2017-2021 Subaru BRZ Brake Job Tools and Torque Specs

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

A brake job on a 2017-2021 Subaru BRZ is a basic hand-tool job: a floor jack and stands, metric sockets and wrenches, a caliper piston tool, a torque wrench and brake cleaner cover almost all of it. The one thing that changes the parts list and some of the procedure is whether your car has the factory Brembo brakes from the Performance Package or the standard brakes, so identify that before you order anything. For torque, use the values in the Subaru factory service manual for your exact year, and read on for why we do not print a single number here.

First, Identify Which BRZ Brakes You Have

For 2017 Subaru added a Performance Package to the BRZ. Subaru's own 2017 announcement says it was offered on the Limited trim with the manual transmission and included Brembo calipers with larger rotors front and rear, SACHS performance shocks and 17 x 7.5-inch black alloy wheels. A launch review of that car puts the rotors at 12.8 inches front and 12.4 inches rear, up from 11.6 and 11.4 inches on the standard brakes, with four-piston Brembo calipers in front and two-piston calipers in back. For 2018 the limited-run BRZ tS also arrived with Brembo brakes at all four corners.

That gives you a quick check you can do with the wheels on: look through the spokes. Brembo calipers carry the Brembo name on the body and are fixed, multi-piston units. The standard brakes use a single-piston sliding caliper on a bracket. The two systems share almost nothing - rotors, pads and caliper hardware are all different - so a rotor sold for a Performance Package car will not fit a standard-brake car, and the reverse is also true.

The Tool List

Everything on this list is ordinary garage equipment. Nothing on a BRZ brake job needs a dealer-only tool.

• Floor jack and jack stands. The BRZ sits low, so a low-profile jack saves a lot of frustration. Use the lift points shown in the owner's manual and never work under a car held only by the jack.
• Breaker bar and lug nut socket. Break the lugs loose while the car is still on the ground.
• Metric sockets and combination wrenches. For the caliper bolts, bracket bolts and the brake hose fitting if you are removing a caliper completely.
• Torque wrench. A click-type wrench that covers the range used for caliper bolts and lug nuts. This is not optional on a car that sees hard driving or track days.
• Caliper piston tool or large C-clamp. Standard cars need it to push the single piston back. On the Brembo calipers, a flat pad spreader or a multi-piston tool works better, pushing opposed pistons back evenly.
• Hammer and small punch. On Brembo calipers the pad retaining pins are driven out with a punch.
• Wire brush, brake cleaner and high-temperature brake lubricant. Clean the pad abutments and apply a thin film where the pad ears ride.
• Flare-nut wrench, clear tubing and a catch bottle if you plan to bleed or flush the fluid.
• Dial indicator (optional). Useful for checking rotor runout if you have had pedal pulsation before.

Torque Specs: Where to Get the Right Numbers

This is the part most searchers are after, so here is the straight answer. The BRZ has several brake fasteners that each carry their own factory value: front caliper bracket bolts on standard brakes, caliper mounting bolts on the Brembo cars, caliper guide pin bolts, rear caliper and bracket bolts, the brake hose fitting, bleeder screws and the wheel lug nuts. The values differ between the standard and Brembo systems, and between front and rear.

When we checked published BRZ torque lists for this article, the numbers did not agree with each other - one reference listed two different values for the same caliper bolt in different sections of the same page, and lug nut figures varied noticeably between sources. That is a good reason not to trust any number you find on a forum or a generic chart. Use the torque table in the Subaru factory service manual for your model year, available through Subaru's technical information service, or ask a Subaru service department to read you the values for your VIN. Lug nut torque is also listed in the owner's manual.

Three habits matter more than the exact number:

• Clean the threads and do not add oil or anti-seize to caliper bolts unless the manual says to. Lubricated threads reach far more clamp load at the same wrench reading.
• Follow the manual on thread locker. Some caliper and bracket bolts come with a pre-applied patch; reuse or replace them as the manual directs.
• Tighten lug nuts in a star pattern with a torque wrench, never to final torque with an impact gun, and recheck them after the first short drive.

Step by Step on Each System

Standard brakes

With the wheel off, remove the caliper guide pin bolt, swing or lift the caliper off the pads and hang it with wire so the hose is not stretched. Remove the pads and clips, then the caliper bracket bolts if the rotor is coming off. Clean the bracket, fit new clips, lubricate the guide pins, push the piston back and reassemble. Torque the bracket and guide pin bolts to the manual values.

Brembo brakes

The Brembo calipers are fixed, so pads change without removing the caliper. Remove the anti-rattle spring and drive out the retaining pins, then pull the pads. Push the pistons back evenly on both sides so none of them cocks in its bore. To replace rotors, remove the caliper mounting bolts and support the caliper so it never hangs from the hose. Reassemble and torque the caliper mounting bolts to the manual value.

On either system, pump the pedal until it is firm before the car moves - the pistons need several strokes to come back out to the pads.

What to Replace Together

Pads and rotors are best done as a set on each axle. A fresh pad on a worn, grooved or heat-spotted rotor takes longer to bed, may be noisy and often brings vibration back quickly. Replace hardware clips at the same time, and check the hoses for cracks and the caliper boots for tears.

For Performance Package cars we carry upgrade rotors in the factory Brembo sizes, including the DBA 5000 Series T3 slotted two-piece front rotor, the DBA 5000 Series XS drilled and slotted front rotor, the EBC 3GD slotted rear rotor pair for the 2017-2021 BRZ, the DBA Street Series XGold rear rotor and the DBA 4000 Series XS rear rotor. Read each listing's fitment note before ordering: these are for the Brembo-equipped cars. For standard-brake cars and for pads, start with our brake rotors and brake pads and check fitment against your trim.

Bed In the New Pads

Bedding lays an even film of pad material on the rotor. Power Stop's published procedure for drilled and slotted rotors is five moderate-to-firm stops from 40 mph to 10 mph in quick succession, then five moderate stops from 35 mph to 5 mph, then about five minutes of easy driving to cool and cure the pads, all without coming to a full stop or holding the pedal down on hot rotors. Skipping it is a common cause of pedal pulsation and uneven braking. If your pad maker publishes its own procedure, follow theirs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if my BRZ has the Brembo brakes?

Look through the wheel spokes. Brembo calipers show the Brembo name and have pistons on both sides of the rotor; the standard caliper is a single-piston sliding unit on a bracket. On 2017 cars the Brembo package came on the Limited with the manual transmission.

Can I put Performance Package rotors on a standard BRZ?

Not on their own. The larger rotors need the matching Brembo calipers and mounting, so it is a full caliper and rotor swap, not a rotor change.

Why don't you list BRZ caliper torque numbers?

The published figures we found conflicted with each other, and a wrong caliper torque is a safety problem. The factory service manual for your year is the reliable source.

Do I need to bleed the brakes after a pad and rotor job?

Not if you never opened the hydraulic system. If you disconnected a brake hose or the pedal is soft after the job, bleed the system with the fluid type shown on the reservoir cap.

How hard is a BRZ brake job for a first-timer?

It is one of the more approachable jobs on the car. Plan on an afternoon for both axles the first time, with most of the time spent cleaning hardware and torquing fasteners correctly.

Sources

1. Subaru of America - What's New for 2017 Subaru BRZ - Performance Package contents and Limited manual availability
2. Yahoo Autos - 2017 Subaru BRZ Performance Package review - rotor sizes and Brembo piston counts
3. Motor Authority - 2018 Subaru BRZ tS revealed - Brembo brakes on the tS
4. Power Stop - Brake pad break-in procedure - bed-in steps and speeds