Dartmouth

I think I read somewhere on this site that somebody was adding spacers to bring the brake calipers closer to the front of the wheel (like the front wheels) after painting them so that they are easily seen as opposed to recessessed back the way there are without any mod.
Is that true or false? How do you put spacers on?

Jim Michaels

Perhaps there's a misunderstanding; I just hope it's not on my part. The calipers have to remain centered around the rotors, so I don't think they can be brought out closer to the wheels. Wheel spacers are the round disks placed against the wheel hubs that move the wheels out toward the fender lips more, so they actually pull the wheel farther away from the caliper. The factory spacers are 5 mm thick (quite thin, as spacers go) and screw onto the hubs. Wider aftermarket spacers are sometimes used to move the wheels out toward the fender lips for a more "aggressive" look, or for fitting wheels with incorrect offsets. If there is such a thing as a caliper spacer, I'd like to know about it.

Edgy01

You are joking, of course?


Spacers only affect the WHEELS and not the suspension, of which the brake calipers are a part. Spacers would only do the opposite--hide the new shiny calipers only further.

stevepow

False

I just put some on to give just another 5mm of space between my brake caliper and wheels (think in 3 dimensions here )...to make the "PORSCHE" logo easier to clean.

So, no, they "space", the wheel out further from the car, and the calipers, rather than bringing the wheel closer in - the calipers, if anything, would be less visible.

If you have your owner's manual, there's an entire section on installing spacers, with pictures - basically they are a ring that you bolt onto the hub, between the hub and the wheel and require slightly longer wheel bolts as a result.

Nugget

As others have said, spacers are just shims (they look like washers) that sit in between the wheel and the wheel hub, increasing the distance between the caliper and the inside edge of the wheel spokes and increasing the clearance between the wheel well and the inside edge of the tire.

I was doing some work on my car this morning and took a few photos of my stock 5mm spacer on the rear wheel of my GT3 RS:


(click for larger size images)

jakes dad

What kind of paint is used to repaint the hub that the spacer lays up against? I have no idea how mine got all beat up, it being a new car and all, but they need some cleaning up and painted....

jhbrennan

NO reason to paint the hub - the spacer covers the hub and the wheel covers the spacer.

gota911

I used VHT Brake, Caliper, Drum & Rotor Paint SP - 735 Cast Aluminum, which I got at Autozone for $7.95 to paint the "top hats" on my 996. Just sand off the OEM paint, it comes off VERY easily. Make sure you drape a drop cloth over your car (a cheap plastic painter's drop cloth will work just fine) so you don't get any overspray on the paint. I also painted the lug bolt heads while I was at it.

Here is a link to my thread on the 996 Forum. Posts #21 and #22 have better pics than the pics on Page 1.

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