EBC red stuff and EBC rotors! Better stopping and less dust!
Welcome to #modmonday home of my reviews about countless Subaru upgrades and what they can do for you! Today we are bringing things to silent not screeching halt... All with the help of Ebc red stuff and Ebc rotors, specifically their Red stuff pads and slotted and dimpled rotors.
I run 06-07 Wrx four piston front and two piston rears and so here are my wrx pads and rotors ready to go!
Going with the dimpled and slotted up front for style points and a bit more performance for the big wheels and tires.
When it comes down to purchasing brake pads for your modified but daily driven Subaru you want a product that will stop quickly but also silently and not need constant attention.. like cleaning your wheels every three days. I had used and had good luck with Ebc brakes in the past for my other two Subarus but I thought it would be nice to test out a few other brands. With this testing I found inadequacies within all the other products, i.e no stopping power, excessive dusting, squealing when braking... All of these issues lead me right back to where I had started and that was back to Ebc.
Oem pads get the job done but with a few mods it might be time to upgrade that stock set. Ebc red stuff are up to the task.
As you may know I have fitted my Forester with the Subaru oem brake upgrade from a 2006-07 Wrx which has four piston calipers up front and two piston calipers in the rear. This definitely ups the Forester's brake game but to take it to another level I decided to add the Ebc brake pads in the Red stuff range, you will notice the "brake in" material visible on the pad which helps mate in the brake pad to rotor quicker so you're first stops bring to a halt in a hurry and fully beds in up to 1000 miles. This is a much simpler procedure than some of the more convoluted street pad break ins that need almost a wide open stretch of highway and with plenty of extreme braking.
Rear pads and rotors locked and loaded!
I decided to test out their dimpled and slotted rotors up front after experiencing issues with front brake pulsation from my Centric rotors. My theory was that my short distance stop and go driving was causing excess build up with constant stop and go driving. So far after two weeks of driving the rotors have performed flawlessly, you can hear a bit of rotor noise when driving near walls or tall curbs with the window down but nothing to make you feel that your car is having issues. For the rear I decided on the standard rotors as I didn't expect this problem to be for this end of the car but will still have great braking performance. The black zinc coating you see on these wears off as the pad removes it during braking. Leaving any other areas of the rotors well protected by the lovely coating.
Front pads and rotors ready for plenty of miles!
The pads as stated above are Ebc's Red stuff pads which are a fantastic street pad for an upgraded street car. These pads provide excellent cold bite and just get better when heated up along with low dusting to help keep your fancy wheels shinier longer in between washes. Red stuff also boasts an excellent wear life equal to or greater than most oem/oem-like pads.
Wrx calipers make an excellent big brake upgrade for your stock Forester brakes.
Brake in material visible to help mate the pads and rotors up quickly!
You will notice a bit of sound from the brakes and rotors when breaking them in as the zinc coating is cleared off alongside with the "brake in" materials wear away but you won't find a lack of stopping power during this stage. Looking forward to many more miles of enjoyment with this setup and updates along the way!