Griff 500 front discs.

[DarkMatter]

Because I suspect that one of the front brake discs is warped on my '96 Griff 500 I'm considering putting new discs on.

My discs are 260mm diameter, I've seen some discs listed as 58mm high and others as 53mm high but both of the same thickness. Would that mean that, whichever disc height is fitted, the caliper will slide in or out to centralise on the disc?

[Russell Mc]

I would think there would be a chance the wrong one would rub on the carrier

[DarkMatter]

Russell Mc said:

I would think there would be a chance the wrong one would rub on the carrier

Yes, that does worry me.

Looking at the EBC website the 58mm (p/n D216) is cheaper (£82.99) than the 53mm (p/n D150) ones (£59.83). My assumption is that the most commonly used size will be cheaper due to greater production numbers, i.e. the 58mm size - the majority of discs on eBay are 58mm high or the height is not mentioned.

My existing discs are 53mm height but they were bought secondhand and may be a different height to the originals.

So, the question is other than measuring the discs already on my car how can I determine what height discs should be fitted?

[Russell Mc]

If your existing discs are 53mm high and they work fine then that sounds like the ones to go for.
Had a quick look on eBay at 500 discs and the item specifics say 53mm high.

[DarkMatter]

Thanks for your comments Russell.

I've removed the brake calipers now. I can see that with my 53mm high disks the caliper carrier is closer to the outside face of the disk than it is to the inside face of the disk. I can also see that there are spacer washers between the caliper carrier and the front hub carrier.

It's beginning to look as though my car has been modified to accept 53mm high discs instead of 58mm high discs.

Has anyone else seen this arrangement? I'd like to know whether there is a more positive way in which I can determine which disks should be fitted.

[Lunablack]

It doesn't matter if you use 53mm or 58mm discs. As long as you have the spacers you can make up the difference

If you measure a spacer you'll see they're 5mm thick, to make up the difference, IYSWIM

[DarkMatter]

Lunablack said:

It doesn't matter if you use 53mm or 58mm discs. As long as you have the spacers you can make up the difference

If you measure a spacer you'll see they're 5mm thick, to make up the difference, IYSWIM

Makes sense to me, thanks.

I'll measure my existing spacers. I'd expect it to be a case of no spacers for 58mm and spacers for 53mm high discs.

[Keri]

To my knowledge all the Griff/Chim front brakes are 58mm deep, some are 240x24x58, some are 260x24x58.

I'd knock up a quick card template of the cross-section to see if 58mm deep is a better fit in your caliper before buying anything. (Use 8mm for the flange, giving you a 50mm offset on the inside of the disc)

If someone has fitted spacers and you remove them, remember to make sure the mounting bolts don't then poke through the holes in the caliper into the disc. Also I'd clean the threads in the caliper with the correct size tap (M10 or M10 fine-pitch, you'll have to check using one of the bolts) as a ridge of rust tends to build up over time - the bolts can "bottom out" on this lip if you are changing things.

Hope that helps! :-)

[DarkMatter]

Keri said:

To my knowledge all the Griff/Chim front brakes are 58mm deep, some are 240x24x58, some are 260x24x58.

There are definitely some cars fitted with 53mm disks and spacers, like mine. I hadn't considered this until someone pointed it out to me but removing the spacers and fitting 58mm disks will bring the disc closer to the steering arm ball joint. Currently with my 53mm discs the gap is 12mm so this would reduce to 7mm with the 58mm discs - wonder whether hot discs would present a problem with the rubber boots on the ball joints?

Keri said:

If someone has fitted spacers and you remove them, remember to make sure the mounting bolts don't then poke through the holes in the caliper into the disc. Also I'd clean the threads in the caliper with the correct size tap (M10 or M10 fine-pitch, you'll have to check using one of the bolts) as a ridge of rust tends to build up over time - the bolts can "bottom out" on this lip if you are changing things.

Good point, I'll make sure I check that.
Thanks.