Wilwood rear caliper shims

[Fuel an]

Finally get back to the build after a tough year. On the Wilwood rear calipers, the shims for the caller bracker, how many have most used?

[karlos]

Sorry for the fuzzy picture, but as you can (hopefully) see, one shim for me. Same on both the left and right sides.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=51721&d=1458402500

[Fuel an]

Thanks Karlos, I have heard to use one or two, I will start with one. The nut you have on the bracket stud, was that with the kit. Mine had coarse thread standard nuts, got some grade 5 fine thread nuts with.

Also, I have the same garage floor coating, guess great minds think a like in car choice and garages......

[karlos]

No problem, glad to help.

Another picture, this one showing both locations that use shims. Looks like 3 shims at the other attach point. Yes, the nuts came with the brake kit. Wilwood part number is 230-9183. I'm not sure on the strength, but I'd be inclined to go with at least a grade 8 nut in this location.



http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=51722&d=1458403722

[CraigS]

Fuel, be aware there was a problem w/ some of the Wilwood brackets being too tall and having the brake pad off the outer edge of the rotor. Look for clearance here.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/craig-s/rearFFRwilwoodcaliper_zps3105a58d.jpg

[edwardb]

Frankly I would be a little cautious using other shim results. The point of the shims is to get the caliper centered over the rotor. I would use however many are necessary, doing it exactly like the instructions explain. I don't know what variables or tolerances there may be from installation to installation, but I'll bet they're all not the same. They give you a bunch of shims (washers...) for a reason.

[bansheekev]

Fuel, be aware there was a problem w/ some of the Wilwood brackets being too tall and having the brake pad off the outer edge of the rotor. Look for clearance here.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/craig-s/rearFFRwilwoodcaliper_zps3105a58d.jpg

Mine are like that. What is the fix?

Kevin

[carlewms]

Ditto on Edward B's post ... getting the proper gap is the goal and will vary from installation to installation.

On the issue brought up by Craig S ... you can order the updated brackets directly from Wilwood. Call them because they were doing it at no cost.

Having said that you may not need them ...

After studying my installation I realized that 3 shims were originally installed, which, if removed, would do what I wanted without replacing the brackets. I stored the new brackets and removed the shims on each of the rear end spindles. After mounting the tire on one side there is plenty of clearance between the inside of the rim and caliper.

With the shims installed:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a5df27b3127ccee859219def8f00000030O09AaOGbRo2bA9 vPhg/cC/f%3D0/ls%3D00006064438420150106124718209.JPG/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

With the shims removed it increased the gap between the rim and the caliper by 1/8th of inch. The mod would have increased it a little more.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a5df27b3127ccee858b92a4e0800000030O09AaOGbRo2bA9 vPhg/cC/f%3D0/ls%3D00006064438420150106124721228.JPG/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

Hope this helps ... as you progress your going to find more of these situations where there is not a "standard" fit but one you will have to adjust for differences caused by differences in tolerances.

Carl

[karlos]

There is another issue with this particular installation that requires a small deviation from the installation instructions. The instructions indicate that the caliper should be centered over the rotor, but if set up this way the caliper mounting bracket will rub on the rotor. The fix is to adjust the shim stack to get the caliper nearly centered but clear of any interferences. The location I'm referring to is the one shown by the picture in post #4 (three shim stack). I assumed the OP was asking about the number of shims as a way to sanity check where he ended up vs. what the instructions tell you to do.

You guys are of course correct that the instructions should be what drives the setup, not someone else's configuration. I couldn't find the installation instructions for these calipers on Wilwood's site, but I'd be happy to scan my paper copy if the OP needs it.

-Karl

[Fuel an]

Thanks to everyone. This is invaluable info, I do have the Wilwood instructions and will follow them. All of your posts will be a time and frustration saver. This is a great site and forum. Again thanks!

[Fuel an]

As a follow up, everyone''s advice is spot on, you have to assemble and dis-assemble, my son was frustrated but we powered through. We had to use 3 shims on the bracket, but clearence looks perfect. Thanks to all.