Caliper Covers

[Chick B.]

Purchased a nice set of MGP red caliper covers for my white, 1998, coupe, in the hopes of giving it some color and giving the white some help. Had them installed last week when I put on new wheels and tires.

However, when I got to the retailer, who installed tire, wheels and caliper covers, I found out I really didn't have good clearance all the way around. One front and one rear tire had good clearance. From about an 1/8" to 3/8". But, one rear was marginally close to the balance weights and the other front just didn't seem to have quite the 1/8" the manufacturer indicates is needed.

Bottom line, the red covers looked terrific and I would really like to put them back on...but, I'm not comfortable with the clearance on those 2 wheels.

Does anyone have any ideas, experience, or suggestions on what can be done to get these back on with enough clearance?

I should add, when driven across the parking lot at the retailer there was no scratching or indication on the covers that they were actually rubbing against the wheels.

In advance, thank you, for your help.........again.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Apparently, some these caliper covers are poorly developed products. I hear about the wheel weight clearance issue occasionally. Seems some of the makers of these parts don't understand that balance weights need clearance and that not every tire shop uses the same kind of weights nor do they apply them in exactly the same place on the wheels.

Another thing to know about caliper covers is they interfere with brake cooling. That's likely not an issue with a show car, waxer or normal street driver which never sees aggressive brake use, but if the car is driven in a manner that uses the brakes a lot, they're a bad choice.

As to how you can "fix" the clearance issue, my first suggestion would be to return the parts and ask the vendor or the manufacturer to supply some covers which work with wheel weights. My second choice would be to modify the covers for the likely small amount of extra clearance you need by using a small grinder or a file.

 

[catbert]

The best thing to cover calipers with is caliper paint - IMHO

 

[Toms007]

The best thing to cover calipers with is caliper paint - IMHO

This seems like the easiest solution.