I'm trying to install some weld draglight skinnys. If I could shave it flush with the caliper I could eliminate the 1/4" spacer.

Thanks

 

It wouldn't have been put there for decoration. I bet it's a fluid passage...

 

Maybe it's just for cooling? It's not impossible considering the FC has brake ducts.

 

Yes but it's not shaped like a cooling fin, nor does it have local siblings. My advice? Find a junked/cheap caliper of the same model and shave that one down DEEP to see what's in there and how far you could go.

 

er wait... I missed that the spacer is already on there. Is there enough room even with the spacers?

 

I posted this in a recent thread:

Disclaimer: Do this at your own risk.

You can do it, but don't grind it FLAT... Big mistake. There is a recessed pocket there that will manifest itself as a HOLE measuring about 1.5mm x 1.5mm (if grinded flat). And yes, I've done it.

I found that you *can* remove some material from the "bump", but I only took off as much as I needed. I probably shaved about 1.2mm straight off the top, and then cut across the top of it at an angle--making sure to leave plenty of "meat" around the spot where I knew the hole was.

Basically the wheels that I mounted were *barely* hitting it as they spun, so I followed the angle of the wheel-spokes with my dremel-tool and took off what was necessary for them to spin freely.

For a test, I *painted* the top of the "ground off" bump to see if the wheels were rubbing/hitting the bump during normal/hard-driving. After several weeks, and less than a 1mm of clearance between the backside of the wheel and the "bump", the paint never was rubbed or worn off. The point is, I didn't need to grind it down like crazy to get that last bit of clearance--my wheel never rubbed.

 

Thanks alot your a great help! I did shave it slightly as you can see. And it does fit with the 1/4" spacer installed. I was just hoping to remove the spacer to get the rim/tire to fit more snugly in the fender. As it sit out about a 1/2" in the rear now. But I'm sure I can just roll the fender a bit and it will look "alright".

I'm sure I could remove the 1/4" spacer and just drive the car a bit. My rims are soft aluminum and the calipers would clear themselves a channel in the rims. I'm just a bit afraid it will weaken the rim.

 

Some S5's got single piston calipers in front using 5 lug hubs and the same rotors. If space is a concern then swap those in. You can probably find someone to trade with and you can end up with money in your pocket.

 

but then not stop lol

 

He wants to put skinnies on it, so that'll severely handicap the stopping ability, the brakes aren't going to be the weak link there. The 4 piston calipers won't provide any more stopping power, the rotors are the same after all, the pads are about the same size, probably about equivalent piston area. I've used single piston calipers at several track days with no problems, they provide plenty of stopping power. The advantage of the 4 piston calipers is in the ease of pad changes and a stiffer caliper.

 

good reply, didnt think about taht, hes putting weld draglight so maximum brake performance probably isnt really needed, sounds like a drag car