Alfa Romeo Forums banner
Cancel

Front brake calipers for an Alfetta GT

18405 Views 69 Replies 15 Participants Last post by  Biba69, 
Biba69
I'm being somewhat research lazy here, but would like to know if anyone has installed 'aftermarket' front calipers on their Alfetta GT - and it was not only plug and play, but had considerably better clamping power?

For those not in the US, to us, all Alfetta GT's have 2000 four cylinders. This means that it does not have a ventilated rotor, so the caliper needs to have an appropriate sized opening for the disc.

I don't want to make brackets nor have custom made spacers for the caliper. I'm not saying cost is no object, but if there is enough of an improvement in stopping power so that the caliper is well worth the cost, I'm fine with that.

I'll add that they have to fit inside 14" 5-star wheels.
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 6 of 70 Posts
iachella
Biba:

You can have a stainless sleeve installed in your favorite MC. Then rebuilds will work without honing and worrying about how well you did the honing. There is also brass sleeves, but I think stainless lasts longer.

And for wheels, I too was(am) stuck on 5-stars. So I found these. 15x7. I have a few better pictures around, but can't seem to locate them right now.

Attachments

See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
iachella
These wheels are made by ATS and the model is called Classic. The company is German and they are used a lot in the VW and older Porsche cars. It took me a long time to find them in a configuration I could use. I finally found the from a VW specialist in England and the configuration is 15x7, 4x100, ET13, Hub bore diameter 57.1. Interestingly, the hub bore is tapered to 57.1 but at the base it fits over the 58.8 hub of the Alfetta without interference. I had them redrilled to 4x98 and was prepared to mill the center, but I didn't need to. The ET13 is hard for some to live with, but nothing rubs and the cars still handles great. And they only cost about $125 each.

Alas, the company that supplied them to me doesn't exist on the Web anymore. They were called Advanced Auto Sport. Another company that has them in the old Porsche pattern of 4x130 and 5x130 is called Hoffmann Speedster. I have not contacted them about a special order from ATS (the kind folks at AAS made a custom order from ATS for me). Maybe they could contact ATS and get all the available sizes. There also is a supplier on the German Ebay that lists them and seems to be in contact with ATS or WolfRace which may be the current manufacturer, or something like that.

Interestingly, I have a set of the GTV6 Brembo calipers and rotors that I was planning to put on someday. I just pulled them out this morning and I can see the spacer in between. The two halves without the spacer seem to be very similar to the Alfetta calipers. The pads on the Brembos are bigger though and of course the calipers are lighter. I should take them apart and remove the spacer to see how they will fit. I have been delaying having the vented rotors re-drilled for 98mm as I don't race the car either. The lighter calipers and more pad area could be an improvement at any rate.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
iachella
Wobbly nuts in our case. I had heard about them at the time, but could not located them. This was about 8 years ago. I just brought them to a wheel machinist nearby and he did them all for less than $150. As long as there is a machinist nearby, I will always chose to drill them to 98mm. If I remember a discussion few months ago, 16 wobbly nuts run close to $100 anyway.

They actually don't extend beyond the body of the car amazingly. They look quite right, in fact. My car is even lowered and all is well.

I am still looking into finding a wheel casting place to copy these and make them into 4x98 and 5x98 (or blanks) in a 15x6.5 (or 16) with the proper hub bore and an offset of say, 20-25mm. Just a dream but could come true one day.
Reply
Save
Like
iachella
From what I've heard from racers is that Alfa doesn't hub center their wheels. Studs with cone shaped wheel holes are sufficient to locate the wheel. For the later FWD models we did not get in the US, the story could be different.
Reply
Save
Like
iachella
The spigot on the hub does NOT take load. Of course the hub does take load but it's through the face when clamped to the wheel by the nuts/bolts
Click to expand...
That is how I have always understood it.
Reply
Save
Like
iachella
Are you saying that when you put your wheels on your hub, they do not center correctly, or do you mean that they move off center after you have been driving or hit a bump?
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 6 of 70 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Alfa Romeo Forums
A forum community dedicated to Alfa Romeo owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, parts, modifications, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Spider - 105 & 115 Series (1966-1994) Alfa Romeo Parts For Sale & Wanted GT (1963-1977) 164 & 168 (1991-1995) Alfa Romeo Cars For Sale & Wanted
Top