A Question of brakes and braking.

[thewelsho]

Hi All

Posted a few weeks ago regarding grinding sounds coming from the brakes from time to time. From the posted pics a few people stated that the pads were cooked (it was after the last club trackday in the rain). Anyhoo, I took it to the dealers for the 10000 miles service and comaplined about the brakes. Turns out (according to them) that the disks and pads were shaffed, heat damaged due to excessive hard braking (ME???). They changed the disk and pads but charged me the price of the pads (£100), while they charged the cost of labour and disks to Subaru.

Question is, I know that many people here use standard brakes on track days without all that drama, so what the hell has gone wrong here. Is it possible to shaft disks and pads on one track day in the wet? I wouldn't have thought so. Also, should I bother complaining to Subaru for a refund? Toyota changed everything when I had a similiar problem with my Celica but charged me nothing and that was after 17000+ miles.

Any advice welcome (unless you suggest I stay away from the track![:'(])...

All the best, John

[frank c]

Hi John,

I'm no expert mate but that's why i've never had my car on track.Standard discs and pads..

I was told they just get too hot , if moneys tight i'll be going for standard discs but will go for ferodo pads, but this is still not ideal for track ( but i think ok for the road). Ideally i'd like to try the Godspeed kit, my mate recently fitted these and is more than impressed but he doesn't track his either.

I've had my car remapped so it feels like my brakes are on the limit at the moment. If money was no option then i'd love a set of AP's

ps; Charging you for the pads seems weird since they charged Subaru for the rest, but as i said " i'm not expert bud"..Hopefully someone will come along soon and give you the advice you really need.

regards

Frank.

[drb5]

Everyone is different in they way they drive cars as well as start and stop them.

 

If you are a harder braker, then yes they will not last as long.....worth getting the calipers checked btw.

 

If you've had a similar problem with another car, then chances are, it's yourself and how you use them.

[st3ph3n]

John, how many laps were you doing at a time on the track?

[thewelsho]

John, how many laps were you doing at a time on the track?

Thanks guys, the dealer checked the brakes and would have, I think, spotted dodgy calipers. No more than 6 or 7 Stephen and no more than 30 laps total. Maybe I should brake earlier and more gently, as I was leaving it pretty late; of course that might p1ss people off.

[westtra]

could they have possibly charged for the pads as they are wear and tear item and since discs should last more than 10k even under hard driving they never charged you for that? and just wrote the labour for the pads off under the discs as you needed to take pads out to do the discs any how?

[fai17]

You should think yourself lucky for not paying labour and new disc....another subaru garage could have charged you for the full lot......but it's strange how they've charged you for pads tho..

Still think yourself lucky as you could be worst off.

[st3ph3n]

Pads are more consumable than discs and 10K is about right for normal pads with decent use. And John isn't known for being the most timid of drivers []

Count yourself lucky you got free discs basically.

I managed to make mine last over 30K with 1 set of normal pads then 2 sets of red stuffs, but I guess I'm more gentle on the brakes. 

[thewelsho]

You should think yourself lucky for not paying labour and new disc....another subaru garage could have charged you for the full lot......but it's strange how they've charged you for pads tho..

Still think yourself lucky as you could be worst off.

Well, I said to the guy that I never paid 22 grand to drive at 35miles per hour and he agreed that if the car is built to go fast, then it should have the equipment to stop it in equal measure. He then said that Subaru are aware of this and are willing to suck it up, up to a point of course. Given that they admit that their stopping gear is not up to the job (as admitted in not so many words), then how can they say the pads are not covered? Doesn't make sense. Also, it is in the interest of the dealer IMO, to change as much on the car as possible, within reason, because by so doing they claim the costs from Subaru, ultimately increasing their own profit margins. This is of course supposition. Of course the best course of action is to acquire a replacement non-Subaru braking solution. I will of course endevour to do this right after I win the Lotto.

And yes Stephen, I spose I really should try and adopt a different braking technique: Rather than go barrelling into the corners then jumping on the brakes, I guess I will have to lift sooner, and brake longer and more gently.

Thanks for the comments gents: I'm going to put on my slippers now!

[raymie]

take it ur car has the 4 pot gold brembo's on it?

[thewelsho]

take it ur car has the 4 pot gold brembo's on it?

Nope! Standard WRX Red ones (4 pots).

[nanaki]

I managed to destroy a set of pads after 4000 miles. bit to spirited with my cornering and breaking at times. going a lot easier with this set.

[thewelsho]

I managed to destroy a set of pads after 4000 miles. bit to spirited with my cornering and breaking at times. going a lot easier with this set.

Yeah same here... maybe