Caliper Mock Up
So here is some fun stuff! Got to pull the wheel and take a few measurements, mount the big rotor and caliper, check clearances, etc! I took alot of pictures, hi-res, but for ease of viewing I am posting them on here at 1024x768 size so they aren't like 10MB each
Pay attention to the captions under each pic for explanation of the significance of that particular picture.
In this pic I am measuring the height from the outer edge of the mounted rotor to this odd little 'nub', which is by far the highest point of the caliper. I don't think it will end up being an issue, but I wish I knew what it was for and if I could safely just cut it off. I just don't want to cut into a fluid passage inside the casting...
This one shows the maximum width of the caliper outside the outer surface of the rotor. I measured from the outer brake pad surface here. It's just shy of 2.5"
This is significant and I will explain at the end of the pics.
Calipers side by side for comparison of size increase. Makes me drool... :yup:
Calipers side by side for comparison of size increase.
Calipers side by side for comparison of size increase.
This one shows clearance of all steering components at full lock.
This one shows a comparison of the rough mounted size difference. I have the stock caliper at the bottom. I could not slide it completely on due to the dust shield being in the way. But it give you an idea of the gain
Another straight on 'mounted' caliper comparison.
Another 'nub' height check.
Maximum radius check for wheel fitment. This pic shows right at 8" from hub center. It's actually a touch LESS than this because the caliper in this mock up is actually not sitting down over the rotor as far as it will in its final position.
Another max radius check, at the lower end. It is less that the pic above because this end is slid down over the rotor closer to its true mounted position. (I was just using 1 mouning bolt to hold the caliper on, which lets the low end of the caliper swing inward more.)
A pic of the whole thing mocked up - so you knew I was truly mounting it on a Jeep and not just messing with you guys!
One more pic of the whole thing... what a gorgeous, HUGE caliper, huh?? :rock:
This pic shows the stock caliper highest point outside the rotor edge. Just checking wheel clearance here.
This pic shows a very important measurement: this is the depth of the stock caliper
outside the outer rotor face. It is roughly 1 3/8" = 1.375" More discussion below!
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So here are the key points:
- This rotor and caliper is adaptable and will clear all stock steering components.
- The maximum diameter, using the 14.2" rotor and
including that stupid little nub on the inboard side of the rotor is approx 16.375". This will clear most 17" rims!! Alot of rims, especially the stock ones, taper from about 17" inner diameter at the innermost edge of the wheel, to about 16.25" at the flange that bolts to the vehicle hub. The stock Rubi wheels actually have a huge step that narrows to < 16" just before the mounting face. More discussion below.
- A machined caliper adapter plate will be required to mount the caliper in its final location. I kinda expected this. There are too many variables to expect to have a massive brake upgrade like this just bolt right on. The OEM uses too many different wheel offsets, rotor offsets, knuckle shapes, etc to find one that matched the same caliper bolt spacing as the stock JK one.
- Due to the increased width of the caliper compared to stock, either a wheel spacer or a wheel with less backspacing will be required. The factory wheel, as we all know, has a HUGE backspacing. This places the inside of the wheel 'spokes' really close to the outer surface of the factory caliper. Just look at any stock JK front wheel and this is easily seen. So, using just the ROUGH measurements I showed above:
Factory outer caliper depth outside of rotor = 1.375"
Max new caliper depth outside of rotor = 2.5"
So with simple math, to safely fit this brake setup you need one of two things:
1. Factory wheels, but running at least a 1 1/8" wheel spacer (1.25" preferred)
2. An aftermarket wheel with 1 1/8" LESS backspacing. Factory backspace, if I recall correctly, is 6.25". So roughly a wheel with 5" of backspacing or less.
My thought, and please correct me if you all feel differently, is that this shouldn't be a significant issue. A large proportion of us, that I've seen on this forum, aren't running factory wheels with that ridiculous backspacing anyways. Many of those that ARE keeping factory wheels are running spacers already. As part of our whole focus on increasing the safety of our rigs, the less backspace (or spacer equivalent) only helps the stability of our rigs in turns and on sideslopes, so I hope that there won't be too many people that 'poo-poo' this brake mod simply because they can't keep their factory wheel setup. Open for discussion...
I will post more thoughts later tonight... things like details of the caliper mounting adapter, etc.
Hope you guys enjoy the new pics!!
