The EVO and STi both come with nearly identical Brembo brakes. The stopping power of both cars is phenomenal, and there's little need to upgrade either system beyond better brake pads. As great as these systems are, though, they hide a dirty little secret. They're shockingly expensive to maintain. It takes substantial abuse to warp either of these rotors enough that they need replacing, but lean hard enough on the middle pedal and your wallet will throb.We called three Mitsubishi and three Subaru dealers and found a set of factory pads and rotors for an EVO will set you back between $732 and $768 on the EVO, and between $1,100 and $1,330 on the STi. And that's if you install them yourself.
01. Both the EVO and STi use pillar-style vented rotors. The pillars distribute heat more evenly across the rotor, but they don't pump air as well as the curved vane rotors we replaced them with, so they run hotter overall.
If you've ever managed to get the stock brakes to fade (we have with the STi, but not with the EVO), a simple pad swap should solve the problem. We've run Ferodo DS2500 pads on the EVO for the last six months with stellar results. Not only do they resist fade better than the stock pads, they have better initial bite and give more linear braking feel no matter what temperature they are. Unlike most track pads, they feel the same on the first cold stop as they do at 1,000 degrees. Best of all, they cost $196 for a set, which could save you more than $100 vs. stock pads.
While the DS2500 should work great on the track, the true track slut may want to step up to the more aggressive DS3000. We tried these on the STi, but weren't nearly as happy with them as street pads as we were with the DS2500. With rotor temps well over 1,000 degrees, they still felt fine, but on the street they feel a bit grabby and squeal whenever you use them gently. They also cost more at $282 a set, but that's still less than a stock STi pad.On the rotor side, again, you should be well served by the stock parts until you start track driving hard enough to warp or crack them. We beat our EVO relentlessly and haven't managed to ruin the stock rotors. After a two-day track school that included the simulated red-flagging of a race (we were forced to stop on glowing-hot brakes and sit still while we pretended safety crews were doing something) we did start feeling the classic pedal-pulsing of warped rotors. Surprisingly, a few months later when we again flogged the brakes until they glowed, the rotors seemed to re-set and the pulsing went away.
02. The STaSIS rotors are pure function, with no zinc plating (it scrapes off anyway) and no pretty colors. Look closely, though, and they're beautifully functional.
Still, the allure of two-piece rotors was not lost on us. A two-piece design that mates a cast-iron disc to an aluminum mounting hat can save substantial weight and has the potential for improved cooling as well. With stock rotors so staggeringly expensive, there's even the potential for a little cost savings. We ordered a pair of Prodrive rotors for the STi and a pair of STaSIS rotors for the EVO.
The stock Brembo rotors are a pillar vane design, where the two faces of the rotor are connected with staggered rings of pillars rather than radial vanes. The pillar design is supposed to more evenly distribute heat across the rotor, but they don't cool as well as a more conventional, vaned rotor. The vanes act as a centrifugal air pump, forcing cooling air through the rotor, but the pillars do not. Both the Prodrive and STaSIS rotors use directional vanes, with the vanes swept back for even better pumping effectiveness. This requires different rotors for left and right sides, which is why most stock cars have either straight vanes or these goofy pillar things. Fewer part numbers means more money.
03. The STaSIS rotors are pure function, with no zinc plating (it scrapes off anyway) and no pretty colors. Look closely, though, and they're beautifully functional.
The STaSIS rotors are a floating design, which means they mate their Alcon brake discs to billet aluminum mounting hats via slotted holes in the brake disc. The slots in this floating arrangement allow the inner diameter of the disc to grow as much as 2mm without any resistance from the mounting hat. The discs are clamped to the mounting hats via spring washers that keep enough tension on the disc to prevent rattling, but not enough to resist the disc's growth.
The Prodrive rotors are a less track-oriented design, with the disc bolted solidly to the mounting hat.
In both cases, warped or worn-out rotors can be replaced independently of the hats, saving significant money. A pair of replacement Alcon discs for the STaSIS rotors is $225 for a pair, while the Prodrive replacement discs cost $550 per pair.