Stoptech BBK and BBS CH 18 wheel clearance

[Mark_GTIV]

Hi there,

Looking for a bit of advice...

Does anyone know if the BBS CH 18s fit without spacers over a Porsche caliper style BBK kit?

My latest modification was to fit a 328x28 4 Pot Stoptech big brake kit on my mk5 GTI. Right now I have the 18inch Monza wheels which needed at least a 5mm spacer for the caliper to clear the spoke (in the end I used a 12mm spacer).

I like the look of the BBS CH wheel on the GTI and would buy a set if I don't have to use a spacer because I liked the way the GTI didn't tramline before Ive added the extra 24mm of span.

Thanks and regards,

Mark.

[Top Cat]

Hi Mark welcome to the forum, what offset are CH 

[Mark_GTIV]

Hi,

I've not bought them yet - so open to suggestions as to the best ET to get.

Thanks,

Mark.

[Top Cat]

I will just check Tony Danza's set up as i think he has the same brake set up. I cant remember what offset his wheels are but i can remember feeling the clearance and there was only one or two mil spare. 

[chungster]

Tony_danza (Mike is his real name) has the Alcon set up, not Stoptech.

Best thing to do is actually go on the Stoptech site, and print off their caliper/wheel clearance checker cut out. I did, as I wanted to know if they would fit behind the Monza's without spacers (they didn't).

Then use the cut out on a BBS CH rim with the standard 51mm ET for the GTI. Plenty of people have that type of wheel, so you just need to find one and ask nicely about checking the caliper clearance thing for you.

[Top Cat]

Yes just checked he has Alcon 343mm 4-pots
Chungster, was it the stoptech ones that he had for about 2 days or am i still confused 

[tony_danza]

Alreet, someone call me?

I had a hybrid AP Racing set up with a 360mm disc, also known as a truck load of fail, as they were like 1mm off the lower ball joint with no dust shield = sent back.

The Alcons I have now, there's loads of room behind an ET42 wheel and they are a phenominal, albiet expensive set up - progressive, super powerful and I cannot get them to fade!

GTIJames has the Stoptech set up, think he paid around £1200 from Balance and he needed a minimum 8mm spacer behind an ED30 Pescara (ET50?) which is essentially a CH. So, I'd imagine you want to be looking for an 18x8 ET40-42 wheel - which will be fine as long as you run a 225.

[chungster]

Yes just checked he has Alcon 343mm 4-pots
Chungster, was it the stoptech ones that he had for about 2 days or am i still confused 

he had a AP Racing 6 pot with some custom bell/ 362mm disc combo. But they were a bit big and too close to the lower ball joint for his liking. Think he got them cheap on ebay anyway.

[Hurdy]

I have 10 pot TAROX's with 340mm discs and had 7.5 x 18 Pescara's with a 51 offset and they fitted fine. They had a good 5mm clearance and so BBS CH are basically the same design, but 1/2" wider and so should easily fit over the stoptechs.

[Mark_GTIV]

Thanks everyone for the interesting replies.

I'll do a bit more digging then on the CHs.

Has anyone else noted a bit more tramlining on their cars when they've widened their GTI's track?

Regards,

Mark.

p.s. the car :

[tony_danza]

Mine doesn't tramline - have you spaced the rears by an equal amount?

[Mark_GTIV]

Mine doesn't tramline - have you spaced the rears by an equal amount?

Yep I have. I'm using a 12mm spacer on all 4 hubs.

I think I'll have the tracking checked. Out of curiosity, what tyre pressures do you find to be the best on 18s ?

[tony_danza]

2.3bar all round for the road.

And roughly 2.0-2.1 front and 2.2 rear for the track - depends on the weather/track.

Sounds like the alignment just needs a very slight tweak, a Whiteline kit will help with this too, as the caster lets you run less toe-in so you won't scrub your tyres so much too.

[Mark_GTIV]

Again, thanks for the info.. most helpful.

I had a chance to get the alignment computer checked this morning and indeed it was off.

FRONT
Camber was Left -0.57 and Right -1.00
Caster was Left 7.23 and Right 7.21
Toe-in/Toe-out was Left -0.01 and Right 0.02
with front total tracking at : -0.03 and steering angle at 0.01

REAR
Camber was Left -1.51 and Right -1.49
Toe-in/Toe-out was Left -0.12 and Right 0.10
with total rear tracking at -0.03

After adjustment it now sits at :

FRONT
Camber is Left -0.59 and Right -0.59
Caster is Left 7.34 and Right 7.36
Toe-in/Toe-out is Left 0.05 and Right 0.05
with front total tracking at : 0.11 and steering angle at 0.00

REAR
Camber is Left -1.55 and Right -1.49
Toe-in/Toe-out is Left 0.07 and Right 0.05
with total rear tracking at 0.12

I have to say that has made quite a difference, car is much more stable and less inclined to follow ruts etc.

I'll adjust the tyre pressures later. Thanks again.

[Mark_GTIV]

Right.. well having done quite a bit of research...

If I never want to use spacers, what I really need is the BBS CK wheel in 18x8 5x112 ET44 - that would have given me about 13mm more clearance compared to the Monzas.

However, I'm not really in to the CK wheel, so in the end I chose the BBS CH 18.8 5 x112 ET50 wheel - which gives me an extra 7mm + a set of H&R Trak+ 8mm spacers.

Hopefully they'll get delivered in the next few days :D