Hello everyone! After swapping stock brakes to custom Brembo kit i faced rubbing issue. New brakes are 2 or 3 mm thinner than stock one, and it resulted in UCAs and swaybar rubbing. Will some 3-5mm wheel spacers resolve the issue with stock rims? I plan to do a second wheels set for summer anyway, so will choose new rims with less ET, but need a solution for the winter set on stock rims. My current config is 2.5" lift, 275/60r20 tires on stock 20" rims.
A set of spacers would/should definitely remedy your issue. When you purchase your new wheels, you can purchase an offset that will work with the new setup without the need of a spacer. I would also add that you should check with whatever wheel manufacturer you plan to go with and let them know you're running a custom big brake, Brembo setup. Even though you plan to adjust the offset accordingly, the larger caliper could come in contact with the wheel spokes on certain wheels depending on the design. I purchased aftermarket wheels for my Audi S6 (put winter tires on the stock wheels), it has huge brakes and you can't get too aggressive with the wheel offset so you have to be very mindful when choosing wheels for it. I worked with a guy who is a Vorsteiner distributor who has extensive knowledge on Audi vehicles. He got me on a perfect setup for my car. Obviously you want to get a nice flush fit (no rubbing or poking past the body), have maximum concavity and clear your brakes in a perfect world.
Only IMO, I never want to use a spacer. I just don't like that band-aid. Is there not another rotor with a thicker hat that Brembo can send you/swap you for this problem? Surely this is not the first time this has come up for them.
Using a A small spacer like a 5mm is not going to have any negative impact. In the performance car genre, it's not uncommon to see spacers used for this exact same purpose or to achieve a flush fit look on wheels. We are also talking about cars with 600+HP or more. Zero issue with it on this platform.
By all means, do it if it works for you or anyone else but again, it was IMO. Plus, rigs that operate at 600+ mph also have different wheel studs. Not saying it will not work and accomplish the offset he wants but I just go about things in a different way.
Wheel stud/bolt (depending on on application as some vehicles use studs and others use bolts) length definitely needs to be considered. On my Denali there is plenty of wheel stud thread/lengthto accommodate a 3-5mm spacer. My Audi uses bolts, I run a spacer setup on the stock/winter wheels for a more flush look and I need to run longer bolts for them. Typical rule of thumb is that you should be able to get 5-6 full rotations for hand tight and 6-7 fully torqued on your lug nuts/wheel bolts. Less than that and you need to consider changing out hardware.
I should also say that I completely agree that the best setup is a wheel with proper offset/clearance that doesn't need any kind of spacer for a correct fit.
The whole idea of what I was saying had to do with "safety". The most important thing to me. Should a spacer work, yes. Would I use a spacer, no. I always always want to use terms like "it WILL be safe" and not "it SHOULD be safe". Not saying you did say that, I am just saying this is what I was taught by my dad and I lived my life doing just that. To me the old phrase of "measure twice and cut once" should be "measure 4 times and before the cut, measure one more time". I am OCD about that stuff. I think the spacers will do the trick but I have to believe that Brembo has a thicker hat rotor that could be used.
If you're sure your new rotors are only 2-3mm thinner and if you have the lug stud length to spare (and you should), you could throw on some nice spacers and never give it a second thought. I'd get hub-centric like these: https://www.ebay.com/i/192273467312...MInYC9xpCT5gIVJIVaBR0OXQqDEAQYAiABEgL48_D_BwE
Awesome, thanks! I don't want to change rims on my winter wheels set, and for the warm season i'll be doing new rims with smaller offset and some good AT anyway.