Grinding Down A Caliper To Fit A Wheel On

[KE ping it real]

:dance: Hey Guys

 

Has anyone ever had to grind down a brake caliper to fit a wheel on before?

 

I just got some new wheels and i put them on but when the front ones went on they wouldn't spin

I then realised that the caliper was protruding too far out and the wheel wasn't quite sitting properly :lolcry:

 

I took to the caliper with a grinder and took off perhaps 4-5mm of what looked like unneeded steel

 

Is this safe? i haven't really got to the meat of the calliper or anything but i didn't knw if this was a common issue

 

And also, how much clearance should be between the wheel and calliper? At the moment there is maybe 2mm

 

Should i grind more off?

 

All comments are appreciated :y:

 

Cheers - Andrew

[Falken_KE30]

I got RA40 celica brakes on front, standard ke30 rims don't fit, i got some 13x6 jellybean mags on, and the caliper just fits. guessing cause the inside of the rim is more square compared to a stock rim if that makes sense.

[bLinded_]

Hey mate,

 

When I did my brake upgrade on my KE70 I had to grind a couple of mm of the side of the caliper as to clear the rim. I didn't take of much so in all I think there is about 1-2 mm clearance between the caliper and the rim. I have had them on there for about 6 months or more now, and still haven't had any issues. I'd say problems may occur depending on calipers used, but I know with mine they are ok. If you have clearance with the rim and caliper as it is, I'd say leave it.

 

-Alex

[philbey]

Got any pics of what and where you ground it?

[KE ping it real]

Got any pics of what and where you ground it?

 

I'll take some pics tomorrow but on second inspection i think i will be ok. The steel i ground off couldn't have been structural and i didn't weaken or thin out any parts where the steel changes direction

 

i've driven it now without any weird noises or noticable brake fade so i don't know

[SeptemberSquall]

I'll take some pics tomorrow but on second inspection i think i will be ok. The steel i ground off couldn't have been structural and i didn't weaken or thin out any parts where the steel changes direction

 

i've driven it now without any weird noises or noticable brake fade so i don't know

 

ffs buy wheels that fit

[WinKE55]

Probably the best advice.

 

 

Transport Department see that you have been chewing into your brake calipers, they will probably tell you to get new ones.

 

 

In the end it is your decision, if you want to run the risk then be my guest. Though if it were me, I would get wheels that fit.

[Redwarf]

The fact is that you do not know where the internal fluid galleries are, unless you have a spare set of calipers that you can sacrificially put across a band saw to see the cross section.

 

These are your brakes. They stop the car.

 

If in doubt, don't.

[KE ping it real]

ffs buy wheels that fit

 

Thats all well and good cheif but i just spent $250 on these wheels that should fit and a further $270 on 2 new tyres for them so if i seem persistant about getting them on it's cause i'm in on them for $520

And they are also the exact wheels i wanted for the theme of my car

So i'm pretty keen to get them working

 

To everyone else thanks for your help. I've got them on now after minimal grinding but in the near future i think i will upgrade the callipers to something that will fit better

 

Cheers - Andrew

[Falken_KE30]

RA40 struts FTW, i got same rims, and they fit perfect!!!

[Ke20nut]

so ur life is only worth $520 . good to hear even better if u take someone elses life with the $520.

 

Never grind calipers. the manufacturer wouldnt put all the metal into it if it weren't needed. they would have saved thousands of dollars building cars if they took 10grams of metal off each caliper they added to a model. the metal is there cos it is helps with the structural integrity of the caliper.

 

 

so don't grind em ;) :(

[Corolla1]

Na, I wouldn't grind em,

 

Ive seen this done, as others have said, its not worth it.

 

Change rims, calipers or possibly washer out your rims.

[love ke70]

this is shocking.

 

consider how much fluid pressure there is in a caliper. add heat when you do a downhill mountain run.

do not take any meat out of a caliper, let alone that much.

 

as corolla1 said, change rims or calipers.

 

but don't WASHER OUT YOUR RIMS.

 

thats even dodgier than spacers, and they don't ahve much going for them. consider how the wheel seats and consider what your doing when you add washers.

 

wheels and brakes are a very important peice of kit on your car, before you do anything, stop, and think very seriously about the implications and how you are changing what happens in a standard setup.

[KE ping it real]

An update just so everyone knows

 

A week after i ground the calipers, I changed them to ke55 calipers and everything fits and works now without grinding

 

So thanks for all the posts but the problem has now been fixed properly

 

Cheers - Andrew

[irokin]

Nice work :P