R1 concept brakes and rotors so far so good after 2k

7174 Views 31 Replies 12 Participants Last post by Robson13, 13 d ago

ChrisWilliams

Discussion Starter · Nov 16, 2020

Surprise, surprise at around 40k my wife’s ’19 Ascent has a nasty pulsation and her pads where worn down to about 3mm. Yes I could have had Subaru turn the rotors and ”lubricate” the pads correctly. But I expected better quality from OEM parts and I doubt they’d warranty worn pads. I ordered the R1 concept Carbon Geomat and Optimum OE pads from them. We burnished them in and went through a heat cycle. They stop significantly better than OEM brakes when the vehicle was new, they almost stop too good and they took some getting used to because they where so damn touchy, now and the vehicle one dives. I figured it’s just new brakes and they’ll go back to stopping like it did before but they only improved after 2k miles. The old brakes stopped just fine but the R1 concepts just stop that much better. I pulled the fronts and measured the pads after 2k and they haven’t even lost .001. Rotors look good with no grooves or discoloring.

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Firebug85

· #21 · 3 mo ago

For those of you wondering how the rev D pads are working out. Checkout the thread using the link below. I'm not fancy enough to know how to actually attach the thread to my message. We bought our Ascent in Dec. 20' and the version it had then didn't workout. Subaru installed fresh pads and rotors. They worked great for a few months but then the issue came back. I'm afraid I too will have to go after market as the vibration makes me nervous especially when i plan to tow a trailer.

Brake Upgrades

I have done quite a bit of searching on brakes, and I can only find complaints similar to the ones that I have regarding the OEM pads and rotors. Buried deep inside of very long threads, I see some blurbs here and there about aftermarket, but not much… I had squealing brakes from when I bought...

www.ascentforums.com

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Robson13

· #22 · 3 mo ago

xydadx3 said:
That’s reassuring! I have about 10k on mine and they’re still nice and smooth. The only difference I notice between when I first installed them and now is the zinc coating is completely gone from the wear surface as expected.
I believe it was somewhere between 15-20k it first became apparent on my OE brakes there was something not right.

Can you share the URL link to what exactly you ordered?

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Firebug85

· #23 · 3 mo ago

Robson13 said:
Can you share the URL link to what exactly you ordered?

Here is a link to their website.

R1 Concepts - Category

Shop R1 Concepts performance brake parts, brake pads, rotors, kits and more. R1 Concepts is the leading manufacturer of braking systems for all vehicles. Order now!

www.r1concepts.com

I've heard the eLine model mentioned. i think i may go for that as well. We now have Black wheels on ours and plan on going with the black version of the eLine.

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Firebug85

· #24 · 3 mo ago

The R1 Geo-Carbon Series should be a good option as well. About the only difference I can see is additional holes. The one thing I cant tell is what the pad is made out of. I have had great success with ceramic brake in the past and would like to go that route if I put on after market pads.

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xydadx3

· #25 · 3 mo ago

Robson13 said:
Can you share the URL link to what exactly you ordered?

nope.
I can't find an order history on their page or a search function to enter the item numbers. It doesn't look like you can even order directly from them anymore, plus the price has gone up...

Here's a screenshot of my order confirmation email though. I'm not sure which item is which but what I ordered was e-line silver cross drilled rotors and optimum oep pads. This kit appears to contain everything I bought individually for the front brakes.

Font Number Circle Screenshot Electric blue

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Robson13

· #26 · 3 mo ago

xydadx3 said:
nope.
I can't find an order history on their page or a search function to enter the item numbers. It doesn't look like you can even order directly from them anymore, plus the price has gone up...

Here's a screenshot of my order confirmation email though. I'm not sure which item is which but what I ordered was e-line silver cross drilled rotors and optimum oep pads. This kit appears to contain everything I bought individually for the front brakes.

View attachment 20397

Out of stock on Amazon and the set for the front is $345 Amazon.com

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Firebug85

· #27 · 3 mo ago

Jeggs and rock auto seem to be out as well. Power stop Z26 seem to be another name I’ve heard of here. Might check those out

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AirplaneTim

· #28 · 2 mo ago

xydadx3 said:
The parts sat a little longer than I had planned but I finally installed the R1 front rotors and pads.
My first impression is they look nice! I went with the mid-fanciness cross drilled flavor. Of course the zinc coating will wear off the braking surface soon.

Did you have to do anything with the calipers or adjust any electronic anything switching over to these, or was it just a matter of swapping out the hardware in the kit? I've not yet taken the wheels off of this car myself, it's only got 9k miles on it. Anything funny to keep an eye out for?

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xydadx3

· #29 · 2 mo ago

AirplaneTim said:
Did you have to do anything with the calipers or adjust any electronic anything switching over to these, or was it just a matter of swapping out the hardware in the kit? I've not yet taken the wheels off of this car myself, it's only got 9k miles on it. Anything funny to keep an eye out for?

Everything is pretty straightforward in the front swap; there's no electronics up there to mess with.
If you're doing the rears there's a chance of having to adjust the electronic parking brake. Refer to this thread for that part.