Will Enkei RPF1 wheel clear the 312mm brake upgrade kit on 04 TDI Wagon?

KraxKill

New member
Joined
Feb 27, 2018
Location
SF Bay Area
TDI
04, TDI Wagon
Hello and thank you to whomever can offer assistance. I've searched the depths of the internet but cant seem to find the answer to my dilemma.

I'm contemplating upgrading the brakes on my TDI, (I live in California, on a hill and the roads are windy so the brakes get used above average. This is my daily driver and I love it. I get a lot of use out of the car.

The kit i'd like to run is this one from Kerma TDI. http://www.kermatdi.com/front-brake-upgrade-kit-for-mk4-tdi-cars/

From doing research the consensus is that "most" 16in wheels will fit, however there are posts stating that some required grinding off a bit of the caliper to have the wheels (Depending on the wheel) clear the calipers.

I'd like to run Enkei RPF1's as they are the lightest bang for the buck 16in wheel I could find, but I"m not sure if they will clear the calipers paired with the 312mm kit.

I could always go up to a 17in wheel and be sure, but at that point I would be sacrificing efficiency due to additional weight and loosing mpg's.

I currently have stock 15s that weigh around 20lb, the Enkei's are 13.7lb so minus the weight of the larger disks and tire, I should be saving a bit here while also gaining a bit in terms of braking. If nothing else, my goal is not to loose millage with this combo.

If I go to a 17in wheel, they come in at 15.7lb (still light) but are also an inch wider (8) which will undoubtedly eat into my efficiency when compared to the 16 x 7 I intend to run.

Should they not clear, would running a 10mm spacer to pull the wheel out a bit solve this problem for me? If so, I may just order a just in case set of spacers to do so.

There was a time when I would just go for it, order the 16s and plan to grind the caliper should I need to, but my time and energy is now devoted to my family, so I intend to have a shop in the area do the work. I'm assuming that they are not going to want to grind away at the caliper on my behalf so am looking for some advice here.

Hoping to find somebody who's gone through a similar plan running the 16in x 7in - 35mm offset Enkeis and the 312mm brake kit.

Best to all and thank you.
 
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jptbay

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2007
Location
Thunder Bay
TDI
2003 Beetle, 2006 Jetta Wagon
I run OEM 16's in the winter and 17 RPF1's in the summer.

I would bet RPF1's in a 16" would be fine.
 

PB_NB

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
Location
Vancouver, B.C.
TDI
1999 New Beetle
With some big brake kits they have a template that you can print and check your wheels for clearance. Brembo, Stop Tech and some of the ECS setups have a template. Maybe Kerma will have something like that to help you out.

There is nothing worse than finding out that your wheels wont fit after changing your brakes!

Running spacers might push the wheels out and create some fender rub and since the wheels have inner barrels, a spacer may not provide the space in the direction that you need to clear the caliper.

I have 355mm front brakes and 335mm rear brakes so I need at least an 18" wheel to clear the calipers.
 

KraxKill

New member
Joined
Feb 27, 2018
Location
SF Bay Area
TDI
04, TDI Wagon
Thank you for the replies. After much deliberation I decided against going with the brake upgrade. The cost reward, practicality ratio was getting out of hand for me. Instead, I simply went with the premium kit from Kerma with ceramic pads with vented Brembo disks.

I also replaced the worn and peeling 15in wheels with another set of 15s. Found some Rota Slipstreams 15 x 7s with a 57.1 bore, 5 x 100 bot pattern in a +35mm offset. An ideal fit for the most part. On those, I mounted Bridgestone Ecopia 422s in 205 70 R15s.

The Rotas (no they are not very VW appropriate visualy) but are just 12lb (weighed em myself) compared to the stock set of 15in VW Monterey I had mounted. These coupled with a 1lb heavier and taller tire (had michelin energy saver AS) gave me a nice 1in lift and shaved off 5-7lb per wheel and about 100rpm at 65mph on the freeway. I'm hoping to verify, but if my math is correct, I should pick up about 1-2mpg taking into account the speedo discrepency.

The slightly taller tire feels really nice on the wagon, (have a rear sway bar) I kick myself for not running a taller tire sooner. The additional ground clearance really helps with the roads out here as well.
 
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