Gap between wheels and calipers is scary close
Discussion
I just bought a 2011 V8 Vantage S Roadster. It has 19" V-Spoke Sportpack wheels. 6-piston calipers on the front and 4-piston on the rear. The gap between the wheel spokes and the calipers on the front is super close. I haven't measured it, but I'd guess only 2mm or so. There are some scrapes on the calipers that indicate rubbing at some point. The gap in the rear is much bigger and seems suitable. Is this normal? Should I consider some thin spacers in the front, maybe 3mm, just to push the wheel out a little farther away from the calipers? If I did that, would I need change wheel studs or would it be OK with the current studs?
The clearances will be close but there should never be any rubbing or contact.
If the wheels are touching (or have touched) the calliper at any point then there can be only a few reasons:
There is always more clearance at the rear because the rear brakes are smaller, as the front brakes do the majority of the work when stopping the car.
If the wheels are touching (or have touched) the calliper at any point then there can be only a few reasons:
- The wheel bearings are (or at some point have been) worn out, allowing the road wheel to move inwards under cornering forces
- Someone has fitted the wrong road wheels for the car
- Someone has changed the brake callipers and not upgraded the wheel to match.
There is always more clearance at the rear because the rear brakes are smaller, as the front brakes do the majority of the work when stopping the car.
Scrapes on the caliper paint doesn't necessarily mean there's a problem with the car. The other possibility is that people have been careless when removing/reinstalling the wheel in the past (for example for a tire change). If someone has rushed or has been a clod, they may have banged the back of the wheel on the caliper.
The wheels are the right wheels according to the build sheet I got from AM Technical Hub. I suppose the scrape could've been from a rock or road debris getting kicked up. If the wheel bearings are bad, it's certainly not evident. Maybe they were in the past, but that wouldn't explain the close tolerance i have now. I guess I'll have them checked.
I'm pretty sure the scrapes are from the wheel rotation...not from someone being sloppy. I just had it serviced at a nice independent shop that does Ferrari, McLaren, Lambo, etc. They were pretty thorough and suggested 3mm spacers. Didn't say anything about bad wheel bearings and I'm sure he would have if he thought there was a problem. He wasn't bashful about anything else.
Just for comparison, I had a closer look at my fronts.
Mine is a 2015 V8V and so have the 245 tyre and the 6-pot callipers, I believe as fitted to the earlier S. The wheel looks like this
The radial clearance between the calliper and the inner "drum" of the wheel is about 10mm
and the axial clearance between the back of the spokes and the calliper is about 7mm
So nothing like the 2mm you're reporting. Knowing Aston, there would have been design minimum clearances that all OE wheels would have to meet (and, having now measured mine, I'd guess that's 5 - 7 mm minimum). If I was in your position I'd want to know why the clearances are so small, as something doesn't seem right to me - even if it's just finding a car with the same wheels and looking at the clearances. I don't think I'd just slap on a couple of spacers and call it quits - but obviously you do you.
Mine is a 2015 V8V and so have the 245 tyre and the 6-pot callipers, I believe as fitted to the earlier S. The wheel looks like this
The radial clearance between the calliper and the inner "drum" of the wheel is about 10mm
and the axial clearance between the back of the spokes and the calliper is about 7mm
So nothing like the 2mm you're reporting. Knowing Aston, there would have been design minimum clearances that all OE wheels would have to meet (and, having now measured mine, I'd guess that's 5 - 7 mm minimum). If I was in your position I'd want to know why the clearances are so small, as something doesn't seem right to me - even if it's just finding a car with the same wheels and looking at the clearances. I don't think I'd just slap on a couple of spacers and call it quits - but obviously you do you.
@LTP Thanks for the measurements. Going to a high performance car shop Monday for a wheel balance, so I'll have them investigate further. I'm 99% sure they're the right wheels. The build sheet says the car has Sport Pack and it has AM Sport Pack wheels and carbon bits that come with Sport Pack. Hopefully I'll know more Monday.
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