ABS or not

[grathke]

Hello all,

After a LONG hiatus because of health issues in my family, I am finally back on my build. I'm wondering how many have gone the ABS route and if there were any pitfalls, especially by using the rear axle shafts from factory five.

Thanks
Glenn

[Kurk818]

I have ABS installed and functional. I used an STI as a donor and ended up having to get a WRX abs pump due to extra G sensors that were on the STI but not on the WRX. Definitely do not regret putting some effort in to making it work.

I ended up using the OEM rear axle shafts instead of the ones provided by FFR and just swapped the outer cup (I think).

[lsfourwheeler]

I'm confused how the rear axle would affect the ABS setup? The encoder ring is part of the hub on my donor parts. Unless my ABS system is different (2004 WRX).

I have not hooked up the wiring harness or G-sensor for my ABS setup yet so I don't have much input on the functionality of it at the moment.

[grathke]

Thanks for the reply.

I woke up this morning with the exact same thought. There is nothing on the axle for ABS. Thanks for the confirmation.

Glenn

[Kurk818]

I'm confused how the rear axle would affect the ABS setup? The encoder ring is part of the hub on my donor parts. Unless my ABS system is different (2004 WRX).

I have not hooked up the wiring harness or G-sensor for my ABS setup yet so I don't have much input on the functionality of it at the moment.

I dont believe it has anything to do with it. It was just a statement since he mentioned he anticipates issues with the FFR rear axle shafts

[Hindsight]

I have working ABS and am extremely glad I added it. It was really very little trouble to add it in. Just have to plan for it in advance when you diet the wiring harness etc. And you will need to make your own brake lines instead of using the FFR-Provided ones, due to the additional plumbing. I used copper-nickel brake lines with metric tube nuts - not a single SAE to metric adapter on the car. Used the ~$225 Eastwood brake line flaring kit. Very happy with the results.

The pedal effort on the 818 is high, so having the ABS really helps when you need to stop extremely quickly. Too hard to self-modulate the brake pedal at threshold when you are having to push with 100lbs of force. I sometimes have to rely on the ABS at the track for the hard, high-speed braking zones at the end of long 130mph+ straights. Just throw out the anchor and let the ABS sort it out. Would prefer to NOT have to do that but short of a ~$4,000 brake upgrade, it's what I've got to work with.

The only down-side to adding ABS is if you decide to go with a wilwood pedal cluster. I personally think the wilwood pedal cluster is a great option because you get dual master cylinders and a balance-bar. This is the only way to properly dial in your front to rear bias. The bias adjusters that come with the kit don't really work. The problem is that the ABS module splits the brakes LF+RR and RF+LR. To plumb the dual masters with with ABS, you will need to re-wire your ABS sensors to trick the ABS module, and update the plumbing so one master cylinder is going to the two front brakes, and one is going to the two rear. That's not the most ideal situation for safety, but it's the option you have.

[grathke]

Hindsight thanks for the great info.

When I ordered my wiring harness from iWire I had them include the ABS, so that part is set. I've been looking at the Eastwood flaring tools and copper nickel lines am going that way too. What size metric tube nuts did you use and what type of flare? Double, bubble, etc..

Thanks again for the great information.

Glenn

[lsfourwheeler]

Hindsight thanks for the great info.

When I ordered my wiring harness from iWire I had them include the ABS, so that part is set. I've been looking at the Eastwood flaring tools and copper nickel lines am going that way too. What size metric tube nuts did you use and what type of flare? Double, bubble, etc..

Thanks again for the great information.

Glenn

I believe they're M10x1.0 inverted flare on all the Subaru parts if you don't want to use any adapters.

[Hindsight]

Yup, lsfourwheeler is correct. I can't remember where I bought mine.... they aren't a common thing to find. I feel like I had to google search it and order from some random place.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Yup, lsfourwheeler is correct. I can't remember where I bought mine.... they aren't a common thing to find. I feel like I had to google search it and order from some random place.

12 pack of M5L-3
10mm x 1.0 male fully threaded steel nut, 21mm long
Standard Asian long style nut
SAE flare (45 degree inverted/double)
Used in high vibration areas
Use with 3/16"/4.75mm brake line

$16

https://store.fedhillusa.com/22nutpack.aspx

[Hindsight]

Thanks Bob, yup, looks like that is exactly what I bought and where I bought it from. Checked my e-mail and found the receipt from them. I bought two packs of 12.

[grathke]

To everyone who has weighed in on the ABS question, a big thanks. I've ordered the lines, fittings and flare tool. Hopefully next week I will be able to get to this.

[DMC7492]

Check out this thread
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...ghlight=update