The AUSubaru.com.au Forums

Hi all,

Looking to upgrade my 4wd 1993 L-series to rear discs for a little more safety after a few near misses with kangaroos and other mobile chicanes.
If anyone has a complete setup [Calipers, Backing plates essential, pad and rotors can be in need of replacing] off a 4wd MY, L, RX, Vortex, Brumby, etc [someone please tell me if these wont fit!], please let me know.
I'm in Perth but will be happy to pickup around SW W.A. or pay postage from elsewhere.

Thanks muchly!

Have you considered other options here?
An emergency stop throws the majority of braking force to the front wheels if it is fitted with a proportioning valve, and the majority of energy would be removed via the front wheels anyway if it didn't have one. Upgrading the rear brakes would likely do very little for wildlife dodging and might even lead to dangerous rear wheel lockups in a car without ABS if you found yourself stomping on the anchors on a sweeping turn.

Your money would be better off spent on new rotors, new pads with a softer compound giving a progressive feel and very late lock up, new brake lines and fluid. This would be a much better and safer approach to decreased stopping distance and reduced rates of lockup particularly on cold nights.

Any money left over could go towards a roo-bar, like this one:
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/jandakot ... 010165563#

I have rear discs on my brumby (cost 400 dollars locally) and to this day I wonder why they were not fitted as standard when they came out.

Your best bet would be USMB or a NZ board (anyone got a link?) or find a AUsubaru member who is willing to sell a set. (I have some rocking horse poo for sale )


TOONGA

julian wrote:Have you considered other options here?
An emergency stop throws the majority of braking force to the front wheels if it is fitted with a proportioning valve, and the majority of energy would be removed via the front wheels anyway if it didn't have one. Upgrading the rear brakes would likely do very little for wildlife dodging and might even lead to dangerous rear wheel lockups in a car without ABS if you found yourself stomping on the anchors on a sweeping turn.

Your money would be better off spent on new rotors, new pads with a softer compound giving a progressive feel and very late lock up, new brake lines and fluid. This would be a much better and safer approach to decreased stopping distance and reduced rates of lockup particularly on cold nights.

Any money left over could go towards a roo-bar, like this one:
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/jandakot ... 010165563#

my pads are next to brand new and the reviews i've heard, such as above, all rave about the benefits
Thanks for the advice though. if my budget was more restricted i would certainly be servicing/improving my current setup, but with a little spare change, i might as well go the whole hog.

'speaking' as another with the L Series rear disc upgrade on a formerly drummed bummed Brum - and who did it like TOONGA ( aka Julian!) bloody well worth it and it is the drums that would lock up not the rear discs ! I had a regular night run down a kangaro alley and tested in safer conditions at roo travel speed in the wet as well and felt that the ute behaved almost as if it it had ABS ! I could brake quite hard and urgent yet steer controllably without lock up anywhere. As for my other drummed bummed Brum ..... as serious look at the FWD rear disc brakes I have be nice if I can get things to fit like machine a brake drum to accept a rotor??

Having previously owned an L series with rear discs I am familiar with the braking performance of them and steptoe is correct- rear drums are more likely to lock than rear discs.

I was advocating that in light of the t.ridden's rationale for safer emergency braking, combined with the prohibitive cost and rarity of a complete rear disc kit (highlighted above by the other Julian) that a very wise alternative even if just an interim might be a softer front pad. The costs may start to get prohibitive if you needed new discs and pads for your new conversion...

You say you recently replaced the front pads on your L series, what brand did you use?
If you have the cash then it would be a worthy conversion to discs but just remember that in an emergency stop it is the fronts that do the majority of the work and if they are cactus then having rear discs vs drums isn't going to offer much extra.

And to get back to one of your original questions, I can't offer advice as to what rear disc setup will fit your car but I am sure that it has been discussed on these boards before.

One on ebay : http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SUBARU-EA82- ... 257f5e57a8

Nice find , there is a big BUT, being that the nintendo deviate forgot to add that they came off a FWD Vortex not a 4WD or AWD so suits FWD MY or L only unless you are a clever dude and can machine drums down to a hub to hold disc rotor etc

I have been watching that stealbay listing, seller does state-not for 4WD vehicle-

steptoe wrote:Nice find , there is a big BUT, being that the nintendo deviate forgot to add that they came off a FWD Vortex not a 4WD or AWD so suits FWD MY or L only unless you are a clever dude and can machine drums down to a hub to hold disc rotor etc

HAHA & yes the drums need a bit of work..

Or if like me you have a spare set of 4WD hubs for a rear disc setup, you could buy the FWD set and swap the hubs

Pity Im broke

TOONGA

niterida wrote:One on ebay : http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SUBARU-EA82- ... 257f5e57a8

yes, i saw that. if i had any way to machine the hub-hole to the right size, i'd grab them. unfortunately i have no way of doing this

TOONGA wrote:Or if like me you have a spare set of 4WD hubs for a rear disc setup, you could buy the FWD set and swap the hubs

Pity Im broke

TOONGA

Feel like selling those spare hubs to a good cause?