General Yet more problems with my 500.. :(
- Thread starter Kay500
- Start date
-
- Tags
- 500 brakes spare key suspension
Currently reading:
General Yet more problems with my 500.. :(
- Joined
- May 15, 2011
- Messages
- 3,769
- Points
- 568
Very tempting RUI. Could you not have added an i to the name on those coil-overs - you might have got a buyer.
Delighted to see that you're expanding your range.
Delighted to see that you're expanding your range.
Very tempting RUI. Could you not have added an i to the name on those coil-overs - you might have got a buyer.
Delighted to see that you're expanding your range.
If you're referring to me then I think you would be wrong
Only dampers I would ever put on the 500 are Bilstein's or Koni's.- Joined
- May 15, 2011
- Messages
- 3,769
- Points
- 568
If you're referring to me then I think you would be wrong
I knew that - I was only kidding.
And you know which 'camp' I'm in.
Still they look nice and look the business and 'knowing' RUI he will have a lot of interest with the newcomers since he will price it well and by all accounts is excellent on the service.
RUI - why isn't your 'trader button' working - didn't see arorat's feedback on the armrest
Last edited:
I knew that - I was only kidding.
And you know which 'camp' I'm in.
Still they look nice and look the business and 'knowing' RUI he will have a lot of interest with the newcomers since he will price it well and by all accounts is excellent on the service.
RUI - why isn't you 'trader button' working - didn't see arorat's feedback on the armrest
To be honest if you're going to splash the cash then you might as well spend the extra £100-150 and get the Bilstein's. Not trying to slag anyone's product off, but when it comes to suspension you should buy the best you can reasonably afford and not pinch pennies.
- Joined
- May 15, 2011
- Messages
- 3,769
- Points
- 568
Possibly a demo model with the V-maxx suspension for the Forest meet 6 might convince a few.
But anything is better than standard so it's not hard.
That was the plan but the misses has just spent £10k on a new bathroom!!!!!!
I think I may give it a month or two before I can spend any money.
OP
OP
Are your discs the standard type or did you increase the size of them or change them to grooved / slotted ones ?
One thing I did notice on the 60-0 stopping times for the 500 1.4 and the A500 is that the time reduced from 3.2 secs to 2.6 secs but I'm unsure if you would get this reduction on a 500 if it had the bigger discs. (going slightly off topic
They're exactly the same as the standard ones but just 'brembo'. I thought they might work a bit better
http://www.nextdaybrakes.com/brembo...discs-pn-08508514-fits-fiat-500_p22282519.htm
http://www.nextdaybrakes.com/brembo-rear-brake-pad-set-pn-p23064-fits-fiat-500-pair_p22282524.htm
Nothing special. My boyfriend put some nice black mtec grooved ones on his car, but they were on the front. Thought it would look silly putting nice ones on the rear only! So thought I'd buy cheap ones.
So maybe I am jumping ahead of myself.
You Michael .......... Never!
I got caught out the same way so I can sympathise wholeheartedly, lol.
Stop the wife spending because, as Michael says your car would be a great travelling showcase for the items you sell. People like to see/hear them on a vehicle if possible and if you managed to attend a few bigger meetings (obviously the NFM6 is now obligatory) I reckon you would get a lot of interest. Maybe something to consider for the future?
Kay as the OP (I always thought it meant Original Poster but either way that is you) as an ex MOT tester I would always recommend struts/Shock absorbers be replaced in pairs but there is no legal (perhaps the wrong word - Robin will know) requirement to do so.
Personally, in your position I would buy and fit a new standard Fiat shock absorber to the OSR which will balance the car and should enable you to experience a period of trouble free motoring before deciding if you want to spend even more money on the car.
I hope I am not confusing the issue.
ahmett
Prominent member
If the Abarth stopping performance is so better wouldnt it be wise to buy the bigger discs when changing the pads and discs? Whats the difference of the 1.4 and Abarth brakes?
0.0mm at the rear.
- Joined
- May 15, 2011
- Messages
- 3,769
- Points
- 568
Brembo have a good website for 500.
On sizes as Maxi has pointed out that the rear discs are the same for the 1.4 & the A500. Fronts on the 1.4 257mm compared with 284mm on the A500. If you esseesse the discs get perforated.
Thickness is also important on the 1.2 they are only 11mm compared with 22mm which means that on the fronts on the 1.4 and the diesel they are ventilated (but for some reason the diesel ones are 20mm). The 1.2 Front discs will fit straight onto the rears of the 1.4.
Disc pads can be changed to improve braking since the standard ones are prone to fade. Aside from the Brembos you have EBC which 'do' the Green and Yellow 'grade' pads along with Ferodo in the guise of the 1500 & 2500. It appears that the Ferodo 1500 are the preferred pad but if you are doing 'Alp descents' or the Nubrurgring then the EBC Yellow could be the preferred option. Downside of the EBC Yellow is that the discs wear out quicker.
There is also the option to upgrade to braided stainless lines.
And the brake fluid. This should be changed in the 500 every 2 years. If you really wanted to 'splash out' you could go for Castrol SRF (acknowledgement to Jnoiles for this) but there may be a better option than the standard stuff to Motul branded 5.1 fluid (may be wrong on this). It seems that a higher quality fluid has a higher boiling temperature.
By increasing you front disc size on the 1.4 from 257mm to 284mm you can no longer use your space saver and would have to either use a 'Puncture repair kit' or a 'bigger' space saver (I have one from a Fiat Marea
) or buy another wheel. There's a trend now for grooves since the 'holes' from perforating supposedly weakens the discs. If you really wanted to go mad on discs sizes the Punto Evo uses 305mm and 264mm on the front & back. It wouldn't surprise if someone went with this on a Brembo 4 setup but you would need a set of 17in - unlikely it would ever happen on a 500.So in answer to ahmett's question the bigger 284mm disc from the A500 may not perform any better than a performance drilled and grooved disc but should theoretically prefer better than the standard disc.
I hope I am not confusing the issue.
You Michael .......... Never!
Last edited:
This post contains affiliate links which may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
I think we're drifting ever further from topic, the OP never complained about the effectiveness of the brakes.
- Joined
- May 16, 2008
- Messages
- 1,119
- Points
- 199
In my experience the 'uprated' products do have more resistance to fade but can also have less 'grab' initially.
I won't get into aftermarket stuff because i know nothing about it, but from a customer service point of view it sounds poor. Replacing only one shock is just plain harsh as they really can't be expensive for the dealer to buy, especially considering they appear to be cr*p anyway.
I'd definately have a word with Fiat Customer Service on [email protected] - when i emailed them regarding a problem with my (then) 6 year old Stilo they reimbursed me fully for the £300 repair in the form of Fiat/Alfa vouchers & were superb. Fiat come in for abit of stick about their customer service but i think generally Fiat UK are pretty good in that respect if you explain things clearly & calmy & don't fly off the handle. It's just a few of the dealers that let the side down badly.
After how well Fiat UK dealt with my problem and some other members on here, i'd be suprised if they left you feeling short changed.
Liam
I'd definately have a word with Fiat Customer Service on [email protected] - when i emailed them regarding a problem with my (then) 6 year old Stilo they reimbursed me fully for the £300 repair in the form of Fiat/Alfa vouchers & were superb. Fiat come in for abit of stick about their customer service but i think generally Fiat UK are pretty good in that respect if you explain things clearly & calmy & don't fly off the handle. It's just a few of the dealers that let the side down badly.
After how well Fiat UK dealt with my problem and some other members on here, i'd be suprised if they left you feeling short changed.
Liam
OP
OP
Thanks I did attempt to talk to them on Live Chat earlier, but they told me to have words with the dealership manager.. Then they can escalate it. I just want the other shock done as well tbh. I don't know, I'll see how my MOT goes tomorrow morning & will keep you all posted!
(I sort of hope they fail the other side But then I've got to pay for a re-test..)
I did attempt to talk to them on Live Chat earlier, but they told me to have words with the dealership manager.. Then they can escalate it. I just want the other shock done as well tbh. I don't know, I'll see how my MOT goes tomorrow morning & will keep you all posted!(I sort of hope they fail the other side
But then I've got to pay for a re-test..)
OP
OP
Soooo... passed it's MOT today. But I noticed one of my vents has broken It's stuck shut. The other side had broken before and that was fixed under warranty... but I don't know if I want to go back to Fiat AGAIN. Also tried the spare key in case Fiat were lying. And the spare key makes the car try to start but won't spark. And a little padlock comes up on my screen. Very odd.
Still miffed :/ Wonder what will go wrong next week.
It's stuck shut. The other side had broken before and that was fixed under warranty... but I don't know if I want to go back to Fiat AGAIN. Also tried the spare key in case Fiat were lying. And the spare key makes the car try to start but won't spark. And a little padlock comes up on my screen. Very odd.Still miffed :/ Wonder what will go wrong next week.
It all sounds like such a faff - I'd write an email to the Fiat customer services and explain all the probs you've had and how the dealer seems to be doing their utmost to worm their way out of fixing the problems. Ask them to escalate it on your behalf as you've had enough!
If it's not Fiat warranty, Fiat will not be able to do anything about it.
