spacers, grinding a caliper

[Starfire]

Grinding calipers is a bad idea.
Spacers are a bad idea.

I would really suggest that you invest in some wheels that fit properly and sell the volks to someone with a corolla. Sorry.

If you really want to keep them then the spacer is the lesser of the two evils, but not by much.

[c2888]

How much is your life worth? Would you trade it for a set of wheels?
4 x 100 mm wheels are easy to find too.

Dan

[sam-131]

Bolt on's are frowned apon, but not defectable.

ah bolt on's are illegal here in vic but isnt everything?

[Norminator]

I'm not so sure on the spigot loading thing, I've seen cars without any central spigot (particularly on the back) and I've run wheels which don't come anywhere near it and never had a problem.

spot-on, Dr. Wilson. it's the difference between "lug-centric" and "hub-centric" wheels...

google it, bitchez.

[TooF]

ah bolt on's are illegal here in vic but isnt everything?

also illegal in NSW.

[Norminator]

also for such a thin spacer, there is a possible option of physically attaching it to the rim itself....

tsk tsk, Stu. you ought to be neg-repped for that!

possibly the dodgiest suggestion in this thread, and completely at odds with your usual impeccably high standards regarding safety. modding wheels is uber-illegal.

[oldcorollas]

really?

i had thought that if you have aftermarket wheels with a large hub bore, and you get a spacer machined up that sits in the large rim bore, and is hubcentric on the hub itself, AND is physically attached to the rim, then it is also engineerable.. for such a thin spacer.
perhaps i am remembering incorrectly. but if one is determined to run a thin spacer of any kind, then this is the way to do it relatively safely. rimcentric AND hubcentric (assuming studs are still ok.

5mm i would not suggest it.

or i could be completely and utterly wrong

[Norminator]

rly.

maintaining centricity is a seperate issue... you suggested attaching something to the inside of the rim, which is farking dangerous. modding wheels is illegal. nothing should be "attached" to the rim.

re: centricity; revisit my post regarding hub-centric vs. lug-centric wheels. we don't even know if his application is for one or the other.

ps - if you still wanna like, make out and stuff, you know where i live.

[bnicho]

I was told years ago by a Vic engineer that if a spacer was bolted to the hub or drum solidly, not just held in place by the wheel, the spacer itself was solid and it it was drilled to the exact PCD pattern (no slotted stud holes) it was okay by him to be engineered. But the rules may have changed in the intervening years?

I know of one car here in Vic that has 25mm bolt on spacers/adaptors to convert the Mini 4 x 4" PCD to the more common 4 x 100mm PCD. They are engineered and now legal.

But like most things in Vic, both these options would be illegal without an engineers certificate.

[30psi 4agte]

oh.. your in adelaide... thats ok then


seriously, grinding 3mm off a caliper is not a good idea.
a 3mm spacer, whilst not ideal, should be ok if the rims and still kept concentric to the hub BY the spacer.

or you could get the correct whels to start with? it really is the better option if it is at all physically possible to do it....

also for such a thin spacer, there is a possible option of physically attaching it to the rim itself....
but afaik, spacers are still defectable

This is just an example. I was reffering to GTR style calipers where the "NISSAN" is written on the caliper and you can grind it off with no effecr at all.


P.S I dunno about the " oh your in adelaide" comment !

[limbo]

i ground my capliers from my 20v twin pistons by about 3mm. Its not that bad. Just spray them black again and it won't even be noticed.
I had the same problem, my wheels were not able to move because of the calipers.
I drove the car with the calipers for more than 3yrs without any issues and then i sold it later on.

[oldcorollas]

This is just an example. I was reffering to GTR style calipers where the "NISSAN" is written on the caliper and you can grind it off with no effecr at all.

P.S I dunno about the " oh your in adelaide" comment !

yup, fairy nuff, some calipers you can and some you can't. the big alloy nisan 4 spaots have extra meat but?? rx7?? don't have that leeway.

in this case w are talking about a sliding caliper, and grinding the (can't remember technical name...) thingy that holds the sliper in place and rigid....
given the thickness of these to start with... and knwoing what material/process they use to make them (ie fairly quickly chilled cast iron).. i would not remove anything but dags from it... you could quite easily make it very unsafe due to the relatively brittle nature of the part.

sheesh... everyone knows that anything goes in adelaide

[30psi 4agte]

Yeah i do agree . Its one of them calls where people in the know can make judgement and say that will be fine / make no diff or that that will be unsafe !



Lol ....... Yeah anything does go over here

[oldcorollas]

well.... after seeing the frame bits (same bit that hits the caliper) that were made at a foundry i worked at.... for commondores and falcon and (i thnk?) Camaros in US.... i would not touch them with a grinder at all.... maybe remove casting flash if there, but i would not remove any meat.... heck, some parts that went thru mght be lucky to hold together anyway
the main caliper body is a different story... usually just limited by proximity to fluid lines...

[Trent-KE30]

I ground about 1mm off my KE30 calipers to clear my hotwires, sprayed them back and there fine..., It you grind too much off it can warp them. and potentially weaken them..

-Trent