I'm reading that the 2012 model year V8 Vantage had a switch over in the the of pistons per brake caliper and I'm trying to order some new pads. Is there a way to determine this physical inspection? I'm not home with the car, but I can wait if I have to

 

it's mysterious that scuderiacarparts dot com has used a black magic marker to black out the interior of the front and rear brake calipers on their exploded view diagram on their braking sub system page, such that it is NOT now visible. i suspect it WAS visible, but have for some reason (i can guess why) decided to make it impossible to see the piston count on the inside of the caliper. interesting.... you might have to look up the pads using your vin number. IDK.

of course, you can always jack up a front wheel, remove it, and pop out the pads and count the pistons (both sides) directly. as far as i know all vantages have four piston calipers on the back (but i'm wrong quite often...).

 

Thanks 61mga! Looks like I'll be jacking it up this evening. Was hoping to get the parts ordered from Redpants.lol before leaving work. Been meaning to do it for like three weeks, but it randomly popped in my head this morning while sitting at my desk.

 

The 4 pots had 355mm discs that are 1 piece. Solid metal all the way out from the centre to the rotor face. (sorry these are pics of rear but look very similar.)




The 6 pots are 380mm discs that are 2 piece or Bimetal (1.5 piece.) Both of these have either fasteners or holes on the surface between the centres and rotor face.

 

if you do that, remember to take a couple pictures of the front and/or rear pads while they are out. they might come in useful when scouring the internet for pads, if that is your intention. i ended up buying some pads that i am very satisfied with, NO dust to speak of, and they DO NOT squeal after applying some copper grease to the backings, which i should have done the FIRST time i installed them (*head slap). be aware that most, if not all non OEM pads will sacrifice the use on one side of the car or the other the wear indicator wire support cast into the caliper body. on one side or the other the wire will have to go 'commando' so to speak. i have no doubt that that would keep some people awake at night. good luck.

 

Buy both sets and return the one that is not applicable.

 

Upgrade to the 6-pot....

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...9-vantage.html

 

2012 V8V has six pistons on the front... you see 3 round grooves on the calipers. 3x3...You gotta make sure you get the RIGHT pad.. Rapide’s has the same front calipers as a V8V.

This is what a six piston pad looks like for the vantage: NOTICE THE “HOOKS” ... match this pic to your caliper.

 

The dealer told me brakes are different and feel much different on the Rapide than the V8V. I thought there was an issue when I first bought the Rapide until the dealer pointed out it's a different system. Rotors look different too.

 

Dealers..... He/she is describing 4 vs. 6 piston caliper/rotor size “feel”.... they all are Brembo brake calipers. 4 or 6 pistons depending on model of AM. Its the same six piston on Maserati’s. EBC makes the most pads... couldn’t find the right EBC yellow pad for the six piston.

The problem when searching for six piston pads is most sites really dont show the actual pad so most will get confused and trust the site but get delivered 4 piston pads because the website “assumed” you had 4 pistons on the front... if you look on ebay, you can see folks selling calipers and pads and you will be able to see “real” pics of the items to compare to your car.

I bought those Rapide pads and they are a direct fit on AM V8V six piston calipers...

 

Oh yea, if you’re doing brake work... make sure to bleed your clutch line after all new brakes are on.... then refill brake reservoir... brakes/clutch = use the same brake fluid

 

For the manual transmission only. Sportshift uses Pentosin CHF 11S and apparently requires AMDS to perform the bleed procedure.

 

that's been my experience too. pics are often generic pics of brake pads that may or may not be the pads delivered. that's why when shopping for pads, i finally decided to remove and take a pic of the front and rear pads and use them to indirectly find pads that i eventually purchased. i worked from the pics to part numbers to pads that were advertised using generic pics and then to pads that satisfied my additional requirements. they are out there.... you know, regular brake pads, like the kind that successfully stop millions and millions of cars every day, without squealing and creating excessive brake dust such that you have to clean your wheels everytime you drive the car to maintain appearances.

 

Completely different sized calipers. You either have these (4 pots)


or the ones above are the 6 pots.

 

you need new knuckles, calipers, caliper bolts and discs. I am in the process of doing mine but its around £4k in parts. Quite extreme for most