How much mm can shave off stock calipers?

[ajehoti]

I was wondering how many mm you can shave of the stock caliper without having any issues?

[getslideways]

how much clearance are you looking to gain? They are pretty meaty, i took a good deal off mine. Do a forum search as i know there have been more specific numbers posted before, but 4-5mm seems to ring a bell as to how much can safely be taken off without even a worry

[ajehoti]

Well the wheels I got I thought would fit which was also said they would and I put three 5mm spacers and it cleared with slight room so 12mm seems to be a sufficient number. Cause they sit out like crazy with space really like that.

[getslideways]

wheels wont flex, so as long as the wheels clear the caliper you are fine. You wont need additional "safety space". So you could shave off 4-5mm then run a small 2mm spacer and be good to go. Keep in mind that depending on your pads current life that could change things in the future. For example if your pads are reaching the end of their life, you will need even more clearance when you put fresh thick pads on down the line.

[ajehoti]

wheels wont flex, so as long as the wheels clear the caliper you are fine. You wont need additional "safety space". So you could shave off 4-5mm then run a small 2mm spacer and be good to go. Keep in mind that depending on your pads current life that could change things in the future. For example if your pads are reaching the end of their life, you will need even more clearance when you put fresh thick pads on down the line.

well I think that I need about 12 millimeters because I put three 5 millimeter spacers together and it had a little bit more space than I expected although my pads are brand new and so are my rotors so I have the full sizing that I can reach. I'm hoping to grind down malittle more than five to six millimeters so I can have good clearance. if I could reach 7 millimeters of Shaving then I'm golden.

[getslideways]

oops, i missed the part where you said you were using (3) 5mm spacers to get the clearance. I thought you were just running a single 5mm

Just curious what wheels you are using? Do they have a lip on them?

I was re-reading up on how much can be shaved, and I am seeing some people say 6mm is easily achieved as well.

Just keep test fitting the wheel, mark where it makes contact, grind, and repeat.

What I did was:

-cut the bolt head off 2 m14 bolts and screw them into the hub to use as easy wheel hangers (this is assuming you havent done a stud conversion, which i love BTW)
-then stack washers to equal heights totaling the size spacer you wanted to run
-you can check the washer stack heights with a harborfrieght $7 digital caliper since each home depot washer isn't the same thickness (for example, two different washer stacks with 4 washers each, may have very different total heights),
-then just kept test fitting the wheel and grinding, until you get clearance when using the washers to represent the spacer you plan to run

Basically I did the same thing as here: http://ultimatecarforum.com/smf/index.php?topic=6207.0

[spd579]

On an RSX I had there was less than a business card between the caliper and drum of the wheel....and less than 2 busines cards from the face to the spokes......never had an issue

[ajehoti]

I grinded down the driver side caliper about 6 mm its almost cleared with a 5 mm spacer so I'm going to order an 8 mm spacer and see how that goes

[badbiturbo]

HP2 calipers aren't fixed like multi piston setups, they're sliding. So the clearance changes with pad life. Take that into consideration.

[ajehoti]

HP2 calipers aren't fixed like multi piston setups, they're sliding. So the clearance changes with pad life. Take that into consideration.

I did, I have brand new pads and rotors on the car :)

[bobkatkat]

The Carriers are really beefy so you could shave a lot off. I shaved enough to remove a 10mm spacer with new pads.

[ajehoti]

The Carriers are really beefy so you could shave a lot off. I shaved enough to remove a 10mm spacer with new pads.

U shaved the front of it down 10 mm??

[A4Rob]

Not a good idea...

[ajehoti]

Sounds like a lot to cut down

[bobkatkat]

U shaved the front of it down 10 mm??

no I shaved down the caliper in the appropriate spots to clear the rims in order to remove a 10mm spacer. You don't shave the face evenly you shave where you need clearance.

[ajehoti]

no I shaved down the caliper in the appropriate spots to clear the rims in order to remove a 10mm spacer. You don't shave the face evenly you shave where you need clearance.

I kept shaving and the lip seems to be getting thin. I'll do some more measures and see if it's safe.