Stainless steel pistons for MC Stradale from Hill Engineering

slay

Member
Messages
409
I know that the stainless steel pistons manufactured by Hill Engineering works on the MC Stradale.

I was going to buy the whole set to sort out the potential issue of piston seizure due to corrosion (was told the lack of dust seal means the pistons are easily corroded if driven in winter because of the salt). Anyway Hill Engineering told me that the rear pistons manufactured for Ferrari 360 and 599 may not fit MC Stradale, has anyone actually tried them?

Thanks
 

dunnah01

Member
Messages
648
I hope you're talking about brakes and not engine! I thought all 6 & 4 pot Brembos had the seals but not sure what brakes the MC Stradale has
 

Ewan

Member
Messages
6,757
I’ve not heard of this problem. But let’s face it, the brakes are not the only part that will corrode if you drive your Maser in the winter. There’s the sub frame, the...

My advice is to put your Strad away and hunker down in your Rangie for the next 4 months. That’s what I’m doing.
 

TimR

Member
Messages
2,656
Of course there is a seal- the pistons wouldnt work otherwise...!
Whats missing I gather, is a dust boot/ environment seal that fits the outermost, crown of the piston and locates to the caliper body....
If you can retrofit a boot, Id do that. Hard anodised aluminium pistons are widely used. And IMO, rightly so as they offer a number of advantages over S/S
 

StuartW

Member
Messages
9,306
I have not tried the rears, no. I believe that the fronts are much more prone to the issue so I have not focused on the rears as yet. The fronts as I have mentioned before, have been changed on mine to this upgrade and I would recommend anyone with a Stradale to do this, even if only to preserve your discs in case you get a piston seizure
 

slay

Member
Messages
409
Yeah definitely brake pistons, I would hate to think how much engine pistons would cost.

So maybe I would just replace the front ones then. I do not use the car when wet (if I can help it), so doing this to fix issue on the offside caliper pistons and the nearside (same issue but replaced under warranty) one for piece of mind
 

Ewan

Member
Messages
6,757
I have not tried the rears, no. I believe that the fronts are much more prone to the issue so I have not focused on the rears as yet. The fronts as I have mentioned before, have been changed on mine to this upgrade and I would recommend anyone with a Stradale to do this, even if only to preserve your discs in case you get a piston seizure

Can you recall how much it cost approximately, to supply and fit new pistons to the front brakes, inc Vat? Mine is in for a service currently, so maybe I should have them do this?
 

StuartW

Member
Messages
9,306
Can you recall how much it cost approximately, to supply and fit new pistons to the front brakes, inc Vat? Mine is in for a service currently, so maybe I should have them do this?

Mine was a bigger job than yours will hopefully be as it involved a full caliper removal, strip & rebuild and the labour included replacing the pads and making some new brake line. Excluding the cost of the pads, for just the front it was around £1k
 

Ewan

Member
Messages
6,757
Emblem have confirmed that the pistons on my car were upgraded to the stainless steel Hill Engineering ones a couple of years ago, for the previous owner. So that's a result!