4th Gen Subaru Outback Brake Pads

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I'm looking for Brake pad recommendations for a 4th gen Subaru Outback which is the primary family hauler. I'm looking at the Centric Posi Quiet line as well as a more premium priced Akebono Pro Act. Thoughts??
 
Wagner Thermo Quiets for me - everytime - in every car. Good performance, low dust and good wear.
 
The Critic used Centric 105s and Akebono ProActs on a 4th gen Outback that was going be turned back in for its lease. He said they worked well but I'll let him chime in.
 
Thanks tundraotto for the recommendation, I'll look into Wagner Thermo Quiets as well.
 
I prefer the feel of the Centric 300. series pads. Can't remember what the actual name of them is. Good initial bite and nice linear feel to them.
 
Do you have a reason that you don't want to stay with the OEM? I have had excellent results with the OEM Subaru brakes on my '13 Outback. So when I replaced the rear brakes at 80k miles, I put Subaru brakes back on. After 129k miles, the front brakes are down to 3 mm, so yesterday I ordered Subaru brakes.

They stop great. Extremely quiet. Absolutely no dust. I couldn't be happier with them.
 
I haven't been impressed at all with the Wagner Thermoquiets...the rubber padding on the back eventually gets torn thru from the caliper piston and noise soon follows. Happened on 2 seperate occasions. I now use and absolutely LOVE Raybestos EHT pads. My recommendation is to give them a try. I would steer clear of the Centrics.
 
Thanks for the input. Based on my research I'm going to go with Akebono pads for the family hauler. From what I have found, the Akebono Pads are OEM equivalents at a lower price. The raybestos EHTs look interesting and I may try them on my Tacoma when the time comes.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by bronx
From what I have found, the Akebono Pads are OEM equivalents at a lower price.


The aftermarket Akebono Pro Act for my car are much different than my OEM Akebono's. They don't even look similar. Just saying...
 
How do the
Originally Posted by doitmyself
Originally Posted by bronx
From what I have found, the Akebono Pads are OEM equivalents at a lower price.


The aftermarket Akebono Pro Act for my car are much different than my OEM Akebono's. They don't even look similar. Just saying...


How does the performance compare to OEM?
 
Originally Posted by bronx
How do the
Originally Posted by doitmyself
Originally Posted by bronx
From what I have found, the Akebono Pads are OEM equivalents at a lower price.


The aftermarket Akebono Pro Act for my car are much different than my OEM Akebono's. They don't even look similar. Just saying...


How does the performance compare to OEM?

Similar, but doesn't seem to do well under severe service. The pads are often shaped smaller as well.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/foru...ric-c-tek-121-economy-rotors#Post4893331
 
Originally Posted by bronx
How do the
Originally Posted by doitmyself
Originally Posted by bronx
From what I have found, the Akebono Pads are OEM equivalents at a lower price.


The aftermarket Akebono Pro Act for my car are much different than my OEM Akebono's. They don't even look similar. Just saying...


How does the performance compare to OEM?


To be honest, I chose to try EBC Ulitimax2 pads/rotors instead of my other choices (Akebono ProAct or Raybestos EHT's). A few comments here and other sites suggested that the Pro Acts are like EVERY aftermarket pad - results vary (good to excellent) depending on the application.

My point above is that using aftermarket Akebono on a vehicle with OEM Akebono does not guarantee that they are identical and you will get OEM performance.

My new EBC pads perform very similar to my previous OEM Akebono's, no better no worse. It's like changing spark plugs with no apparent performance change. That's a good thing, often times. I might be able to find a spectacular performance enhancing brake pad, but it might suffer in other areas such as dusting, noise, wear, etc.. The OEM FCA pads for my Patriot are about $85, OEM rotors are $90+ each. I purchased two EBC quality coated rotors AND pad set for $95 delivered. Time will tell about my choice.
 
Akebono ProActs and Centric Posiquiets are okay but one thing I disliked about them was that they lack initial bite compared to other aftermarket pads.

Wagner Thermoquiets and Raybestos EHT on the other hand stop better and both are relatively low dust but you will get a squeak occasionally while reversing when they are cold. I believe most, if not all of the the newer Wagner Thermoquiets no longer have the IMI (Integrally Molded Insulator) shim design. The newer TQ's should have a riveted or regular clip shim.

Try pricing out OEM Subaru pads online or you can take a look at the 089 Series by Beck Arnley which are basically reboxed OEM pads for a fraction of the price.
 
I put a set of Raybestos EHT's on the front of our Mazda2.

The good ...

They seem to brake very nicely with decent initial bite, and a very linear, more pressure, more bite response. Not much brake dust, and USUALLY very quiet. And they were on sale for less than 1/3 the price of oem pads.

The BAD ...

They are starting to squeal LOUDLY, only in reverse. I will put something ( 3m silicone paste ) on the ears / piston / pad interface and see if that helps.

I don't really care about the reverse squeal much, but other family members do ...
 
I'm running Raybestos EHT on the front of my 4th Gen Legacy sedan and like them quite a bit. My experience reflects what geeman789 said but without the squeal in reverse. They've been on the car for about half a year now and so far so good.

On my previous car, an Impreza, I put Akebono on all four corners. They felt just like the OE pads - meaning I wish they had more initial bite. Not apples-to-apples since different cars but based on my experience so far, I'm probably going to stick with EHT when it comes time to do the rears on my Legacy.
 
I went ahead with Akebono Pro Act pads and Centric Premium rotors, and while I was at it, I flushed the brake lines with Brembo DOT4 LV fluid. I went for new rotors as they were only about $15 more each than having the originals resurfaced and I didn't have to drive around town to get it done. After a few initial stops, the brakes are silent as OEM, and the wife says they work fine. She's used them in on a couple 29 degree mornings getting the kids to school and reported no issues. Time will tell how they last.
 
I just did my front brakes and rotors on a ‘15 Subaru Crosstrek. Used the Centric packaged deal from Rockauto. I think I paid about $115 for everything. I'm about 500 miles into them and so far so good. Brakes fantastic and no noise whatsoever. Used sil-glyde on the pins and CRC grease for the ears and hardware.
 
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