Big Brake Kit-first pics

[So Cal Mark]

your fears are unfounded, the rotors are the correct size for the hubs. If you allow rust to build up on any parts you're asking for trouble.

[Ptoneill]

When you mount these you have to manipulate the rotor to put in the lower bracket bolt, I probably had a 30 degree angle on the hub at times I don't believe it will be an issue particularly when you look at the increased surface area and the fact that you have vented instead of a single plane rotor. In extreme track or auto cross you will heat the brakes well above what a daily driver will obtain, but people who do those events also conduct more maintenance on their cars.

I have not heard if people having problems removing rotors on a 124 unless you are dealing with a car that has had improper maintenance.

I will take pictures of the fitment when I get home this evening

[FiatMac]

It might not be a problem but I was thinking as the rotor heats up on heavy braking ( hundreds of degrees), the the metal will expand a little and might push against the hub which contains the bearings.

When a part with a hole in it expands, the hole expands(gets larger in diameter)too. This is how you get shrink fits--heat the part up that has the hole, cool the part that fits in it that has the interference fit, insert part in hole, then let the parts come to equalibrium temperature. In the case of the rotor/hub the clearance would open up, but only slightly, because the hub is not getting as hot as the rotor. If the brake rotor heated up by 500 degrees F, the center hole in the rotor would increase in diameter by 0.0068" or 0.174mm. The hub also gets somewhat hot and expands in diameter with heavy braking due to heat transfer from the rotor, so the clearance would only be changing a few thousanths.

[So Cal Mark]

these are large vented rotors, they disipate heat much better than the small stock solid rotor. In your hypothetical situation, you would have to heat the rotor with a torch then quickly try to remove it while wearing asbestos gloves

[georgeramos]

LOL. my wife crochets these little cotton "potholders" and threw away the OV glove because she didnt like the looks of it...

[Ptoneill]

Ok here is the view of the hub, I do have the OEM spacer installed but you can see that there is plenty of room between the rotor and hub. I have to place my money with the Mechanical Engineer on this one!

If anyone needs any other shots let me know soon, I will be getting my new wheels tomorrow and will have tires mounted by Friday evening.

[FiatMac]

In your hypothetical situation, you would have to heat the rotor with a torch then quickly try to remove it while wearing asbestos gloves

Mark,
I think you mis-read my post.

I was not implying that the rotors be or are a shrink fit. I was pointing out that the rotor hole expands(gets larger) with heat--it does not get smaller as was proposed in the post I was responding to. My comment about shrink fits may have confused the issue. I was simply showing that as the brakes heat up, the diameter of the rotor hole increases, and because the hub sees a lower temperature, its increase in diameter is less. Therefore the clearance does not decrease, it increases (in the case of a 500 degree F difference it would increase by .0034"). 0.0068 rotor hole diameter increase.

To be clear, any clearance between the rotor and the hub in the cold condition will only open up in the hot condition.

[Ptoneill]

Ok here are a couple of pictures with the new rims from Mark with the brake kit.....very happy!!!

[So Cal Mark]

very nice, can't wait to hear about your first drive

[Ptoneill]

Me too, this has been a 3 year project and I am just starting to see the end of the tunnel!!! The end of the month will have the car at the body shop for paint. Thanks for your help Mark!

[V12StealthHunter]

They make reference to the 500 but not sure if those are actual 500 parts, but its all new.

I like the idea of using stock 500 components. Easier to renew in the future. But I'm sceptical that such a radical change can be done without adjusting/installing a proportioning valve, on a car without ABS.

I'm sure someone who paid attention in fluid dynamics class can calculate the change in braking (horse?) power.

[pgilling]

My experience in the UK.

Mark kindly sold me just the brackets and hoses as firstly he was having difficulty sourcing Fiat 500 calipers and I thought that being in the UK I could easily get them myself and save on the carriage. However, it turns out that the European calipers are different from the North American ones (aren't North American Fiat 500s built in Mexico?) with different spacing in the mounting holes! So I ended up searching ebay USA for some used ones.

But I have had some problems...

Be aware that it is easy to mount the calipers upside down - like I did. The subtle clue is that the bleed nipples should point upwards!

Also, the braided hoses were too long and they were a factor in my Spider failing the MoT (safety test) because they were doubled back in a loop and the tester (who is sympathetic to mods as he is used to dealing with classic cars) said they could possibly touch the steering arms. Tbh I had to agree with this point. So I had them modified to have 12 cm / 4.5" taken off their overall length.

Finally, Mark did say there was a bit more brake travel but in my case it really was excessive with the pedal only becoming firm around 2" from the floor! Not very confidence inspiring, especially with a new Guy Croft tuned engine under the bonnet/hood! The pedal travel was another MoT fail point, along with the handbrake which just would not bite despite the rear calipers being new X19 ones.

So I bought a Volumex master cylinder as I read that this would solve the problem - no it didn't. If you have read this too note that IT DOES NOT FIT the Spider's booster/servo.

Thankfully Spider Point in Germany advised me to buy their 'Brake Booster HP' (http://www.spider-point.com/fiat-spider ... inder.html) which has the Volumex master cylinder (22 mm bore verses the 19 mm original). After a bit of a squeeze to fit the larger servo by raising the reservoir mount slightly and realigning the brake lines, the transformation is fantastic. The brakes now have a have great progressive feel and real bite, plus the handbrake actually works now! I think the extra pressure whilst adjusting the slack in the handbrake has made all the difference to the rear brakes.

So overall the result is great, but please note the issues I had. Perhaps my pedal travel was more than most but at least it's sorted now.

[So Cal Mark]

the hoses are the correct length if you follow the installation instructions. The hard line gets modified and the hoses should not be looped or doubled.

[csi2000s]

I'm about to do the Volumex brake booster conversion. I already have the front brakes upgraded to Wilwood 4 spot calipers and 284mm Fiat Croma vented rotors and the braking improvement has been great. The only thing that I'm disappointed with is the brake feel, that's why I bought the Volumex booster and it would solve that problem. I'm happy to read that it makes the brake pedal so much better and the added bonus of the hand brake actually working! I'll be fitting it this week.

[pgilling]

the hoses are the correct length if you follow the installation instructions. The hard line gets modified and the hoses should not be looped or doubled.

I did wonder if I'd fitted them wrong - but unfortunately I didn't have any instructions and couldn't figure out why they appeared so long!
However, the calipers and adaptor plate are absolutely ideal for the Spider and utterly transformed the braking by giving real confidence!