Brake Equalizer

[halg]

Has anyone done any quantitative testing as to whether or not the equalizer actually makes any difference. Iam at the point under the car to either remove or replace. Advice or opinions.
Hal

[mdrburchette]

Many people have bypassed the proportioning valve with no ill effects. I'm still running one on my 72 but haven't had the opportunity to see if it actually keeps the rear brakes from locking up.

[kmead]

Innumerable cars have had them over the years. The 124 series cars are among the first I know of to have adopted them.

Given how soft the standard suspension is and the amount of dive in the front suspension system I am pretty certain it is needed.

Many of you likely don't remember the GM X car debacle in the early 80s where all of the front drive X cars were recalled due to rear locking and the retrofits they needed.

If you have a lowered car with stiffer springs, you would be more likely to be fine but personally I wouldn't remove it. When I am at the hairy edge with my car the last thing I want is to have the car misbehave. By the hairy edge I mean an emergency situation trying to save my bacon due to some other miscreants poor driving habits.

Modern cars don't need them as they have 4 wheel ABS (you may recall that pickup trucks were the first vehicles to get ABS but only on the rear wheels) which ensures the rear wheels won't lock.

[mbouse]

i agree with Karl.

1. Fiat put a whole lotta time and money into the design and installation of those valves. if it weren't a necessary part, it would have saved hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars for Fiat. I've yet to discover a car manufacturer that willingly and 100% honestly puts unnecessary safety minded equipment into their production vehicles. there is a well investigated, highly studied reason that valve is on your car.

2. Unless your valve is malfunctioning... why go through the effort and re-plumbing of removing it? wheels that are locked up equals wheels that are not in control. in a panic situation, i want MORE control, not less.

just remember the correct bleeding procedure for your car if you keep the valve installed.

[sptcoupe]

I recall in the late 70's or early 80's one of the major car mags did a review of street tires, with stopping distances as one of the key evaluation parameters. They used a 131 or Brava for the test (I think a 131, because I had one at the time and was happy to see it featured in a major mag), and they explained that their choice of the FIAT was in large part because of it's comparatively excellent brakes for sedans in the same class/era. One feature they noted was the equalizer, and they also noted that the rear wheels just wouldn't lock up in the 60-0 mph test. I have never driven a 124 without the equalizer working, but I have had a few full panic braking situations in my 124 BC sport coupe, and never had the car go seriously sideways on me. I have never had one go bad on me, either, so I don't see how they can hurt.

[mbouse]

I have never had one go bad on me, either, so I don't see how they can hurt.

which, i guess is my point as well... if it ain't broke, why fix it? if the compensator valve is not causing issues, why pull it from the system?

[bwilson27]

At the other end of the rod assembly that functions the eq, it turns into a collar, of sorts, that secures the assembly to the rear-end.
My question is; Is there a bushing that fits in that end? Both my cars have nothing in there but air.

[Foster48x]

[quote="bwilson27"]At the other end of the rod assembly that functions the eq, it turns into a collar, of sorts, that secures the assembly to the rear-end.
My question is; Is there a bushing that fits in that end? Both my cars have nothing in there but air.


According to the part manual there are 2 bushings and a metal tube spacer that go in the collar. Mine just has the spacer right now and seems to work fine.

Rick

[So Cal Mark]

without the bushings, you effectively have disabled the compensator from allowing full pressure to the rear calipers. It will now take more travel to allow the compensator to open. So if you're happy with less braking than designed, leave the bushings out.
The amusing part of this thread is the "keep it stock" arguement. Virtually every owner wants their Spider lower than it was delivered or designed. When you lower the suspension, you're putting the compensator in the full open position and I doubt you could get enough nose dive to ever make it work as designed. I've yet to see anyone locking the rear brakes on their Spider with a bypassed compensator

[kmead]

The amusing part of this thread is the "keep it stock" arguement. Virtually every owner wants their Spider lower than it was delivered or designed. When you lower the suspension, you're putting the compensator in the full open position and I doubt you could get enough nose dive to ever make it work as designed. I've yet to see anyone locking the rear brakes on their Spider with a bypassed compensator

I think you are mistaking keep it stock for keep it stock and readjust the linkage to work properly per the manual.

As I said in my post, if you are lowering the car, you may well not have an issue presuming the front springs are of a higher rate than the originals. I would say most of us want our cars at the originally designed height before bumper regs, my coupe is noticeably lower than post 74 spiders, both the bumper hgt and the distance from the top of the tire to the wheel opening. Lowering these cars much more tends to get the front suspension into a poor condition with the lower arm at a distinct up angle from the subframe to the wheel which is not good.

I would keep the compensator and readjust the compensator to work properly at the lower height. There is a procedure in the manual for how to do it.

I think it would be worthwhile to look into a modified front lower a arm geometry that will provide some anti dive to minimize the cars' tendency to dive as much as it does. Some anti jacking would be good as well in the rear but that would be a bit more challenging to achieve. But all of that is for another discussion.

[So Cal Mark]

no, I'm not mistaking the discussion. Just entertained by it, each time it comes up

[MNspiderman]

Rip it out, Soldier it shut, If my Diesel 5 ton truck don't have one then neither should your fiat. Case closed, bookem' Danno.