[Tifosi]

1) Got new front rotors but they arrived slightly damaged, thanks to UPS and poor packaging. Is this something to worry about and would you keep or return them?

2) Hawk Ceramic Pads (Fronts)

The cutout is for electronic brake sensors which we do not have and as you can see, they do not come with brake shims. Do you just run without wear indicator and without shims as well or should I buy aftermarket brake shims to prevent noisy brakes?

You help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Jay11STI]

Judging by the picture it seems like its just a slight scuff. Maybe something was dropped them or maybe they were dropped. Who knows, its hard to tell in pictures although it doesnt really look deep at all. Fortunatly its just on the very outer edge. Keep in mind that the black finish is just a coating and will come off after a few passes of the brake pad. I dont see something like that causing a vibration or noise while in use. You should still contact the vendor just to have it documented and see what they say. I think its fine to use but totally up to you.

As for the brakes, im not too familiar exactly with the newer VA brakes but you if you have shims from your old pads, just reuse those and swap them over. Im pretty sure that what pretty much everyone does. No point in putting a brake pad sensor if we have nothing to plug it into lol.

 

[Tifosi]

Judging by the picture it seems like its just a slight scuff. Maybe something was dropped them or maybe they were dropped. Who knows, its hard to tell in pictures although it doesnt really look deep at all. Fortunatly its just on the very outer edge. Keep in mind that the black finish is just a coating and will come off after a few passes of the brake pad. I dont see something like that causing a vibration or noise while in use. You should still contact the vendor just to have it documented and see what they say. I think its fine to use but totally up to you.

As for the brakes, im not too familiar exactly with the newer VA brakes but you if you have shims from your old pads, just reuse those and swap them over. Im pretty sure that what pretty much everyone does. No point in putting a brake pad sensor if we have nothing to plug it into lol.

Thank you for replying to my thread.

Regarding the brake pads, from my research, it appears that the OEM Brembo pads does come with shims but I think they are glued on so I am not sure if the shims can be removed and reused. I did think of an alternative tho. The pads are shared with Lexus IS-F and Lexus does sell shims separately so I may just buy a set and see how they fit on the STI.

As for the sensor cutout, I mentioned it just in case anyone is wondering why it’s there and wanted to see what others do about not having an acoustic wear indicator on the pads. I guess it isn’t a big deal because car people like us tend to monitor and replace pads before the wear reaching the indicators.

 

[a5m]

I'd have the rotors replaced. As sturdy as they seem, you never know what kind of warpage could have happened due to the impact.

UPS gave the same love treatment to a Cobb downpipe. The bellmouth flange took the hit and was actually slightly warped. I know not the same thing but, when it comes to brakes I wouldn't risk it. The vendor most likely has coverage so no worries there.

 

[bsze]

where did you buy the brake rotors from?

i find that brake pads within the shims will make a clunking sound when changing the direction of travel. I guess the rubberized top layer of the shims help keep it from shifting in the caliper housing.

 

[mheyman]

I'd have the rotors replaced. As sturdy as they seem, you never know what kind of warpage could have happened due to the impact

Those scuffs didn't significantly bend or warp those rotors . . . and the first time they are used they will look different - not that getting new ones is a bad thing - I know I wouldn't bother.

 

[Tifosi]

where did you buy the brake rotors from?

i find that brake pads within the shims will make a clunking sound when changing the direction of travel. I guess the rubberized top layer of the shims help keep it from shifting in the caliper housing.

They are from Brembo ( Brembo Store USA ). Not the first time buying brakes, and I know cosmetic damages can be expected as these are heavy. The thing is, I have security camera footage of the UPS person, apparently having a bad day, dropping them on the concrete steps at the house. I will see if I can take close up photos of the scuffed areas later.

 

[magnetite2020sti]

How many miles on car before you had to do first brake job?

 

[Tifosi]

How many miles on car before you had to do first brake job?

I am at 34,000 right now and I forget what they were the last time I measured them during my winter/summer wheel swap. I anticipate them to last to at least 40,000. I purchased rotors and pads ahead of time because I noticed the global supply shortage. Brembo had them in stock when I purchased a complete brake kit last summer for our Sienna and I made the mistake of not buying them at that time. They went out of stock and has been out of stock for months now and only recently, the fronts came in, so I snatched them up ASAP. Their price is extremely competitive against other aftermarket options with the fronts at $118.95 each and rears at $94.95 each. IIRC, that is significantly less than buying them from Subaru but I am not sure if there is any actual differences between OEM vs. these direct OEM replacements. The only downside to this purchase is that they "do not" have pads to go with these, but as I mentioned above, 18+ STI shares the same front pads with the 08-14 IS-F so you can get around that by buying their pads, in fact, Brembo USA directed me to do so when I contacted them via email last year. The rears are an entirely different story tho, which brings me to the Hawk pads, because I want ceramic pads and prefer not to use different front and rear pads. Anyway, since I shouldn't need to change the brakes until 40K, I am hoping that Brembo will have the rear rotors back in stock in a month or so.

I will do a short write up about this when I have all of the parts.

PS: I am old school and did do the brake flush at 30K with Brembo DOT 4 fluid and plan on following the 2 years rule after.

Hope this helps.

 

[magnetite2020sti]

Has any one tried R1 Concepts for rotors and pads? They are like $647 for all 4 rotors and pads minus 15% off. Seems pretty good to me.

 

[Tifosi]

Has any one tried R1 Concepts for rotors and pads? They are like $647 for all 4 rotors and pads minus 15% off. Seems pretty good to me.

Heard of them, don't know much about them.

Personally, I just prefer to stay with names that I am familiar with when it comes to auto parts, especially when it comes to brakes.

 

[Ckata22]

I'd check them for warpage with a runout gauge, then again, if they're warped you'll know it the first time you stomp on the brakes to do your pad wear-in. I'm curious to know what should be done. Any professionals out there?