Shaving down caliper to clear wheel, good idea?

[WhiteWhiteS7]

Long story short, my ADV1 wheels barely don't fit over my S7 brakes, mainly because the calipers taper front to back (see below). Since nobody wants to buy them for some reason, I have thought about shaving the backside of them so I have 1-2mm clearance. Anybody done this before, and if so, how much shaving is too much?

[brad281]

If rather add a 3mm spacer.

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[CanuckRS]

Massive S7 brakes? lol. IF those wheels don't clear the S7 brake calipers, you can be sure as shit they won't fit an RS7 fyi. I would recommend not claiming they might fit an RS7 unless you can prove otherwise.

Yeah, just add a spacer dude, easy solution.

[Rez90]

would never do that. spacer or change your wheels.

[WhiteWhiteS7]

1. S7 has 400mm brakes, RS7 have 380mm brakes. The only ones that are bigger are the carbon ceramic brakes at 420mm. So I would be willing to bet that they fit the RS7.

2. Spacer would probably do nothing, as the caliper is not hitting the spoke, it rubs on the inner barrel of the wheel. I could check and see if the wheel barrel is tapered, but I am already on a bit of a poke as-is with the lower offset, so I-d like to avoid the spacer (if that would solve the issue in the first place).

[RAF_S7]

You have the wrong wheels... Cut your losses, sell the wheels, and buy the right set to fit your car. Simple really.

No one with an RS7 will want to downgrade to S7 brakes, so Im not sure why thats even entered the discussion thread.

The S6 brakes (or S7 since they have in fact an identical brake set -up) would be considered an upgrade to an A6 or A7, and may be of interest to those who are tuning the 3.0T engine.

The question you should be asking is what can you replace the existing S6 brakes with, that are equal or greater in performance than the OEM ones.

Standard RS7 brakes may work, but its going to cost you $$$ unless you can find a set from a breakers yard, or from someone who is upgrading to ceramic. You need callipers, discs and pads from the RS7 set up. Suggest you find someone with an RS7 and see if your wheel will actually fit before you buy!

You may find a specialist motorsport supplier who can supply something like AP racing brakes as a complete set, which may be smaller and lighter than the OEM set.

So Im going to ask.... How did you end up with wheels that don't fit your car?.....

[ericw.]

So Im going to ask.... How did you end up with wheels that don't fit your car?.....

^That's the golden question.
If the manufacturer or dealer said they'd fit but they don't, I'd raise hell.

[CanuckRS]

^That's the golden question.
If the manufacturer or dealer said they'd fit but they don't, I'd raise hell.

I'll make a guess and say he bought them used assuming they would fit given that he had to bore them out to begin with before finding out they wouldn't clear the brake system.

[ericw.]

I'll make a guess and say he bought them used assuming they would fit given that he had to bore them out to begin with before finding out they wouldn't clear the brake system.

What did he bore out? The wheel hub ring?

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[CanuckRS]

What did he bore out? The wheel hub ring?

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http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...75-35-19-tires

[ericw.]

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...75-35-19-tires

Thanks! What a mess. 🙄

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[RAF_S7]

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...75-35-19-tires

Ah, that explains a lot then.

Dam shame, good looking set of wheels there....

I still think selling the wheels on (maybe without the tires - easier to ship) would be the best thing do do here. - or - Buy two front wheels that actually fit, and match the rears since they are already custom....

[WhiteWhiteS7]

1. I bought these used under the impression that any 19" rim would work on an S7, as that is what my car came with. Lesson learned that is not the case.

2. I bored them out so that they would fit on a 66.6mm hub, as they were made with a 57.1mm diameter.

3. Yes, it would be nice to sell them and get a decent 20" setup, but I have listed them here, CL, and now eBay with no takers. So now I am getting desperate to either sell them for a four figure loss, or make them work on my car.

4. I wasn't suggesting an RS7 "downgrade" to S7 brakes (even though it would be an upgrade), I was suggesting that since the RS7 has a smaller diameter brake setup, these might work for an RS7 as a track or strip wheel/tire setup. Very likely would be reducing a lot of unsprung and rotating mass using a 19" setup versus a 20" or 21" setup.

[lx4life]

What part of the caliper is actually hitting? and what part of the wheel is hitting?

[brad281]

Cut your losses and move on before you cost yourself more money.

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[Horti Kris]

can you highlight the area on the caliper you need to shave and how much needs to be shaved off? In my 26 years of modding cars most of my friends and myself have shaved down calipers dozens of times with no issues. As long as its a small area and only a few MMs on a "meaty" part of the caliper that won't compromise the strength or function of the caliper, it should be fine. Better pictures would help.

[WhiteWhiteS7]

See red area:

[lx4life]

just run a 3mm spacer

[S2k_john]

I would try half and half shave the caliper 1-1.5 mm and run a 1-1.5 mm spacer it will be fine. Believe it or not the front fenders have more room then the rears to fit wider wheels

[Horti Kris]

LOL at all of the people suggesting spacers. If they actually read the whole thread they would know that the caliper is rubbing on the barrel, not the face so spacers won't do shit for you. Thanks for the pic with the circled area on it. How much needs to come off of that hump to clear the barrel? Looked at my stock S6 calipers today (have the RS6 carbon ceramics now) and the area you circled can be ground down a few MM no problem IMO. How much is it "off" by? if its only 2-3 mm, I say grind it down. You are only grinding a narrow strip (to remove the peak) and 1 mm of clearance is all you probably need. Grind it while its on the car, only do a little at a time and keep testing the fit until it clears.

[WhiteWhiteS7]

LOL at all of the people suggesting spacers. If they actually read the whole thread they would know that the caliper is rubbing on the barrel, not the face so spacers won't do shit for you. Thanks for the pic with the circled area on it. How much needs to come off of that hump to clear the barrel? Looked at my stock S6 calipers today (have the RS6 carbon ceramics now) and the area you circled can be ground down a few MM no problem IMO. How much is it "off" by? if its only 2-3 mm, I say grind it down. You are only grinding a narrow strip (to remove the peak) and 1 mm of clearance is all you probably need. Grind it while its on the car, only do a little at a time and keep testing the fit until it clears.

Exactly. I'm going to give it another shot this weekend. I just moved and now have all my tools at my new house, so I can get calipers, feeler gauges, etc to get a more precise story.

[madyspop]

Exactly. I'm going to give it another shot this weekend. I just moved and now have all my tools at my new house, so I can get calipers, feeler gauges, etc to get a more precise story.

You can totally shave the caliper down a bit and it can be done quite simply. Theres nothing on the outer perimeter of the caliper other then the casting material itself. It will not compromise the integrity of the caliper in any way shape or form.

Still would never run a 19" wheel on or cars as they look way too small but shaving the caliper down is a non issue.

[Horti Kris]

You can totally shave the caliper down a bit and it can be done quite simply. Theres nothing on the outer perimeter of the caliper other then the casting material itself. It will not compromise the integrity of the caliper in any way shape or form.

Still would never run a 19" wheel on or cars as they look way too small but shaving the caliper down is a non issue.

21's and done.

[WhiteWhiteS7]

I would never run a 21" rim, looks terrible. 19" or 20", that's it.

[A6sport]

Massive S7 brakes? lol. IF those wheels don't clear the S7 brake calipers, you can be sure as shit they won't fit an RS7 fyi. I would recommend not claiming they might fit an RS7 unless you can prove otherwise.

Yeah, just add a spacer dude, easy solution.

Yes Massive S7 brakes...they are bigger than stock RS7 brakes except for the ceramic. They are big!

[A6sport]

See red area:

As most have said get a different wheel, or use a spacer. Altering the caliper is ridicules. Good luck.

[WhiteWhiteS7]

Here are some pictures to show what I was up against:

Wheel on the hub, but does not sit flush with the brake rotor. As you can see, I have no issues with spacing between the caliper and the spokes, as many people who thought was my issue:



Next, I put a flashlight behind the wheel to see where it was hitting the caliper. Indeed, it is on the top and bottom of the caliper, but in general, it would need to be clearanced the entire back side of it:



Next, I used a square to see if the barrel is indeed tapered. Yes it is, but the way the ADV1 wheels are machined, a lip is forged into the barrel right where the caliper hits (about 5" away from the wheel mounting face). I can only assume that this is where the RS4 brakes are since this wheel was meant for that car:



I got my stock 19" rim and looked at that. It has more taper, and no lip, hence why it fits (with about 2-3 mm my guess):



Bottom line, it will take a fair amount of grinding to get the wheel to fit. The other problem is that the bolt heads for the caliper are close to the surface of the caliper and would possibly need to be ground down as well. To the "spacers" people, yes, your idea might have worked (whether you understood the original problem or not), but I'm guessing at least a 10-15mm spacer would be needed to move the wheel barrel far enough away to have the beveled caliper edge clear the lip. Talk about poke....... I also roughly measured the rotor diameter. Eyeballed it at about 15.5", which translates to 394mm, so yes, bigger than RS7.

Still for sale.

[lx4life]

Sell these wheels and buy the proper fitment wheels. not worth damaging your calipers for a set of wheels. These should fit a Q5 even a A5/S5, post these in the 19" wheel classified

[WhiteWhiteS7]

Sell these wheels and buy the proper fitment wheels. not worth damaging your calipers for a set of wheels. These should fit a Q5 even a A5/S5, post these in the 19" wheel classified

I did, not one offer. Even threw in the tires for free.

[lx4life]

I think you scared most buyers off with your situation even though its not bad. I just think people are more apprehensive because of the issues you are having. You might have to cut your losses hard maybe even lose close to 1k just to get right. Separate the tires and wheels to get more buyers. Good Luck though!

[Frenetic]

I wouldn't personally touch such a critical component in the manner you are describing.

While it may seem cosmetic only, you never know, especially as tolerances get smaller and smaller, tighter and tighter. Some Audi engineer could have designed it with a certain mass and shape in mind to dissipate a certain amount of heat under worst-case conditions. Modifying that could negatively impact those properties. While such components are typically robust, why risk it?

I would just mark this up as a lesson learned and move on. List them on Ebay, Craigslist and just be patient. Such items aren't fast movers, but keep listing them as one day, someone looking for such wheels will eventually stumble upon them and deal done. If you get no takers after a few months, lower the price and keep trying. Good luck.

[CanuckRS]

Food for thought.

If you think it's a pain in the ass selling mangled rims, just imagine how easy it will be to sell the S7 with shaved calipers. That kind of mod will leave interested buyers scratching their heads and wondering what the hell else is wrong with the vehicle... Just my 0.02c. I know I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.

[parkstr8]

Not quite the same example but I had a mod'd Infiniti Q70S - and I just had to have a certain wheel on it. The wheels I put on require that I grind the stud 1/8" (1 thread) to get a perfect hub fit. When I went to sell it...I gave the records to the new owner. He was not happy about the ground studs - so I had to have new studs put on all 4 wheels and put the stock 20's back on. I learned to never ever do that again unless I was keeping the car. Had I traded it I'm certain the dealer would not have caught it...but that is not the point.

With any running gear of the car...I just do it right.

[IowaRS7]

Consider your market. Look at what the wheels will fit on and go that route vs the cars in this group that will not be interested. There are also hubcentric ring adapters that would allow these to still work on a 57.1 hub. I run those on a set of volks on my GTI. Also, hard to tell from pics if the finish is dirty or needs repair, but maybe have the wheels powdercoated. Those are nice name brand wheels and have value, just need to find the right market.

I would not modify my brakes to fit wheels. I would put my tail between my legs and move forward.

[madyspop]

I wouldn't personally touch such a critical component in the manner you are describing.

While it may seem cosmetic only, you never know, especially as tolerances get smaller and smaller, tighter and tighter. Some Audi engineer could have designed it with a certain mass and shape in mind to dissipate a certain amount of heat under worst-case conditions. Modifying that could negatively impact those properties. While such components are typically robust, why risk it?

I would just mark this up as a lesson learned and move on. List them on Ebay, Craigslist and just be patient. Such items aren't fast movers, but keep listing them as one day, someone looking for such wheels will eventually stumble upon them and deal done. If you get no takers after a few months, lower the price and keep trying. Good luck.

I'd like to know how an iron caliper dissipates heat, especially one that's covered in powder coat.


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[madyspop]

I would never run a 21" rim, looks terrible. 19" or 20", that's it.

21" wheels look terrible on our cars? Yet you bought a hideous set of 19's that are heavy as boat anchors.

I'm not seeing anything hideous here.


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[S6Express]

21" wheels look terrible on our cars? Yet you bought a hideous set of 19's that are heavy as boat anchors.

I'm not seeing anything hideous here.

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Yeah, my car looks terrible with 21" HREs, but shaving brake calipers seems logical to fit 19s . S7s have huge wheel wells that eat up those wheels. To each his own, I wouldn't put 19s on an S7, but I would never make a blanket statement about people's cars looking terrible.

[madyspop]

Shaved calipers, wouldn't know it if I didn't tell you. No ill effects just the pros of not being handcuffed to certain wheel fitments.

21's....






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[Frenetic]

Oh, I honestly don't know. I was just speculating. However, I doubt they build things to tolerances that allows anyone to randomly shave things off without some impact.

I'd like to know how an iron caliper dissipates heat, especially one that's covered in powder coat.


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[goliath1]

The vast majority of the energy is dissipated in that heat sink called a rotor. Some heat in the brake pad and even less in the caliper.