2013 Subaru BRZ Front vs Rear Brakes: What Wears First and What to Replace

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

On a 2013 Subaru BRZ the front brakes almost always wear out first. The fronts carry the bigger share of every stop, so expect to replace front pads more often than rears. Do not assume the rears are fine, though: the BRZ has rear discs nearly as large as the fronts, and they need their own inspection every time the wheels come off.

This guide explains how the BRZ brake system is laid out, why the front and rear wear at different rates, how to tell which end needs attention, and what to replace together so the car stops straight and quietly.

How the 2013 BRZ Brake System Is Built

Subaru's official 2013 BRZ specification sheet lists power-assisted four-wheel disc brakes with standard 4-channel, 4-sensor ABS, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist. Here is how the two ends compare:

What stands out is how close in size the rotors are. Most economy cars pair a large vented front rotor with a small solid rear rotor or a drum. The BRZ is a rear-wheel-drive sports coupe on 215/45 R17 summer tires, and Subaru gave it vented rotors at both ends. The real difference is the caliper: the front uses two pistons and the rear uses one, so the front clamps with more force and does more of the work.

Why the Front Brakes Wear First

When you brake, the car's weight shifts forward. That loads the front tires, which gives them more grip, and unloads the rears. The brake system is designed around this, sending more clamping force to the front so the car stops hard without the rear wheels locking.

On the BRZ, EBD manages that split electronically. It uses the ABS wheel-speed sensors to adjust how much pressure reaches the rear calipers depending on load and conditions, keeping the rears working without letting them lock. The practical result is that the dual-piston front calipers generate most of the heat and wear on every stop.

The BRZ is light (Subaru lists a curb weight of 1,255 kg for the base manual car and 1,276 kg for the base automatic), but the fronts still take the larger share. A typical ownership pattern is front pads first, with rear pads lasting noticeably longer. How much longer depends heavily on how you drive.

When the rears wear faster than expected

• Track days and autocross. Hard, repeated stops push more work through the rear brakes than commuting does.
• Sticking rear caliper slide pins. A single-piston floating caliper depends on its slide pins moving freely. A seized pin keeps one pad dragging and wears it far faster than the other.
• Parking brake that does not fully release. A rear brake that drags will run hot and glaze the pads.
• Stability and traction control. Subaru lists Vehicle Stability Control with a traction control system on the BRZ. These systems brake individual wheels, which adds rear wear on cars driven hard in the wet.

Symptoms: Front vs Rear Brake Problems

The simplest diagnosis is visual. Pull the wheels and look at the remaining pad material on the inner and outer pad at each corner. Inner and outer pads on the same caliper should be close to even. If one is much thinner, the caliper is not sliding freely. Check the rotors for a raised lip at the outer edge, heavy scoring, or blue heat spots, and measure rotor thickness against the minimum stamped on the rotor or listed in the factory service manual.

Choosing Replacement Parts

Front and rear pads on the BRZ are different parts with different shapes. The front pads fit the dual-piston caliper and the rear pads fit the single-piston caliper, so a front set will not fit the rear or the other way around. Brand catalogs list them separately: Hawk, for example, sells its front pads for this platform in one pad shape and its rear pads in a completely different shape, with several compounds for each.

Pay attention to the fitment notes. Hawk's catalog marks some applications on this platform (shared with the Scion FR-S and Toyota 86) as excluding cars with Brembo brakes. A stock 2013 BRZ has the calipers described above, but if your car has had a big brake upgrade, match pads to the calipers actually on the car, not to the model year.

Compound choice matters more on this car than on most:

• Daily driving: a quality ceramic street pad gives low dust and quiet operation. Browse our ceramic brake pads or the full brake pad collection.
• Spirited street driving: a performance street compound gives more bite and better heat tolerance.
• Track only: a dedicated race compound such as the Hawk DTC-70 front race pads for the 2013 BRZ is built for sustained high temperatures. Race compounds are not meant for daily use; they can be noisy and less effective cold.

Keep the front-to-rear balance sensible. Running a very aggressive compound up front with a mild street pad in the rear, or the reverse, changes how the car behaves under hard braking. When upgrading, pick front and rear compounds intended to work together.

What to Replace at the Same Time

• Pads always come in axle sets. Replace both sides of an axle together, never one wheel.
• Rotors if they are below minimum thickness, warped, scored or heat-checked. New pads on a worn rotor bed in poorly and can vibrate. See our brake rotors.
• Hardware. Abutment clips and shims wear and corrode. A fresh brake hardware kit keeps pads sliding and quiet.
• Caliper slide pins. Clean and lubricate them with a high-temperature brake lubricant. Replace a caliper whose piston is seized or leaking; see brake calipers.
• Brake fluid. Fluid absorbs moisture over time, and cars driven on track should have it checked often. Use the fluid type printed on the reservoir cap and follow the owner's manual interval.

How Hard Is the Job?

Pads and rotors on the BRZ are a manageable home job for someone with a jack, stands, a torque wrench and basic hand tools. The front is straightforward: remove the caliper, swap pads and hardware, and replace the rotor if needed. The rear takes a little more care because of the parking brake mechanism and the need to retract the rear piston correctly. Tighten the caliper bolts and lug nuts to the values in the factory service manual, pump the pedal before driving, and bed in the new pads with a series of moderate stops so pad material transfers evenly to the rotor.

If you replace a caliper or open the hydraulic system, you will need to bleed the brakes, and a car with ABS and EBD deserves a careful bleed. If that is outside your comfort zone, it is a short job for a shop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do the front brakes on a 2013 BRZ really wear faster than the rears?

Yes, in normal driving. The front calipers are dual-piston and the car's weight shifts forward under braking, so the fronts do more of the work. Track use and a sticking rear caliper can change that pattern, so inspect both ends.

Are the BRZ front and rear brake pads the same?

No. The front and rear calipers are different designs, so the pads are different shapes and part numbers. Always buy the correct position.

Do I need to replace rotors every time I replace pads?

Not always. If the rotors are above minimum thickness, run true, and are free of deep scoring or heat cracks, they can be reused. Rotors that fail any of those checks should be replaced in axle pairs.

Do BRZ brake pads also fit the Scion FR-S and Toyota 86?

Many do, because the cars share a platform, but fitment notes sometimes exclude versions with Brembo brakes. Check the fitment for your exact model, year and brake package.

Can I run track pads on the street?

Dedicated race pads work best hot and can be noisy, dusty and weak when cold. For a car that sees the street most of the time, a performance street pad is the better choice.

Sources

1. Subaru Canada - 2013 Subaru BRZ Specifications - rotor sizes, caliper piston counts, ABS, EBD and Brake Assist, VSC and TCS, tires, track width and curb weights
2. Hawk Performance - HB711W.661 front pads - front pad position and BRZ/FR-S platform fitment
3. Hawk Performance - HB671F.628 rear pads - separate rear pad shape for the platform and Brembo fitment exclusions