Hi

Finally after many months of waiting I have got my B back from repair and after taking off the hard top and going for a nice long drive I had forgotten how bad the brakes were.

So the first job I would like to do is replace all brake hoses with the goodrich hoses and replace brake fluid. I have no idea when it was last replaced.

Looking in the owners handbook it specifys DOT 4 but when you look in the service manual under brakes (page 19) it says to use DOT 3. with a warning not to use mineral oil as it would damage the seals....

I know DOT 3 & DOT 4 are compatable and don't want to screw up the brake system any more than it already is.

It's a 1999 B with ABS

Has anyone changed their fluid before? which type did you use?

many thanks

wayne

I use/used dot4.

Hey Wayne, great news!

The first thing I did when I bought mine was change the discs, pads and fluid - DOT4 is fine

the higher the dot the better it is. i think

dave said:

the higher the dot the better it is. i think

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Yup, I believe do but have no idea why! I used to have a VR5 Bora with DOT5, not sure if it made any difference as I never drove it with DOT4!

dave said:

the higher the dot the better it is. i think

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Yes but remember to skip the DOT 5 and go to DOT 5.1 if you go there.
The DOT 5 is incompatible with the o-rings and other rubber parts of the braking system .

Many thanks for the replys.

I was sure it used DOT4 but got confused after reading the service manual.

I changed the disks and pads just over a year ago when I first got the car. Since then it has only covered about 8,000 km and they still look like new.

I have a feeling the pads I ordered from ebay.de may have been cheap aftermarket ones (they came with the disks).

I have the goodrich hoses on order and was thinking about changing all pads to either EBC or Ferodo's anyone any experience with either?

Another thought was to have the disks slotted and / or dotted. Have heard that drilled disks have a tendency to crack unless heat treated properly? Engineering workshops here are cheap and seem to do good buissiness altering disks.

Will look into the 5.1 fluid. Have not seen it but I'm sure it's available here somewhere.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

you can get a good deal on red dot groved disks an pads as you are an ff member, ask wish mine was orange i think she got them on her B

The DOT rating relates only to how high the boiling point is. 4 is perfectly find for a Barchetta. However, higher DOT values may corrode components.

Hello,

I have a question and maybe you guys, can help me.

I've changed the oil and filters in a service and I wanted to change also the braking fluid (I bought Tutela Dot4).
The guys from the service told me that they can change the old liquid only with ATE dot4 beacause the changing machine works only with ATE.

Will I have problems cause of this?

Thanks

alexces said:

The guys from the service told me that they can change the old liquid only with ATE dot4 beacause the changing machine works only with ATE.

Will I have problems cause of this?

Thanks

Click to expand...

No you won't have any problems. DOT4 fluids (if they comply to the DOT4 standard are interchangeable/mixable.

DOT4 and DOT5.1 are likewise compatible but mixing 4 & 5.1 will lower the boiling point of the 5.1 fluid.

There are two basic differences between 4 and 5.1

i) DOT5.1 has a higher boiling point and is thus suitable for applications where continual heavy braking is used. e.g. motorsport, tracks days etc. Also large heavy high speed performance cars where emergency braking from 150+ mph puts great thermal strain on the calipers

ii) DOT5.1 is far more hydroscopic (ease of water absorbtion) than DOT4. For this reason the 5.1 fluid should be change more frequently than DOT4. When I ran with 5.1 on our track cars I changed the fluid at least every 12 months and sometimes every 6 months depending on the abuse.

DOT4 is perfectly fine and unless you are/doing any of the above then stick to DOT4.

Hello,

If I have an ABS Barchetta can I get Goodridge Brake Hoses?

All the ones I've seen say Non ABS versions...

desert rat said:

Many thanks for the replys.

I was sure it used DOT4 but got confused after reading the service manual.

I changed the disks and pads just over a year ago when I first got the car. Since then it has only covered about 8,000 km and they still look like new.

I have a feeling the pads I ordered from ebay.de may have been cheap aftermarket ones (they came with the disks).

I have the goodrich hoses on order and was thinking about changing all pads to either EBC or Ferodo's anyone any experience with either?

Another thought was to have the disks slotted and / or dotted. Have heard that drilled disks have a tendency to crack unless heat treated properly? Engineering workshops here are cheap and seem to do good buissiness altering disks.

Will look into the 5.1 fluid. Have not seen it but I'm sure it's available here somewhere.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Click to expand...

Hiya!

i have the Abs on my B and fitted the goodridge hoses, upgraded the disc's to grooved and use the ferodo ds2000 pads, think i upgraded the brake fluid to a higher performance 5.1 too. i,ll have to check on fluid and let you know..but think it is.. Its been nearly three years and the braking has been good and I have had the B round a track a few times.. I originaly had the old style small caliper but have since also upgraded to the newer style and improoved braking further.
I will be converting to a big brake conversion, brembo or the like once my Turbo goes on..but have driven other standard B's and my setup definately feels better.

My disc's have worn down since, and will be in need of changing soon, and was considering either the black diamond disc's or Tarox, as i like the look.. and was thinking of also trying the black diamond pedator pads as the reviews are good...

Have a look at either of these sites...
http://www.europerformance.co.uk/pages/products/search_car/product.mhtml?car=fiatbarchetta

www.larkspeed.com

hope this helps...

had dot 4 in mine and upgade brakes to red dot fast road brakes the groved disks and fast pads make a world of diffrence !!!

I insist on 5.1 for my cars these days.

jetweed said:

Hello,

If I have an ABS Barchetta can I get Goodridge Brake Hoses?

All the ones I've seen say Non ABS versions...

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Do not use the Non-ABS hoses please.

You should contact Goodridge directly, send them an email.