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Thu Jul 07, 2016 2:51 pm

So I put disc brakes on my beetle's front end this week and it turns out the calipers are too wide? One wheel is grating against the outside of the caliper and the other won't move at all, anybody have a solution? It's the EMPI front disc brake kit.

Thu Jul 07, 2016 3:34 pm

You really have four choices:
1. Remove discs and reinstall what was on before
2. Grind off material from caliper until no rubbing
3. Modify how caliper mounts to make clearance
4. Get different wheels ( or use spacers)

Thu Jul 07, 2016 5:35 pm

make sure your disk is centered in the caliper. you should have some washers in the kit to center it ( I did the same kit for a super beetle ) You might have to file a little of the caliper but not much. Good luck :)

Sat Jul 09, 2016 6:52 am

What kind of wheels are you running? I'm guessing you don't have stock 15" steel wheels? Most alloy wheels are thicker than stock leaving you less space to work with inside the wheels. The disc brake kits are usually based on Karmann Ghia disc calipers+discs so were meant to fit a stock VW wheel setup. I had Empi calipers and they fit nicely inside my stock steel wheels.

If you are running 14" wheels you may be out of luck completely. The smaller diameter makes fitting any brake setup a challenge.

Spacers may help but then you could run into a problem with the tires rubbing the fenders.

The BEST solution is to look at new wheels. You could even look at 17" wheels as these would give you LOTS of clearance.

Thu Aug 25, 2016 5:01 pm

*Rehashing this old topic*
I just recently ran into this issue, strangely, after having the wheels and calipers assembled and running fine for 2 years. Now only the passenger side is rubbing. I've had the empi 8 spokes and aftermarket disc brake conversions.
Any pointers on why this rubbing all the sudden?
P.s. my spare w/ stock rim still rubs on left turns.

Thu Aug 25, 2016 5:23 pm

BeaterBeetle70 wrote: I just recently ran into this issue, strangely, after having the wheels and calipers assembled and running fine for 2 years. Now only the passenger side is rubbing. I've had the empi 8 spokes and aftermarket disc brake conversions.
Any pointers on why this rubbing all the sudden?
P.s. my spare w/ stock rim still rubs on left turns.
Why would your spare rub the caliper on turns? This indicates to me the wheel bearings are loose/worn and allowing the disc+wheel to wobble?

Also, is there any chance that wheel is bent? Have you tried swapping sides to see if the problem moves along with the wheel?

If you can, post a pic of the rubbing. Does it constantly rub or only at certain points in the wheel rotation? It also should not matter if the wheel is off the ground or not. There should be no perceptible movement of the wheel relative to the spindle/caliper.

I suppose you should also check for a loose caliper or possibly incorrect tolerance. I'm sure I saw a report of a caliper rubbing the disc and the person has to grind a small portion of the caliper to clearance the disc.

Thu Aug 25, 2016 5:31 pm

It's rubbing all spokes so it just may be the bearing. I inspected those, repacked them cause there was nothing visibly wrong with them and weren't making any noise. I just may have to grind down that caliper but the driver side set up is perfectly fine.

Thu Aug 25, 2016 6:24 pm

If you have aftermarket rims , they hit the caliper. Spacer is easy fix. Jeff

Fri Aug 26, 2016 5:28 am

In my case there was a very slight rub with the CBP disc brake setup due to a little raised casting nub on the face of the caliper. I've run across this before. I ground down that nub and all was good. But that was at the install, not suddenly happening later.

Fri Sep 09, 2016 3:43 pm

New bearing pressed in, drove fine on the first test drive, though it failed the second drive. I'm fine with resorting to spacers though I cant find any in town, and none of the standard VW aftermarket dealers have them. Any Leads???

P.S. I have sanded down some of the caliper for more room, Yes I tried the other side and its just the passenger that has this issue. Could this be a bent spindle or any other wacky quirk?

Fri Sep 09, 2016 5:55 pm

Hi. The non-steel aftermarket wheels tend to be thicker than the oem steel wheel. This necessitates the longer lug bolts. The 914's with steel wheels had the longer lug bolt needed for my needs. But you are gonna have to determine the spacer you need to clear hitting anything, then with all your drums removed, determine if this lug bolt will allow sufficient thread depth.
You may eventually have to go to studs with the appropriate lug nut.
In Orange County, you should have zero problems finding what you need.
Bill.

Fri Sep 09, 2016 6:08 pm

rockerarm wrote: Hi. The non-steel aftermarket wheels tend to be thicker than the oem steel wheel. This necessitates the longer lug bolts. The 914's with steel wheels had the longer lug bolt needed for my needs. But you are gonna have to determine the spacer you need to clear hitting anything, then with all your drums removed, determine if this lug bolt will allow sufficient thread depth.
You may eventually have to go to studs with the appropriate lug nut.
In Orange County, you should have zero problems finding what you need.
Bill.

I'm up 9 hours away from ya haha, I currently have the aftermarket IPA disc brake conversion set (karman ghia). The odd issue is they have been installed and working excellent for 2+ years now and just now giving me issues rubbing on the wheel. This stock wheel should have total clearance as the opposite side does with a stock wheel.
I am currently looking for any legit online stores that carry the correct size 4 lug bolt 1/4 inch spacer. Tried one from local autozone and wasn't large enough for the whole rotor.

Fri Sep 09, 2016 7:44 pm

Anyone else try putting wide washers in between the rotor and wheel to simulate that spacer effect? Does it work? Is it sketchy? or is it volksingunity?!

Fri Sep 09, 2016 10:49 pm

BeaterBeetle70 wrote: Anyone else try putting wide washers in between the rotor and wheel to simulate that spacer effect? Does it work? Is it sketchy? or is it volksingunity?!

sounds sketchy to me. I added a 3mm spacer from CSP on my 67 ghia with discs and aftermarket empi 4 lug sprintstars. no more clearance issues.

csp carries a variety of spacers in different thicknesses.

http://www.csp-shop.com/cgi-bin/cshop2/front/shop_...%20Adapter

Sat Sep 10, 2016 5:20 am

BeaterBeetle70 wrote: Anyone else try putting wide washers in between the rotor and wheel to simulate that spacer effect? Does it work? Is it sketchy? or is it volksingunity?!

Hi, yeah very sketchy! You can use the washers to determine your thickness needed, but will have to get a proper spacer. While csp has quality stuff, since your in Calif, the hotbed for car activity, look towards a Porsche shop that could have spacers more easily available.
Or, check these out. Local SoCal shop:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/SuperCat/9144/POR_9144_SUSAXL_pg3.htm#item9
Down the page a bit is the 4-lug spacers, 1/4" (6mm) thick, PEL-PP912309.

You also gotta assure adequate lug bolt thread depth.
Hope this helps, Bill.