Possible factory brake upgrade.

[brad131a4]

Well went down to the All Italian car show here in rainy Issaquah ,WA and wouldn't you know it they had about 5 of the new 500 there that were available at the dealer. Seems that the people who ordered them didn't want them.

What I did notice were the front rotors and calipers. Was asking one of the sales people if they knew if the bolt pattern was still a 4x98 and they said yes it was.

This was a surprise to some of the older fiatists who thought that they surely had gone to a different bolt pattern. It really perked up there interest when I said that looks like a good factory upgrade for the spider as the front calipers and mounting points looked almost identical. This would give a nice vented rotor.

Anyone have access to the parts bin yet to see if these can be had for a decent cost.

Nice turnout of spiders and x/19's and a few older 500 and 600. As with the rain around here the Ferrari crowd didn't disappoint as they didn't show up. God forbid they get wet.
Nice couple of Alfa's as well. A pantera was there also.

Hold on I digress there were about 3 Ferrari's there those would be to me real enthusiasts.

[TulsaSpider]

Still use 4x98? wow I can't believe that! Interesting!

[mdrburchette]

Alvon should know since he's already taken his car apart. It would be interesting to see what the price is.

[azruss]

dont get your hopes up. I asked about that awhile back and the answer was no.

[adrians]

I believe it's not 4 X 98 pattern

[So Cal Mark]

it is a 4x98 pattern, but the depth of the hat on the rotor is different than the Spider.

[brad131a4]

I did notice that. I'm just curious if it's because its vented that it looks like it's less. I would think it would work on some rims but not on others. Might just have to buy a caliper and hanger once they become available.

[So Cal Mark]

it won't be as simple as just using the bracket, you'd need a spindle that is the correct mounting depth. I did look at mine already, because it would be a nice upgrade

[mdrburchette]

What about the calipers?

[manoa matt]

The performance fiat brake upgrade kit is basically the same thing with modern sliding pin calipers and vented,cross drilled, slotted rotors.

I would however like the rear brakes from the 500 so I could have an effective parking brake.

[socaltino]

The performance fiat brake upgrade kit is basically the same thing with modern sliding pin calipers and vented,cross drilled, slotted rotors.

I would however like the rear brakes from the 500 so I could have an effective parking brake.

Don't understand your posting. The parking brakes on the Fiat Spider are quite good. I had a front caliper seal blow out on my car while traveling down hill at over 70 miles an hour. I was able to slow and stop the car by using the parking brake. Lastly, I would not have been able to slow the car down by downshifting, since my car is an automatic.

[spiderrey]

I think the parking brake is awesome on the spider.

[mdrburchette]

The parking brake may be but the cable that rides on the exhaust isn't. I've never had good luck with the parking brake.