I couldn't find any other posts on this subject.
I was wondering if anyone has done or knows how to upgrade to vented disks on the front of a 2004 Panda 1.2 Dynamic.

Was thinking maybe 100hp or Punto ?? Would 100hp disks and calipers fit straight on or would i need to change hubs for that ?

I already put Red Dot Fast Road pads in, but still get brake fade (and very hot disks) And i'd love to do the Stelvio Pass (as featured in PPC mag) but fear my current brakes would die very quickly.

scottish_guy69 said:

I couldn't find any other posts on this subject.
I was wondering if anyone has done or knows how to upgrade to vented disks on the front of a 2004 Panda 1.2 Dynamic.

Was thinking maybe 100hp or Punto ?? Would 100hp disks and calipers fit straight on or would i need to change hubs for that ?

I already put Red Dot Fast Road pads in, but still get brake fade (and very hot disks) And i'd love to do the Stelvio Pass (as featured in PPC mag) but fear my current brakes would die very quickly.

Click to expand...

Frankly I am shocked you can get the 1.2 up fast enough and long enough to trouble the brakes....

The discs will already be vented. First of all try swapping your fluid out for 5.1 or super 4. if the fluid has never been changed this will make a massive difference. Next fit better tyres, Your brakes get worked far less if you have better grip with the road.

If you still have fade then you could look at uprated discs. Sizing up is one option but... you will also need to look at the wheel size.

Decron said:

Frankly I am shocked you can get the 1.2 up fast enough and long enough to trouble the brakes....

Click to expand...

Long continuous descents are more likely to cause brake fade than just plain 'going a bit fast' so I can easily understand why someone wishing to drive the Stelvio Pass would be looking at ways to enable the brakes to absorb more energy.

I've had brake fade going over the Bealach Na Ba & never got above 30mph.

Decron said:

The discs will already be vented.

Click to expand...

My 1.2 Panda has solid (non-vented) discs.

Brakes heat up as they absorb energy and there is a finite limit to the energy any particular braking system can absorb. Red Dot Pads & higher spec fluid remain effective at higher temps so the brakes can get hotter before they start to fade, but ultimately better cooling & putting more metal into the discs is the only way to go - hence why the OP is looking to fit larger, vented discs.

Using engine braking when descending significantly reduces brake heating & could make the difference between stopping at the bottom of a long hill - or not!

If you look at the cars in the car park at the bottom of Porlock Hill on a hot summer's day you'll see lots with smoking brakes.

jrkitching said:

My 1.2 Panda has solid (non-vented) discs.

Click to expand...

I stand corrected. I am pretty surprised about this and can totally understand why they would need upgrading.

Hmm that would be these then - http://eper.fiatforum.com/eper/navi...INT_MODE=0&EPER_CAT=SP&WINDOW_ID=1&GUI_LANG=3

According to that there are several alternatives which should fit on the same hubs and several that don't

Decron said:

I stand corrected. I am pretty surprised about this and can totally understand why they would need upgrading.

Click to expand...

The plus side is you can buy them for about a tenner each, which makes for cheap brake servicing

This is an interesting read: https://www.fiatforum.com/panda/170023-100hp-brake-upgrade.html

If you have 15" wheels you could also look at the Panda 100hp or 500 1.4 front brakes. They'll be a straight bolt on and let you use the 257mm fiat discs as found on the Panda 100hp or 500 1.4.

I've got a 500 1.4 and I've done some pretty extensive track work with it. Here's my recommendation:

- Go for the Panda 100hp/500 1.4 front calipers and 257 mm discs. I've had the best success with EBC turbo groove discs. This is at trackdays, Nurburgring, Spa-Francorchamps and tons of UK circuits.

- Fit a set of decent pads. The EBC yellows are great but they chew through discs about 3 times faster than normal fast road pads. A decent second would be Ferodo 2500's. Again, not cheap but worth it to stop the fade.

- Bleed the whole system through with Castrol SRF brake fluid. Not cheap but it's the best there is. Boiling temps are off the scale high. Make sure you flush out the whole system and have only this in the system. It's proprietary chemistry and needs to work by itself but its worth it.

- If you have blanks for foglights on the front, using a hole saw, drill them out and inset some of these:



and run some hoses like these:



back to the strut, facing on to the disk. Increases cooling to no end.

Use this and you'll do the Stelvio with no worries.

Decron said:

Frankly I am shocked you can get the 1.2 up fast enough and long enough to trouble the brakes....

The discs will already be vented. First of all try swapping your fluid out for 5.1 or super 4. if the fluid has never been changed this will make a massive difference. Next fit better tyres, Your brakes get worked far less if you have better grip with the road.

If you still have fade then you could look at uprated discs. Sizing up is one option but... you will also need to look at the wheel size.

Click to expand...

Thanks for all the help everyone.

Stopping from 90mph to 0 in 100 yards is a bit of a stretch even using the gears. lol

I'm running 185/60/14" tyres on punto steel wheels. Also 30mm PI springs. So no grip/handling problems

Keen to stick with steel wheels for the closer to stock look.
Maybe stilo 15" steels ?

Also i'm working on modified blanks for air ducting with fiberglass, i'll post sum pics wen i get them done