Tuning monster brakes

[306maxi]

Thinking about it, my brakes would be more effective if I wasn't so chunky. Has anybody thought about losing excess body weight in order to improve braking? It'll be cheaper than those enormous discs and calipers, for a start!

Agreed, jnoiles at least has taken the entire interior out of his car when he drives it on the track which is probably the easiest thing you can do on a modern car to get the weight down.

I think things like superlight wheels, plastic windows and composite panels etc etc would be a little bit of a waste on something as low powered as a 500.

 

[Hellcat]

Not really, on a low powered car the one thing you can do to improve performance is to get rid of weight. Glass, especially laminated glass is very heavy.

 

[Chris123]

Best to avoid fat birds as well then ;-)

 

[CBP]

On the subject of F1, Brembo manufacture the Fiat 500 kits on the same site as their F1 calipers. It is the same guys making the parts! Not a claim Tarox can make, so if your looking for bragging rights look no further!

 

[Mark Elvin]

On the subject of F1, Brembo manufacture the Fiat 500 kits on the same site as their F1 calipers. It is the same guys making the parts! Not a claim Tarox can make, so if your looking for bragging rights look no further!

I've been to that factory. I went there whilst I was designing a new caliper for the FW23, most F1 teams design their own & get somebody like Brembo to manufacture them.

 

[CBP]

Yeah i was there in January having a look around! An amazing place to visit, did you go to the Kilometre Rosso too? They were making calipers for Williams when we were visiting.

 

[RobW]

how much more do these new brakes weigh than the standard 257mm ones and have they been tested on standard suspension?

 

[Mark Elvin]

Yeah i was there in January having a look around! An amazing place to visit, did you go to the Kilometre Rosso too? They were making calipers for Williams when we were visiting.

I was at the Brembo factory in late 2000, it was literally off then plane, taken to the factory, then back on the plane to UK.

Incidently we had the lightest, stiffest caliper at the time, something I belive they have continued to have.

 

[CBP]

how much more do these new brakes weigh than the standard 257mm ones and have they been tested on standard suspension?

Rob, i dont have a weight for the standard setup so i cant give you a comparison. The Brembo kit has a machined aluminum bell rather than a one piece cast iron disk so the weight should not be vastly different.

And yes they have been extensively tested on a standard car.

Thanks

Steve

 

[306maxi]

http://www.shop4parts.co.uk/?name=store&op=Details&ProdID=142&sku=1077 probably not much help but shop4parts lists the standard 1.4 front disc as being 5kgs.

 

[RobW]

Rob, i dont have a weight for the standard setup so i cant give you a comparison. The Brembo kit has a machined aluminum bell rather than a one piece cast iron disk so the weight should not be vastly different.

And yes they have been extensively tested on a standard car.

Thanks

Steve

OK I'll re-phrase the question

how does the 'Gran Turismo' kit compare with the Brembo 'Sport' kit with regards to rotor mass?

 

[CBP]

Apologies for the delay in my response! I didnt spot your question until this morning! I have just weighed a 2 piece disc from the GT kit and it is 4.9Kgs. We dont yet have any of the 1.4I sport disc in stock so i cant provide a comparable weight for them yet.

Brembo have just released a new GT kit suitable for the 500, with one piece discs. As with all Brembo kits it is a complete conversion for the axle and includes 4 pot calipers, discs, pads and all hoses and fixings required to fit. The price for the one piece kit is £1480.05 inc VAT.

Any questions - let me know

Thanks

Steve

 

[RobW]

Apologies for the delay in my response! I didnt spot your question until this morning! I have just weighed a 2 piece disc from the GT kit and it is 4.9Kgs. We dont yet have any of the 1.4I sport disc in stock so i cant provide a comparable weight for them yet.

Brembo have just released a new GT kit suitable for the 500, with one piece discs. As with all Brembo kits it is a complete conversion for the axle and includes 4 pot calipers, discs, pads and all hoses and fixings required to fit. The price for the one piece kit is £1480.05 inc VAT.

Any questions - let me know

Thanks

Steve

still way too expensive for my purposes, i am looking for some uprated pads though for the standard 1.4 calipers

have Greenstuff at present and they are worse than standard Fiat issue :bang:

 

[CBP]

Hi Rob

Unfortunately we dont have a pad for the standard calipers currently. Hopefully this will be something that is available in the future and i will update our Traders section as/when this is released.

Thanks

Steve

 

[pearce_jj]

If the standard brakes can lock-up at 70mph, what will upgraded brakes do better?

 

[RobW]

If the standard brakes can lock-up at 70mph, what will upgraded brakes do better?

not over heat and fade under heavy use!
for example on twisty, derestricted mountain passes in the Eifel region of Germany

 

[pearce_jj]

ah so "tosser driving" then

 

[CBP]

not over heat and fade under heavy use!
for example on twisty, derestricted mountain passes in the Eifel region of Germany

Exactly! The Gran Turismo kit will dissipate the heat quicker and be able to cope with much higher brake temperatures.

Thanks

Steve

 

[CBP]

If the standard brakes can lock-up at 70mph, what will upgraded brakes do better?

Have you removed the ABS from your car? Any ABS equiped car should not lock up the wheels at all!

Steve

 

[306maxi]

Exactly! The Gran Turismo kit will dissipate the heat quicker and be able to cope with much higher brake temperatures.

Thanks

Steve

Yep......

It's obviouisly not going to be of any practical use to someone who only comes to and from work or potters to the shops with the kids but if you drive the car on the track or like to go for a spirited drive on demanding roads then it will come into its own.