...completely empty....so...WOT....

 

I bled the brakes this morning, and used some fresh DOT4. The car still stps well, it will lock'em down still...BUT the pedal is still soft...has lots of travel before the brakes really start to clamp down.

 

Doesnt feel like the pads/rotors are glazed or warped...no vibration at all.....i really really bled the system well, i dont see how air could still be in the system.

 

I guess later today or tomorrow, I'll be re bleeding the system and taking the caliper off to inspect everything.

 

And...where do I find these slotted Brembos?

maybe your rubber brake lines are all stretchy after the heat.

I was just thinking that.......

 

I got the front up in the air and the tires off..one of the RARE black dome top lug nuts decided it would blow up on me...messing up the stud and nut beyond use....now I need to change the firggin hub and find a nut....

 

The rotors have ruts of brake pad material on them.......so i guess its time to take the pads out, sand them down and sand the rotor off...re bleed the brakes and head on!

think a master or slave cylinder could be giving out? sometimes when a seal starts to go the brake fluid can seep past it causing a lack of pressure that you feel with the soft pedal.

but if it was leaking it would contenue to the floor.

 

The pedal has to travel further down than before to get the same effect. It does not leak down.

Ok, bled them again...still a soft pedal. Scauffed up the rotors and sprayed the whole assy down with brake cleen to make sure there were no contaminants on it...doest stop no where near what it used to.

 

i guess tomorrow or next week end I'll change pads, rotors, calipers and lines...

 

Going back on what I was thinking and what baccaruda suggested......could it have been the heat killed the rubber lines and made them soft?

Do you think you could get stainless steel braided brake lines? I'm sure that would make a huge difference in pedal feel. I have Powerslots on my legacy, and they're great. Helps to vent heat and brakedust, as well as prevent glazing on the pads, I would never get drilled though. You would just be loosing surface area, and it makes the rotors weak.

True on the drilled...but pleiades runs drilled and slotted rotors front and rear on his legacy...had them for a long long time....hes never expressed a problem about then...and the thing WILL send you thru the windsheild if you aint got no seatbelt on.

 

I bet that the threads and such are the same from Leone to Impreza/Legacy with the lines...im going to look for some lines and attempt to fit them. Afterall, it IS a part of the whole upgrade'ed brake system project.