I fitted braided to my MGTF, they made a big difference.
So if we are all happy that a kit will help is it a 500 Abarth that fits?

Hel do a kit for the Panda, my question is whether it has the grommet to pass through the shock's fitting hole.

I don't facy buying them only to find out they don't and I am not a fan of cable ties for brake hoses.

Simple: ask Hel.

Peter Pick-Up said:

Simple: ask Hel.

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They just confirmed that the do have the correct fittings indeed.
I've just ordered them!
I am looking forward to what difference the new fluid and the hoses will make.

Just braided lines and new fluid won't make a big difference.
A firmer brake pedal under heavy braking, not very noticeable under normal conditions, though
I use grooved Mtec brakes, with Ferodo Performance pads, together with the Hel lines and quality ( Castrol) brakefluid, the best combo without modifications.
I do a lot of high speed German motorway travel, and it gives me just peace of mind to realize I have perfect brakes.

One step at a time, I'll do the discs and pads when they need doing. The rear pads were replaced at the last service with Bendix ones but when I do the fronts I'd rather fit something with a higher friction coefficient all around.

So I've just had the brake fluid replaced today and cancelled the order of the braided lines as they weren't going to arrive on time for today's appointment.

It seems to have helped, the pedal feels more direct from the beginning of its travel and less spongy.

An old thread but just to say that HEL products are excellent quality and they will be able to make up hoses to suit your needs.

Braided hoses will make zero difference to braking power, but they will provide much better feel at the pedal as the (admittedly slight) expansion of rubber hoses is gone. Properly bled braided hoses should feel as if the lines are end-to-end solid metal.

Don't swap the pads until you have tried the standard pads with the new hoses. Depending on your needs they may well be plenty good enough. If you do decide to "upgrade" the pads you will know which changes were beneficial and which were less so.

Higher spec pads are a good idea if you use the brakes a lot at high speed as they can better handle the higher temperatures. The pay-off can be poor pedal feel at low speed and sometimes poor braking until the pads warm up. Take advice from the pad manufacturers (Ferodo, Brembo, etc).

ytareh said:

This is in 100hp , right ?.Brakes have awful pedal feel ( over servo-ing causes kangaroo-ing- at least in some early (?) year models ) and heel and toe-ing is next to impossible .One of several flaws in what could have been a dream car .Off the top of my head you can also include the need for a longer sixth gear for fuel economy , maybe a turbo /20-30 more bhp , wider torque band ,OBVIOUSLY a softer rear suspension , less sensitive to tracking loss , the latter may be to blame for insecurity at high mph esp in wet .

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If your car is insecure on the road there is something very wrong with it. I threw mine around at ludicrous speeds wet and dry and never once did it ever do anything other than full power understeer that one would expect. If it is insecure try different tyres and new dampers. You are missing out on sublime handling and glorious fun. If it had a limit of its grip, I certainly never got near it. That was on Toyo Proxes tyres. These were good wet and dry and wore well too.

The best thing about the 100HP was barrelling into dual carriageway roundabouts and braking down from very high speed before slingshotting out of the roundabout. I could stop the 100HP from 100mph in 75m where limits allowed. These cars are BONKERS and such fun. I wish I had kept mine. I practically gave it away in px. Insanity. There are few cars that can keep with one of these ona (smooth) windy road.

Aston Martin said:

Post 2008 they changed the servos if I remember correctly.

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I totally agree.

The Panda Nut said:

If your car is insecure on the road there is something very wrong with it. I threw mine around at ludicrous speeds wet and dry and never once did it ever do anything other than full power understeer that one would expect. If it is insecure try different tyres and new dampers. You are missing out on sublime handling and glorious fun. If it had a limit of its grip, I certainly never got near it. That was on Toyo Proxes tyres. These were good wet and dry and wore well too.

The best thing about the 100HP was barrelling into dual carriageway roundabouts and braking down from very high speed before slingshotting out of the roundabout. I could stop the 100HP from 100mph in 75m where limits allowed. These cars are BONKERS and such fun. I wish I had kept mine. I practically gave it away in px. Insanity. There are few cars that can keep with one of these on a (smooth) windy road.

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Mine is great but still needing work. At 65,000 miles the suspension is below par, not MoT fail (or even close) but it could be better. The 500 ARB rear axle and springs in my wife's 1200 sticks the back end far better than the 100HP's roller skates. I'm looking at how I can do the same on the 100HP though with the 195 wheels it wont be a straight swap.

The engine is good but coming from a bike it feels strangled. Of course it wont have the front end lifting power to weight of a bike, but it still feels less perky than it should.

Plans are for new shocks, braided hoses, maybe a sports exhaust manifold. I have some ideas for how to do the 500 axle swap.