Brakes dilema....

[Little_Dave]

Got my new R32/S3 brakes from DaveB last week and the calipers are absolutely spotless and everything else is brand new but...... went to get them fitted today and they don't fit underneath my wheels which i didnt realise were such a low offset - around 35ish  needed about a 12mm or bigger spacer to clear the caliper but then pokes to much and will foul the arch 

I know the obvious option is to either sell the brakes on or get new wheels but have i got any other choices available to make them work? would rolling the arches make enough of a difference? would a 12mm or bigger spacer be too much?

Any help appreciated as i'm totally gutted and have taken a big hit to my wallet this weekend already 

Thanks
Dave

[sub39h]

... that doesn't sound right. they fit behind 17" Audi A3 wheels with an offset of 54 or so, so 35 should be completely fine unless they're super narrow or something.

[Little_Dave]

I thought that too mate but saw it with my own eyes, spokes were hitting the caliper and with spacers enough to clear them they was hanging out alot  thought they'd be fine as they even go behind 17 monzas no problem 

[Top Cat]

Do your standard GTI brakes fit with these wheels. 

[Little_Dave]

Yeah they've been on my car since May this year, just that as i'll be needing new discs and pads at some point in the future for the standard ones i thought i'd upgrade to these babies and hopefully sell on my existing ones while they still have some life in them and actually worth something 

[Top Cat]

I am not 100% sure but it sounds like summet is up, because as far as i know the R32 set up has the same measurements as the standard set up, in terms of room for wheels. I am sure someone will be along tomorrow to tell us different, but lots of people have done the same change and never mentioned any problems with wheel fitments. 

[Little_Dave]

Think the problem i have with clearance is because the wheel face is convex and not flat and so the outter edge of the wheel is closer to the caliper than the centre of the wheel? 

[Top Cat]

Yes but i think the spec of the 2 sets are the same, so if your wheels fit with the GTI set-up then the they should fit with the R32 jobbies. 

[Little_Dave]

Thats why i went ahead and bought em hearing such good feedback and thinking the same but i've come a cropper and all out of ideas to make them work as my car is now 

[Top Cat]

Even if they are different in size, for wheel fitment, i am pretty sure it wont be much at all, only a couple of mm so all you should need is a 2 or 3 mm spacer. I had the exact same problem with my work wheels which had a convex shape spoke. i ran 3 mm spacers which gave just enough room and never had any running problems with them. 

[sub39h]

I am not 100% sure but it sounds like summet is up, because as far as i know the R32 set up has the same measurements as the standard set up, in terms of room for wheels. I am sure someone will be along tomorrow to tell us different, but lots of people have done the same change and never mentioned any problems with wheel fitments. 

the A3 3.2 has the same brakes as the R32 and S3. the A3 3.2 was available from the factory with 17" alloys as i mentioned above. there really shouldn't be any fitment issues

[Little_Dave]

Yeah i know for certain they fit behind 17 monzas too but they were definitely touching the caliper, sounds stupid maybe but should i take them to another place to try again? Hoping an offset guru will be able to help and solve this puzzle for me 

[sub39h]

photo and exact specs of your wheel would help. as mentioned if your wheels were super skinny they might not fit! but they really really would have to be super skinny. as in custom made super skinny

[Little_Dave]

wheels are calibre vintage 18x8s with either a 32 or 35 offset.... i know the rears which are 18x9s were custom fit and drilled for the car but the front are standard off the shelf in 5x112 fitment AFAIK

[sub39h]

hmm looking at the photos i see what you mean. yeah they dome outwards so that might be the reason, but you should have over an inch to play with on the front over my OEM wheel which was also available as a factory extra on the A3 3.2

guess you're looking at changing your wheels bud