Wheel fitment is a huge concern when doing a disc brake conversion. Will my stock wheels fit? What wheels do fit and what wheels don’t fit? These are all very good questions. In fact, we receive this question all of the time. The good news is we have a tool that can be used to answer these questions.
So what is this tool? It is a very simple wheel fitment template that our R&D department has created that is application specific and available for our most popular kits. The template gives a cross-section of the disc brake system that can be placed within the wheel to determine if adequate clearance is available. The use of it is very simple and if you’ll read a little further, we’ll walk you through it and give some pointers.
The first step is to find the appropriate template for your vehicle is to actually find your vehicle. You can do this by entering your vehicle information in our search field on the website’s main page. After you have selected your vehicle’s make, model & year you hit the GO button. This will take you to all of the products we offer for that particular ride. Next, you will want to select the type of kit you are looking for. Once you find the kit you are looking for the fitment template should be located in the downloads section below the fitment notes. If for whatever reason you don’t see anything, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We will do our best to see what we can do for you.
Once you find the template, print it out and grab some tape, a ruler, a pair of scissors, and a hard piece of paper (a manila folder or construction paper works well). This next step is very important, make sure your printer settings are correct and the template prints to the actual size. If it doesn’t, you will not get an accurate determination of proper wheel fitment. On each template is a guide that will allow you to check the size of the printed template. Simply place a ruler against this guide and you will know immediately if your template has printed correctly.
With the template printed and the 1:1 sizing verified, the next step is to remove a wheel from the vehicle. A rear wheel should work with the template but we would recommend using a front wheel and tire. Once you have removed the wheel you will need to flip it over to expose the backside. This is where you will be doing all of your measurements. Once this is complete measure the center wheel opening. This measurement will be used to determine where to cut the template.
With a highlighter use the acquired measurements to mark their corresponding location on the template. You will then want to cut the template accordingly. After you have cut out the template you will need to make it as ridged as possible. You can do this by placing the template on heavier paper, cardboard, plastic, etc. Attach the template with tape or glue to keep it from moving and then cut the excess. This will provide a nice semi-rigid template that can be placed within the wheel.
In the example shown below, the wheel used does have adequate space to allow the disc brake conversion kit to work. It is recommended that the template have approximately an 1/8” of clearance between the template and the wheel. This should allow everything to move and function without any issues.
If you determine that the conversion kit won’t fit, there are still some options. A wheel spacer can be used to provide the necessary clearance. Washers can be used to move the template away from the wheel to provide the needed space and to provide the visual you need. Remember, when a spacer is used to gain clearance inside the wheel, you lose room on the outside. In this case, be sure to put the tire and wheel back on the car and check the clearance between the fender and the tire to see if you have the needed space. In addition, you will also want to check all possible areas for potential interference.
For a more in-depth detailed analysis of if a disc brake conversion system will fit the wheels of your ride check out the video below.
Hopefully, this will help remove one of the questions from the equation when deciding to purchase a disc brake conversion kit. As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to give one of our sales and technical service representatives a call. They are there to help you!