Wheels Hit the Calipers, help!!

Hey everyone. So I just got my Eibach / 5100 and AAL lift installed yesterday. Couldn't be happier with it. Got over 3 inches of lift from it.

I then took my 33x12.5x15 tires and Summit Racing Steel Wheels to get them installed. The guy installing them pulled me in the shop and showed me that they wouldn't rotate because they were hitting and rubbing the brake calipers. He then tried a 1/4 spacer but it wouldn't work with my lug nuts.

What do I do?

If I use a 1/4 inch spacer, like this one, what exact lug nuts will I need to make it work and not be dangerous to drive? : Sorry, I am new at all this and have no idea if I need the E/T lug nuts, etc. somebody help me please!

 

You shouldn't need new lugs if you get spacers.. The second set of lugs for the spacers should come with the spacers themselves. You could grind down the caliper a little.. Or just run spacers.

 

When he was installing the wheels he said he tried with the spacers and it stripped the lug nuts and didn't have enough bite and that when he test drove it the tire was about to fall off. What do I do? I don't want to have to send back or sell these wheels and buy a new version from wheelers..

 

thats super weird.. doesn't sound right.

Ohhhh you got spacers w/o lug nuts attached to them.. Well id say if you want to keep the rims just get some 3/4" - 1.5" spacers. BORA for the win IMO. Great customer service.

 

Yeah they would be the simple spacers from wheelers just the 1/4 inch ones. I think at this point my best bet would be to sell or return the wheels and get wheelers 15x8 steel wheels that will clear the caliper. what do you think?

 

I have the same rims and just ground the caliper a little bit and it's been fine ever since. Literally I took off maybe 1/16 of an inch if that

 

Did you just grind the front two? And what did you grind it with?

 

Yea see its not that bad. Id say keep em and do this. Spacers isn't such a bad option either. But you could mount your wheels within the hour if you just did a little grinding. Might have to wait a week for the spacers to be delivered.

rear has drums not calipers. so don't need to do any grinding back there.
just use a standard grinder with a standard grinding wheel...

 

If you have the rims with the holes with the dimple on the back IMO I would grind your wheels (all 4). It may take you 15 mins a wheel. (It wont throw them off balance or cause them to fail). You don't risk fucking up a caliper and in the future when you have a caliper freeze you can just swap it. That is especially important if you ever go to any brake shop, as they would refuse to grind a caliper if you went that route on a repair.

I have 15x8 Cragars and I have been running them for 2 years and I had to swap 2 calipers in that time. Makes me happy I chose to ground down the wheel.

 

I honestly just don't feel comfortable grinding at the calipers, or the wheels. I would rather I think buy new wheels and get it done right i think?

 

good point.. I do all my own work so it wouldn't affect me much but i see where your coming from. To me it would still be easier to grind the caliper. But weigh your options and grind which ever one you feel more comfortable grinding. Keep the rims though IMO.

just because you have to grind a little doesn't mean its not right.. Lots of people have done it. The amount of metal you are taking off will not affect the strength.

 

Yeah I mean I just don't feel too good about grinding them, I don't want to mess up and then be out a lot of money. my dad is already hounding me haha. Sucks to be a college student with a low paying job.

 

Wheelers are good people.

Explain the situation to them and they will probably take care of you.

 

They are good people, just gave them a call and made sure that their 15x8 steel wheels would work on my truck and would not hit the calipers, they confirmed that they wouldn't. Just have to sell these other wheels somehow now..

 

Since you have a steel wheel (i.e. thin-wall), I advise against grinding the wheel. Measure the wheel thickness at the lug hole. If it's thicker than .050", get the 1/4" spacers and these ET lugnuts: Note the wheels are 108mm centerbore, so you should get 108-106.1mm hubcentric rings to ensure proper wheel centering on the hubs: http://www.amazon.com/Gorilla-Automotive-108-106-1-Centric-106-1mm/dp/B0032HQJ7G

 

So with those lug nuts and the 1/4 inch spacer the wheels will fit and be safe to drive on?

 

^Yes, IF the lugnuts fit. The lugnuts extend .300" into the mounting face. Since the wheel spacer is .250" thick, you have to make sure the wheel flange thickness at the lug hole is at least .050" (simple to measure) to avoid the lugnut bottoming out.

Interestingly, the Summit Racing buyer reviews mention the wheels need spacers to fit.

 

Very helpful. Sigh. The moment you realize that there is a review mentioning your exact issue.

 

Grinding the wheel will be virtually impossible to fuck up. You grind the excess flat.

You are not grinding the wall. In the Procomp wheels they use something similar to a hole saw to make the design. (that's why they fit on taco's) This just cuts a hole through the wheel. Cragar and others use a dimple die that pushes excess material onto the backside of the wheel. This extra material is what rubs. Grinding it off does not make the wall any thinner.


Its tough to see the pictures, as the wheel is still on my tire carrier.

 

Don't mind the rust, its a new england truck.