Small wheels, big brakes?

[el shawn]

Hi there,
I have a few questions regarding brakes sizes and fittment.
I have a '68 Notch and I want to do something a little different. I picked up a set of ATS wheels 13x6 and I am wondering what are the largest brakes I could fit in there? I really need/want 4 wheel disk as I will be tossing a 2275 in the back. There is just over 11 1/2" of clearance inside the wheel.
What calipers "hug" the rotor the closest? any thoughts?
I ask here because it seems like you all have/do think about this stuff alot and well, when one needs help, it is always best to ask those who know.
here is a pic of the wheel, I'm gonna beadblast them, polish the lips and repaint the centers the same gold colour.
thanks in advance for your help!
Shawn

[Rex Surewood]

I'm pretty sure not even the original disc brakes will fit 13" wheels..

Why so small wheels?

[el shawn]

HA! wht so small indeed! I just really like the look of the wheel and I guess it seems to 'easy' to throw big wheels and big brakes under my car. Plus 13's are totally against the grain. I'm sure when I am spinng at 8000rpm and doing 110 kmh on the highway I'll change my tune but for now, I will fly headfirst into common sence and run the tiny wheels.
stock brakes do fit but it is really cozy.

[beetle1303]

seriously reconsider the 13" wheel... or use extra wide gears... my 1776 with stock 1303 1300cc gearbox top at 160 with the engine above 6k rpm which is killing it... and travel speed are 100-120 just to be safe cos i dont want to overstress the engine.

Chris

[wrenchnride247]

Regearing the tranny will alow proper RPM range for any wheel size. If this is not possible ($$$$) then try staying within the factory overall diameter. Or just drive slower to save your motor. :rolleyes:

[Rex Surewood]

With larger profile tyres you'll have no problem. But it'll be like riding in some us car.. :D Way too soft..

[chug_A_bug]

hey why not just get a 15" BBS wheel that looks the same??

[el shawn]

I was planning on running 15" ATS cups, but the wheels I got came up for a super cheap price and i really dig them and I haven't seen any 15's that look similar, so I will try these. I figure if they dont pan out, I can easily just go to a bigger wheel. Rotors and such are reasonably cheap, so why not try something different? I am planning on running more appropriate gears in my tranny as well as some reasonably tall tires. I'm not really afraid of a soft ride. not that it will be but perhaps softish? Ok, maybe not like a greased brick, I can live with that. it's not a car for the track afterall, it's for rollin' hard down the boulevard. (I think thats what the kids are saying these days!)

[chug_A_bug]

look at this set of wheels it will just give you that bit more ;)

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=381162



Chris

[Pillow]

Maybe the stock VW Ghia disk brakes will work..??

If not try to get some info from vwvortex.com Go to the early A1 Golf forum and see what those guys are doing.

Right now the same wheels are the hot setup for them. It looks wicked on lowered A1s :) But I am not sure if the smallest they can run are 13" or 14". In either case you could probably use the A1 Golf disk brake setup with some modification.

I think the wheels are sweeeet! Hopefully you can rock them. But I agree that you will need to watch the RPM when cruizing.

[1303C2/3]

Tried Skoda 13 inch dia. 120-130 (Estelle) wheels with standart front disc brakes. A 5 mm spacer was needed and everything went together nicely.

[el shawn]

when you say standard disks, do you mean the OG T3 disks or the Skoda ones?
So far I'm thinking I can use some front rotors from a Toyota and some 4 piston Volvo calipers. I can use my stock T3 rotors as a base to machine hubs, a few washers as caliper spacers and away I go! Well aside from the washers as spacers, this is my plan of attack. Its been to calod to check out the local wreckers but as soon as it clears up, I should beable to get rolling/stopping.