Got an aftermarket Big brake kit and your wheels won’t fit. DYI

[scotturnot]

OK, so here is the dilemma. I have the awesome 14” Stoptech Brake set up and it won’t clear my rear wheels. I am really not at all interested in buying a new set of wheels with smaller lips and I can’t stand stretched tires with spacers. Pulling the fenders really is not for me either so what to do. Well I decided if I cant bring the wheels out I really have no choice but to push the brakes back in.
The following is a DIY to move the rear brakes inboard a half inch to allow low disc wheels to fit and retain that big fat lip. This is not a simple deal by any means but I never seem to follow the easy path.
First we have to move the calipers, the only way I see to do this is to physically cut off the caliper mounting ears and weld new ones on further back. The ears are .480” thick so they can be used to fixture the new ears to make sure they get in the exact location needed.

I started by making a set of new ears to replace the ones I will cut off.

Next I bolted them to the backside of the stock ears to hold them in perfect location, this will set them back .480” from the original position, .020” shy of ½” close enough.


Next they get welded in place, I vee’ed out areas to be welded to allow for better penetration. Carful, don’t weld it to the front ear.

 

[scotturnot]

Once they are welded you can cut away the front ear and finish welding them solid, Add paint and wala! New ears to recess the caliper.

 

[scotturnot]

Next up is the rotors, you have to move the braking surface back the same amount the ears moved. Since most aftermarket brakes are two piece floating rotors this can be done.
First take the rotor apart by removing all the allen bolts on the back side. Here is what the parts look like as well as the floating pins.

 

[scotturnot]

Next you have to machine a precision spacer, Exact thickness we moved the ears and precision drill it to match the rotor. This piece is a PITA! It must be precision. Took me several hours to whittle 2 of these out of a huge round of aluminum I bought of eBay.



Now, remember the drive pins? Yep, you need 20 custom drive pins, they must be exact length related to stock drive pin plus spacer thickness. If they are too long the rotor will rattle, if they are to short the rotor wont float. The design of these is made as such to just barley extent thru everything stacked up and then a conical spring washer loads it in tension. OH JOY! these are fun to make! NOT! Probably the worst part of it all, after tons of hours, several broken M5 x 80 taps (I don’t think there is another one in town LOL) I have 20 new stainless pins to assemble my rotors.

 

[scotturnot]

Assembly time!

 

[scotturnot]

Last is wheel test fit, Yippee! They fit and have almost .050” clearance, I know, wheels are dirty.



Last how about my 17” Bogart drag wheels, yes I said 17” wheels on 14” brakes. Tons of room!


I must admit this was a ton of work but I have achieved what I set out to do. I now have 14” brakes on all four corners (Overkill I know), No spacers, nice fat lips with a flat center (I don’t like convex wheels) and I can keep my meaty tires in the rear.

 

[Lextreme II]

Damn Scott,

You are hardcore...... Great conversion from Drum to Disc.

 

[cribbj]

Another guy who seems to relish the weird stuff

This brake mod is in a league of its own, however. Kudos to you Scott!

 

[scotturnot]

Damn Scott,

You are hardcore...... Great conversion from Drum to Disc.

Thanks david!

Another guy who seems to relish the weird stuff

This brake mod is in a league of its own, however. Kudos to you Scott!

Thanks John, you are right, it seems you and I dont typically take the easy road on our cars, end results seem a lot more fun!

 

[JamesN]

Wow... Awesome work Scott. Those stoptech look pretty nice in the rear.

 

[Tonyd]

I'd prefer to see the spacer machined out of steel rather than aluminium as the rotors/ discs can get extremely hot, well beyond aluminium melting point, and the aluminium doesnt even have to be melting to lose shape, strength and rigidity.

Or perhaps I'm just a being a bit of a wet blanket.

Cheers,

Tony

 

[scotturnot]

I'd prefer to see the spacer machined out of steel rather than aluminium as the rotors/ discs can get extremely hot, well beyond aluminium melting point, and the aluminium doesnt even have to be melting to lose shape, strength and rigidity.

Or perhaps I'm just a being a bit of a wet blanket.

Cheers,

Tony

The hat for the rotor is aluminum. Since the hat and spacer are tight tolerance holes and the steel rotor is slotted for expansion, I figure it was better to keep the spacer aluminum so it would in theory expand with the hat. Steel would have been easier, I would have had it cut at work on our flat laser, we dont cut aluminum on our laser so I had to machine these at home. I did consider both materials.

 

[stevechumo]

You're a hardcore, Scott. A very interesting re-engineering on the rear brakes! Very exotic brake you got there.