Those of you with 15" wheels
Thread Starter
JK Freak
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 978
Likes: 0
From: Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Those of you with 15" wheels
I know this topic has been covered to death, but in the event that I order some 15's and they do not clear the calipers...exactly what has to be done to the calipers to make them fit? Is this something simple that I can do with a dremel and will it have any long term effects?
JK Junkie
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,565
Likes: 0
From: HAWAII
Before you order your 15" rims, if you havent done so already, you should choose one with a 3.75" or less backspacing. Some members have ran these with no issues Below is a link from past threads talking about the caliper rubbing issues...As for the integrity of the caliper after the grinding has been done, I cant comment on that, but I am sure that others that have actually done that will chime in.....
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...brake+calipers
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...brake+calipers
With 15" wheels, you can't go higher than 4"backspacing.
I had a set of 33s on 15x8 Cragar Soft 8s, with 4" backspacing. I ran them periodically when I wanted better gas mileage. I later sold them to a friend with an Unlimited X--before the recent spike in gas prices.
The Rubi brake calipers are different than the X calipers. My friend did not have to grind some material off his calipers to run these same wheels.
Grinding a little off our calipers is no big deal. Hod rod owners have been doing it for years.
You use your kid's sidewalk chalk to cover the potential problem areas on your calipers. Then you mount the wheel with a couple lug nuts. Turn the wheel 1-2 revolutions. Take the wheel off again. Look at where the chalk rubbed off. Grind that area a little. Re-apply the sidewalk chalk, re-mount the wheel...repeat until you can turn the wheel with no rubbing noise or rubbing off of the chalk.
I had to grind a very small amount off here:
This is why:
I had a set of 33s on 15x8 Cragar Soft 8s, with 4" backspacing. I ran them periodically when I wanted better gas mileage. I later sold them to a friend with an Unlimited X--before the recent spike in gas prices.
The Rubi brake calipers are different than the X calipers. My friend did not have to grind some material off his calipers to run these same wheels.
Grinding a little off our calipers is no big deal. Hod rod owners have been doing it for years.
You use your kid's sidewalk chalk to cover the potential problem areas on your calipers. Then you mount the wheel with a couple lug nuts. Turn the wheel 1-2 revolutions. Take the wheel off again. Look at where the chalk rubbed off. Grind that area a little. Re-apply the sidewalk chalk, re-mount the wheel...repeat until you can turn the wheel with no rubbing noise or rubbing off of the chalk.
I had to grind a very small amount off here:
This is why:
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 284
Likes: 0
From: Westminster, Maryland
You could run a spacer also if you wanted to. That would decrease your backspacing by whatever the width of the spacer is. Most are 1.25''-1.5''
So for example if you had a wheel with 4'' back spacing and you ran a 1.25 spacer you would essentially change it to 2.75'' BS. Just my 2 cents....
So for example if you had a wheel with 4'' back spacing and you ran a 1.25 spacer you would essentially change it to 2.75'' BS. Just my 2 cents....
Last edited by vwJarhead; Aug 21, 2008 at 12:48 PM.
JK Super Freak
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,142
Likes: 0
From: Montclair, VA
i have cragar v-star 15x8, and they have 3.75 back spacing, and I still had to grind the calipers in the bottom spot from the above picture, not the top corners, jut the outside facing bottom part.
but i love 15"s so it's worth it to me
but i love 15"s so it's worth it to me
JK Jedi
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 7,215
Likes: 10
From: Georgia
If you find a diagram, you'll see that the backspacing really has nothing to do with whether the wheel hits the caliper. It is how the center of the wheel is made. There are many, many threads on this. The consensus came up being that there was a difference between calipers from the '07 to the '08 models. The '07s would hit where the '08s would not. All the backspacing has to do with is where the center of the wheel is in relation to the rim of the wheel.
