Fiat 500 Abarth Brakes installed on X1/9

I haven't delved into that - I know there are some subtle variances to the car in the control arm, rear spindle arm area but not sure about caliper mounting. I was kinda geeked when I read that he was able to mount up the caliper via stock Abarth bracketry with an enlarged mounting hole. That is useful news!
 
TonyK said:
No, Fiat 500 Pop 2012 Front Rotors (257MM) purchased at Car Quest. Using Abarth Calipers and Brake pad carriers.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
Click to expand...

So, to be clear - using the X1/9 stock front spindle caliper mounting's threaded holes, one can take a NA spec 2012 on 500 Abarth Caliper, pad carrier, and brake hoses, enlarge the pad bracket mounting holes to fit the X1/9's bolt diameter, and use NA spec 257mm 2012-17 500 Pop (non turbo) brake rotors and all lines up and fits?
 
Assuming the components that Tony used in Canada are the exact same spec as those in the US. The rotors should be, but the Abarth calipers may not? Are Canada 500's the US spec or world spec?
 
US spec for Canada, the Mexico factory fulfills all North American requirements. Engines are made in Michigan.
 
kmead said:
US spec for Canada
Click to expand...
Thanks Karl, that was bugging me. I recalled something about Mexico production for the US models, but you know how funny those Canadians are. :D

That should mean the same parts purchased in the US will work the same as they did for Tony.
 
I can attest that the front spindle brake caliper mounting points for ALL 12-19 North American 500 models are the same (I mounted a Pop spindle on a wrecked 500e, and it shares the same rotor size with the Abarth). So it stands to reason that the additional distance the bracket bolt holes are from the caliper piston centerline is what makes the Abarth caliper bracket necessary instead of the Pop version.
 
zonker said:
So it stands to reason that the additional distance the bracket bolt holes are from the caliper piston centerline is what makes the Abarth caliper bracket necessary instead of the Pop version.
Click to expand...
One thought I've had is if it is just the Abarth's mounting bracket (pad hanger) that is different or also the caliper itself?
 
I sort of recall discovering the actual caliper was different on the Abarth (not just the bracket). But that was too long ago for my failing mind to remember the details. The reason I was asking is Abarth calipers are a bit pricey to buy compared to standard ones. But the bracket (carrier, mount) is available separately.
 
Bringing this thread back from the dead, since it seems to be by far the easiest/cheapest brake upgrade.

Got rotors and calipers from the pick n pull today, from a regular 500, not an abarth. I'm confused about how you guys made this work. It *almost* fits, but I think in order for it to actually fit, I would have had to drill out the mounting holes slightly off center, like 2mm farther to the left in the following picture. I drilled them out centered, and the rotor contacts the carrier. This picture is showing it bolted up on the bottom mount, and swinging it up and into position for the top mount, it contacts the edge of the rotor about ~2mm or so before the top mount would be aligned. So I'm thinking I have two options:
* I could either turn the rotors down on the lathe and make them 255mm or thereabouts, or
* grind out the caliper a small amount so the 257mm rotor clears it

I'm going to try the first option, since it's less sketchy. I'm taking delivery of a new lathe in the next couple weeks, hopefully it's big enough to turn the rotors in that dimension.
caliper.jpg
 
rozap said:
from a regular 500, not an abarth
Click to expand...
I believe that is why they aren't working for you.

I haven't reviewed this entire thread for a long time so I might be remembering things wrong. But I think the Abarth edition caliper carriers (the mounting brackets that attach the calipers to the front suspension uprights) are different from the regular (non-Abarth) ones. And it is the combination of Abarth carriers and non-Abarth rotors that fit the X. If I'm not mistaken either calipers (Abarth or non-Abarth) will fit. So the caliper carriers is the key. And the Abarth ones are a bit difficult to find, and tend to be more costly. But go back through the entire thread and confirm if I'm remembering things right.
 
Alright, that makes sense, and I think that was the key piece that I was missing. Interesting that the carriers are different. I think it will be easy to make this work, and easier/cheaper than going the route of having an adapter to VW calipers or something else. My plan for now is to either source smaller rotors or turn the rotor down to the correct size. It's a few MM as it is, so very nearly there.
 
rozap said:
Alright, that makes sense, and I think that was the key piece that I was missing. Interesting that the carriers are different. I think it will be easy to make this work, and easier/cheaper than going the route of having an adapter to VW calipers or something else. My plan for now is to either source smaller rotors or turn the rotor down to the correct size. It's a few MM as it is, so very nearly there.
Click to expand...
If I recall the Abarth rotors are larger diameter, making it necessary for the caliper carriers to be different from the non-Abarth ones. That's why the combination of Abarth and non-Abarth parts was needed.

Do the rotors and calipers you have align axially? By that I mean will the calipers be centered over those rotors when everything is mounted? That might have been another difference between Abarth and non-Abarth carriers, but honestly I don't recall (I should reread the whole thread, and the other ones discussing this).

I happen to have a set of VW calipers (front and rear) so I might make the adaptor brackets to use them, but I agree it would be easier to fit 500 brakes than adapting any others. However there are a couple of considerations. When I looked into getting the 500 parts needed to do this (the right combination of rotors, calipers, and caliper brackets) it was rather costly...close to some of the existing big brake kits offered by some specialty vendors. And the 500 calipers have very large pistons (remember it is a FWD car). So you will definitely need to replace the master cylinder with a larger one (also very difficult to find). While the smaller pistons with some of the other options will work with the standard master cylinder. And the rear 500 calipers are not a good choice as they are much smaller than the stock X ones (again, FWD).
 
Do the rotors and calipers you have align axially? By that I mean will the calipers be centered over those rotors when everything is mounted?
Click to expand...
Yep, the caliper sits on the correct Y and Z plane. It's only on the X axis that it's off, so either having the mounting holes move the whole caliper about 2mm to the left on the X axis would work, or having a very slightly smaller rotor.

While I hate the idea of replacing the master cylinder because it's so unpleasant, I was expecting it to be inevitable. I'm guessing a proportioning valve will be required too.
xyz.png
 
Last edited:
The rear calipers are the same diameter pistons as the X1/9 (34mm) the 500 uses what is now more or less standard on FWD cars at 54mm vs the 48mm of the X1/9.

The negative of going down this path with a car without ABS is it moves the brake bias further to the front which the X really does not need.

The ideal is to get a set of 48mm EU front calipers from the early version of the 500 made in Poland and a set of 38mm Girling rear calipers which are prevalent on VWs and a number of Alfas (the 45 as I recall) some of which may fit the 500 carriers. This actually moves the brake bias to the rear as the X could take advantage of the rear weight, particularly in dry conditions.

There is another how to for this in the Scorpecarlo section of the forum done in video form by Mototrooper, not exactly the same as he uses very different disks and has 15” wheels with lots of clearance.
 
Last edited:
The Prima front brake kit that Vic sells are supposedly from a 500 but I don't know what model. I have them on my X.
 
carl said:
The Prima front brake kit that Vic sells are supposedly from a 500 but I don't know what model. I have them on my X.
Click to expand...
I believe those are from a Lada not the 500. Mark Allison used to sell a kit for 124 Spiders which used 500 calipers, I am not sure if AutoRicambi offers this. I don’t think Mark ever offered an X kit using 500 parts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top