front brakes modification upgrade..... with fiat 500 parts

[Fiatracertracer]

What are the details in doing this modification?

Any special year and model?

Does the master cylinder need to be swapped also?

I have an 82 spider..

[Frog2Spider]

I'm not trying to sound like a smart ass. Please believe me. Honest!

Why?

[mpollock]

The modern 500 brakes have a larger rotor and will give you better stopping power. You need a different caliper bracket to accommodate the larger rotors. You shouldn't need anything else besides the rotor, caliper, and bracket. Mark Allison sells 500 brakes for the spider with a custom-designed caliper bracket.

[ORFORD2004]

I put the big kit from Vicks including Wildwood 4 pistons caliper. I was hoping for more...
I just install the Volumex brake booster and m/c. I should be on the road in the next week. I hope it will be better.
So my guess is yes you should change your m/c.

John

[Frog2Spider]

OK, but why not just use the larger brake system made for the Spider, with 14"+ wheels?

[So Cal Mark]

I sell a kit using either the 500 calipers or Wilwoods and the 500 rotors and adapters for mounting. The rotors are 10.25 and vented. The 14" turbo wheels fit, otherwise 15" wheels are needed.
Vicks' kit fits 13" wheels, so it's not really a big brake kit

[DieselSpider]

The beauty of Vick's Kit, which uses Nuova 500 components, is that you do not have to replace your stock 13 inch rims and tires in order to use it giving you more options and saves you a substantial chunk of change (additional $500+/- for 4 alloy rims plus the cost of a new rim for the spare and 5 new tires).

As far as being a "Big Brake Kit" over stock here is the side by side picture of the Prima Brake Rotor from Vick's and while the camera angle may make them seem a little larger they still are about the biggest rotor a 13 inch wheel will support with a great deal more braking surface:



Myself since I do not plan on changing to expensive after market rims these would be the best alternative for folks like me who for the foreseeable future will be sticking with the stock 13" rims.

The basic kit comes with vented rotors too:


Drilled rotors are also available for $30 more:


If you are on a budget like me and don't have money to burn then Vick's does have an alternative for us.

[spider2081]

Do the larger brake kits require spacers between the wheels and the hubs for the wheel to clear the caliper??

[ORFORD2004]

Do the larger brake kits require spacers between the wheels and the hubs for the wheel to clear the caliper??

Not the Vicks kit

[Fiatracertracer]

So do I understand this correctly, do i have the material list right.

The parts needed are from a 2012 Fiat 500 and what will need to be replaced is the following:

1. Calipers, not the turbo but the standard.
2. 14" rotors. Standard non turbo.
3. Front brake brackets, from 2012 Fiat 500?
4. Master cylinder from the 2012 Fiat 500 non turbo?

Available from the parts distributors listed above, is this correct, and I will not need to change the wheels on my 82 Spider, they will work?

[autotransgression]

i got the complete kit and compensator bypass from mark allison, and i have no regrets at all. the pedal travels a tiny bit farther, but the brake feel is wonderful and the stopping power (along with the 15" wheels which accommodate 205 50/15 tires) is absolutely amazing. sure, some of it is greater tire grip, but it is easy to tell that the brakes make a huge difference.

[AndyS]

I have some concerns putting significant more clamping power on the less than stellar front ends these cars have. the front stub axles and cross members are already failure prone even with smaller tires and stock brakes. Big brake kits and wide 15 inch wheels and tires will put a lot more stress on the front end. I'd be checking for wear and cracks all the time if I had that stuff on my car.

[So Cal Mark]

"concerns"? How do you explain Fiat installing larger front brakes on the 85 models? I've never seen a stub axle failure on a Spider. If you're experiencing stub axle failures I'd say it's due to a lack of maintenance.

[AndyS]

the Australians I knew who drove their cars pretty hard had a number of catastrophic stub axle failures and warned me about them. I have not personally had mine fail, but I have had to repair my cross member which cracked badly even running light weight 13 inch wheels but with bigger 205 tires way back when. . the build quality on the front ends of 124's are notorious - Abarth threw the entire front end out and did a full redesign on the 124 Rally cars -they share zero parts with the street cars. putting heavy wheels and large tires on these cars and then adding much stronger brakes is probably not a good idea in my opinion. I have seen so many cross member failures it's not funny. People who have done this need to really keep an eye on their front ends is all I am saying.

[KevAndAndi]

I have no qualms whatsoever about Mark's big brake kit, because I prefer my wife to have extra stopping power in a panic braking situation. Even conceding the idea that damage might occur to the front end due to strong brakes, it is irrefutably true that a whole lot of damage and injury can occur due to weak brakes.