The DBA STI front rotor is 326mm x 30mm up from the stock 292mm x 24mm. It is grooved for boundary gas evacuation and water dispersion.
The DBA front rotor uses DBA’s patented kangaroo paw pillar vanes. Some say that these disperse heat better than conventional vanes but we haven’t seen data to back this up. We do know we have driven a few cars with these mild upgrade rotors on the track and we were impressed with the fade resistance even with streetable pads. The 30mm wide rotor has a lot more room for venting than the stock 24mm wide rotor and this alone will make a big difference in how cool the rotors run. For 2002-2004 WRX’s for front rotors, you need to get the 5×100 bolt pattern and for 2005-2007 models, a 5×114 bolt pattern is the one to get.
The rear DBA conversion rotor is 316mm x 20mm vs the stock 274mm x 10mm. This is a special rotor that is the bigger STI diameter and thickness so the STI caliper will bolt right up with a WRX-sized 170mm e-brake drum. The STI has a 190mm e-brake drum which is the reason why you cannot just get an STI rotor and plop it on a WRX. DBA is the only company we know of that makes this special conversion rotor.
You can see the smaller WRX parking brake drum here. A cool thing is the drum allows more clearance so air can enter the rotor vents easier. A cool thing is the DBA conversion rotor is drilled for both the 5x100mm and the 5×114 bolt pattern so all GD WRX’s will be covered.
The 10mm thick stock WRX rotor is solid and the 20mm STI rotor is vented as you can see here. Venting is a big advantage in keeping the brakes cool and warp-resistant. Like the front rotors, the rear DBA rotors use the kangaroo paw pillar vanes.
8 comments
aren’t DBA rotors super expensive? like BBK rotor price kinda expensive?
Not the one-piece ones.
For the fronts you have plenty of options like from Centric and it’s child subsidiaries. It’s a standard STi fitment part. DBA is an “OEM plus,” level upgrade.
The rears are of course more tricky. Another option for that is the Kartboy rear brackets (San Diego company, makes all things in-house) , to get to a two pot rear caliper and still keep the dust shield I believe? Going that route nets you not having to buy a special rotor over time.
I’m in the process of piecing together a super budget brake upgrade myself for my VA WRX. I looked at going with OEM STi calipers front and rear but came across a set of brand new Cadillac CTS-V front calipers from a local Chevy dealership for $200 and found a company from that makes brackets to mount them. All in, it should be less than $2,500 front and rear even factoring the rear STi setup. Excited to see how this works out in comparison.
One of my friends has gone this route and he likes how it worked out.
Although not in the same league as the STi brakes, the 2006-2007 WRX had 4-piston front/2-piston rear fixed calipers. The 2002-2005 had the sliding calipers, and the 06-07 package is a popular swap for the earlier years as a mild upgrade.
Love the content and will probably look into getting some used calipers to do this on my 05 Saab 92x Aero! Awesome write up with great details!
Hey I’m driving an Australian delivery 2001 WRX will I have any issues with this upgrade?