General Brakes - any complaints?

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General Brakes - any complaints?

I know the TA's have rear discs but are fronts bigger? Than the 1.2's.

Just the addition of rear discs shouldn't make that much of a difference.

If your foot was flat to the floor that suggests a larger problem than mine which is simply poor braking, mine won't do that.
 
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I know the TA's have rear discs but are fronts bigger? Than the 1.2's.

Just the addition of rear discs shouldn't make that much of a difference.


Only the 105 has rear discs and front are vented afaik. TA85 disc size is the same as a 1.2 I'm fairly sure
 
As far as I know, our 500TA (85hp) has the same brakes as it had when brand new. Nothing has been changed and no maintenance done on them, front or rear.

We bought her as a three year old secondhand at 13,800miles and she's done 17,500miles now.

As I said, ours are very sharp. Mrs Mick F complains about it.

I must say though, that the handbrake leaves a bit to be desired. It often needs another click more than should be necessary on a steep hill. You have to pull hard, and compared to other cars I've owned and driven, it seems somewhat weak.

Regards,
Mick.
 
I have driven a wide range of vehicles over the years, often in cars of the same make and model. It can be frightening when you go from a well maintained vehicle to a neglected one, a vehicle that has been driven very steadily all its life or a car that has had the wrong replacement brake pads fitted. The result is the same in every case - you do not stop quickly enough in a emergency!

Even with a new car I still lubricate the calipers. If the discs get glazed I take the car out on a quiet road and brake hard a number of times to remove the glaze, if this does not work I would then take the discs off and de-glaze them on my lathe. The worst culprits for bad brakes are the boys who fit upgraded brakes, these work while very new but the car isn't capable of working them hard enough to keep them in good order.

In bad weather I really hate abs. In certain conditions I want to know whether my wheels are about to slide so I can drive accordingly. I scared my neighbour once in very slippery conditions by driving a old Panda, he wouldn't ever have believed that a two wheel drive vehicle could be driven without problems in those conditions. I started driving long before the advent of abs but, on one occasion in the dry I was very glad that the car had the sytem as, when approaching a roundabout quickly, I had not noticed that the car in front had stopped.

The brakes that the car is fitted with originally, if everything is well maintained and correct, should stop the car without any problems.
 
I always think our 500 brakes are rubbish after driving any other car. Also it's the only car I've had without vented front discs. Maybe that's why.
 
Trust me, you'll know if the ABS has kicked in, you'll get a very noticeable judder on the brake pedal as the car comes to a halt :p Clearly I have no idea about what distances there were between you and the car in front and the car at the rear. Even if you reacted quickly, if you were all quite close together in the first instance, the car may have appeared to be slow at stopping purely because of how quickly everything happened. Hope that doesn't sound double dutch :shrug:

I'm sure you have an understanding of how ABS works, but for anyone that doesn't, please see the link:

http://www.rospa.com/road-safety/advice/vehicles/electronic-braking-systems/anti-lock-brake-systems/


My abs kicks in almost everyday ! Roads here generally have very low grip
 
Our 500TA85 doesn't have vented discs.

............. and as I said, ours has excellent braking except that they are a bit too sharp and the handbrake needs a good hard pull to hold on a steep hill.

Other than those little niggles, the braking is very good indeed.

Regards,
Mick.
 
Our 500TA85 doesn't have vented discs.

............. and as I said, ours has excellent braking except that they are a bit too sharp and the handbrake needs a good hard pull to hold on a steep hill.

Other than those little niggles, the braking is very good indeed.

Regards,
Mick.

I'm genuinely surprised by that: I have a Grande Punto 1.4 8v, and that has vented discs!
 
Our 500TA85 doesn't have vented discs.

............. and as I said, ours has excellent braking except that they are a bit too sharp and the handbrake needs a good hard pull to hold on a steep hill.

Other than those little niggles, the braking is very good indeed.

Regards,
Mick.
get the handbrake adjusted next time u service the car mine was the same but fiat sorted it and since then 3 years ago its been fine.
 
Adjustment is fine. Three or four clicks only. Five for very tight.
Isn't the rear brake system automatically adjusted?

If there is a problem, and I don't think there is, is that the shoes and drums need deglazing or maybe it's dusty in there. When I have the time and the inclination, I'll remove the drums and have a shufti inside.

I reckon that the handbrake/rear brakes are fine for normal use, it's just that we have a 1in4 driveway by the gate. Fairly level by the house, but we REALLY have to use the handbrake when we open/close the gate.

Other car is a Clio, and she doesn't have a problem.

Cheers,
Mick.
 
Only the 105 has rear discs and front are vented afaik. TA85 disc size is the same as a 1.2 I'm fairly sure

Same diameter but vented.

Our 500TA85 doesn't have vented discs.

My mistake the TA85 has solid discs front, which are a larger diameter (257mm IRC) than the 1.2 (240 something?). The TA105 has the same brakes as the MJ/1.4 which are the same diameter as the TA85, but with the addition of being vented, and of course rear discs.
 
Shall I be the first to point out that vented/unvented doesn't make any difference to "one off" stopping power which is what the OP was bemoaning the lack of?

Vented discs do cool down faster, which will help to prevent fade during spirited driving/long descents.
 
My mistake the TA85 has solid discs front, which are a larger diameter (257mm IRC) than the 1.2 (240 something?). The TA105 has the same brakes as the MJ/1.4 which are the same diameter as the TA85, but with the addition of being vented, and of course rear discs.
and don't forget, 1.4 and TA 105 have solid rear discs while MJ has drums.
 
Shall I be the first to point out that vented/unvented doesn't make any difference to "one off" stopping power which is what the OP was bemoaning the lack of?

Vented discs do cool down faster, which will help to prevent fade during spirited driving/long descents.
Agreed, I have a Fiat Panda 1.2 with non-vented discs but coming from Mondeo Diesel, I found these brakes to be very sensitive and the passengers have to brace themselves! :D
 
Vented discs do cool down faster, which will help to prevent fade during spirited driving/long descents.
I'm sure they do, but can we quantify this?

I would suggest that vented discs on a normal car on normal roads driven normally are very different indeed to ones in the motorsport environment and performance high-powered cars. There are many different sorts of vented discs, some "cooler" than others.

Our Renault Clio has vented discs, but they have spent most of their lives with loads of rust building up inside the vents. She's done 95,000miles and on her third or fourth set. I doubt that the vented discs she has would have any benefit over solid ones.

Maybe the fact that she's supposed to be able to do 120mph has much to do with the brake specifications. :)

Regards,
Mick.
 
I'm sure they do, but can we quantify this?

I would suggest that vented discs on a normal car on normal roads driven normally are very different indeed to ones in the motorsport environment and performance high-powered cars. There are many different sorts of vented discs, some "cooler" than others.

Our Renault Clio has vented discs, but they have spent most of their lives with loads of rust building up inside the vents. She's done 95,000miles and on her third or fourth set. I doubt that the vented discs she has would have any benefit over solid ones.

Maybe the fact that she's supposed to be able to do 120mph has much to do with the brake specifications. :)

Regards,
Mick.

I have no idea. I'm assuming manufacturers fit them for sound reasons; no one will not buy a car solely because it has solid discs.

My post was more about the over riding theory behind vented discs, rather than a comment about their utility on your average road car.
 
Yeah, I know.
I wasn't picking holes in your statement, I just wonder why vented discs are on a normal car in the first place ................ let alone having discs instead of drums on the rear.

Maybe it's a selling point?
Very much like having a speedometer that goes up to 140mph when the car's top speed is only 100mph flat out. :D

Cheers,
Mick.
 
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