I thought RR/autox forum could answer this best. I'm fitting 11" brakes with integra calipers on my 16x7 +35 3 piece forged Volk Racing wheels.
How much will heat expand the caliper? Is it measurable? It fits after some grinding, but the thickest feeler gauge goes through with some drag. So it's very tight and no room for expansion if that happens much.


I picked up some 1/4" spacers today to solve this grinding the caliper away problem but they gave me a tad less than 1/4" so out came the dremel.
Also, they gave me universal hub spacers not Honda hub specific, where is the best place to order a set that are my Civic bore specific, I don't need longer studs I don't think. I have 6 threads biting down as is.
This is with the 1/4" washers in place to measure for room.

Any help appreciated, don't lock this or bash it. I need this car back on the road. Fastbrakes kit. (sure wish i had put integra spindles on right about now) but I've upgraded to new balljoints and wheel bearings, on a college budget.

 

It is not a matter of heat expanding components for rubbing. We at Stoptech allow 2mm of caliper to wheel clearance. You have to take into account any hub flex or bearing flex. If you have old parts and your hub flexes, you should fix the problem first before trying to get too close to comfort.

Also, if you are using a floating caliper like you are using, you need to take into account what components move. Most of the time floating caliper move a lot relative to fixed calipers like a 4 or 6 piston caliper where the wheel clearance can be constant.

Good luck!

 

Thanks so much. I do need to keep in mind the floating caliper. The spindle has new wheel bearings that are only a year old, but I want come comfort to live on. It's frustrating when you ask for a certain spacer, drive 40 minutes for it, and they give you the wrong one. Human error though.
I may change brake setups later on, but this will probably do the trick ( they are vw corrado g60 rotors).

 

I have a similar issue on my Mini. I ran into problems with small rocks getting inside the wheel. Once in there, centrifugal force keeps them inside the wheel, where occasionally they get jammed between the wheel and brake caliper. This leaves a nice long gouge in both the wheel and caliper. If possible I'd try to leave maybe 1/4" clearance.

OTOH if you're just asking how much the brake *rotor* will expand, the answer is very very little.

 

hmm, i'm going to hope no rocks get up in there. one already scratched up, it's not a show car, so i will live with it
i added a tad less than 1/4" spacers & grinded a bunch and i'm riding fine.