Newer Subarus no longer mount the calipers on the backing plate, they mount on the cast axle mount. We also found that Subaru used 2 different bolt patterns on their cars: 5x100 and 5x114.3. Our Manxter is setup for 114.3.
There are also 2 different parking drum diameters: 170mm and 190mm. The 2015 WRX donor used the larger 190mm.
In order to run the Subaru calipers, we needed to find a backing plate that was compatible and would allow us to run a 5x114.3 rotor. We knew dba made a few rotors that had dual bolt patterns but our options were limited to the 190mm drum.
We ended up reusing the donor's 2015 WRX' rotors, parking brake cables and caliper hoses. Everything else was either bought new or fabricated.
Our setup basically consists of the following:
- WRX STI 2006-2007 Backplate, parking brake
- WRX (Non-STI) 2004-2007 Caliper
- WRX (Non-STI) 2015-2019 Rotor
We did have to make some parts and modify a few others:
- Backing Plate inner ring
- Hub centering ring
- Drilled backing plate for VW mounting
- Modify parking brake adjuster (used donor's adjuster and was too long)
- Machine VW parking cable
- Shorten the caliper mounting bolts
- Enlarge rotor holes
- Drill & tap hub to 5x114.3 M14
The problem is that this Legacy backing plate has a 170mm parking brake. We found that we could use the 2nd backing plate for the STI and run the 'performance' version of the non-STI caliper. (STI parts are crazy expensive)...
We were able to source some NIB calipers (26292FE041, 26292FE051) off eBay
We then machined our own backing plate inner ring to mate to the VW trailing arm. The ring that comes in the kit is meant for the smaller diameter backing plate. I read online that the bigger hole on the backing plate is for cars with bigger diffs.
One of the things we wanted to make sure was that the wheel would run concentric with the hub so we machined a centering ring
Drilled the backing plate with Subabrakes included jig
The Subabrakes kit calls for re-using the Subaru parking brake cables, we decided to use the VW outer cable but had to machine the ends to slip inside the backing plate:
Drilled and tapped the Subabrakes hub to 5x114.3 M14. Hub comes with dimples for alternate bolt patterns.
Putting it all together
Parts list
Qty Part Number Car 1 Right Caliper 26292FE041 Subaru Impreza WRX 2004-07 eBay 1 Left Caliper 26292FE051 Subaru Impreza WRX 2004-07 eBay 1 Right Backing Plate 26704FE000 Subaru WRX STI 2006-07 SubaruParts.com 1 Left Backing Plate 26704FE010 Subaru WRX STI 2006-07 SubaruParts.com 1 Right Parking Lever 2678FE021 Subaru WRX STI 2006-07 Subaru Dealer 1 Left Parking Lever 2678FE031 Subaru WRX STI 2006-07 Subaru Dealer 1 Right Strut 26718FE001 Subaru WRX STI 2006-07 Subaru Dealer 1 Left Strut 26718FE011 Subaru WRX STI 2006-07 Subaru Dealer 2 Spring Strut 26265AA060 Subaru WRX STI 2006-07 Subaru Dealer 2 Plate 26268PA001 Subaru WRX STI 2006-07 Subaru Dealer 4 Shoe Spring 26265PA010 Subaru WRX STI 2006-07 Subaru Dealer 2 Adjuster Assembly 26258AA021 Subaru WRX STI 2006-07 Subaru Dealer 1 Disc Pads Subaru Impreza WRX 2004-07 Subaru Dealer 1 Parking Shoes Subaru WRX STI 2006-07 Subaru Dealer 2 Parking Brake Cables VWC-113-609-721-J VW Beetle CIP1 2 Brake hoses Subaru WRX 2015 2 Parking brake cables Subaru WRX 2015 2 Rotors 1 Subabrakes kit Subaugears 2 Custom Backplate Spacing ring Custom 2 Wheel centering rings CustomHope this post help anyone looking to doing this conversion, any questions, feel free to ask.
