I’m installing H&R DRM wheel spacers and I’m stuck on the front wheel install. How do I tighten the nuts onto the original studs without the disc spinning clockwise?

Not being able to keep the disc in place is keeping me from tightening the nuts to torque spec.

This is probably a super newb question but I want to be sure I have these safely installed.

Thanks.

 

Your problem comes about because you're probably using a ratchet which entails the use of leverage applied to a bar/handle that is at a 90° angle to the nut you are trying to apply torque or twist force onto. Whereas if you chose to use a drill (e.g. electric, battery or pneumatic impact) that produces its torque or twisting force directly 'in-line' (as opposed to a diverging or off-axis 90° angle) with the nut you intend to tighten, you would not experience the entire brake rotor rotating as you tightened the nut because the torque/twisting force of a drill is directly 'in-line' with the nut, producing practically no leveraging force that would cause the entire brake rotor to rotate. Lever force vs. in-line force is divergent by 90 degrees. Force by leverage trumps in-line force every time.

You can use a long thick (preferably square) shanked screwdriver or a breaker bar or a jack bar to wedge against two studs or rotor cooling fin to scotch the brake rotor and prevent it from rotating as you tighten the nuts. Or, you can use something like a board or umbrella to depress the brake pedal and wedge the other end against the seat to keep the brake pedal depressed so the brake rotor doesn't rotate. Just be careful not to damage your seat cover material.

 

I guess this is drifting this topic but, I have a question maybe someone here could answer?! I'm a detail junkie with the RX and GS that I own. Every season prior to parking my GS for the winter I remove the wheels to detail and clean suspension components. Any ideas on keeping the aluminum hats on front RWD rotors clean. Brake dust and dirt permeate the hats and I've tried various chemicals to no avail. Other than sandblasting or dry ice cleaning would anyone know what might work?

 

@charley95 - You really are a detail junkie if you want to do that!

Have you tried spraying on iron remover and let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing it off? You can also use canned air (big can of compressed air a.k.a. Duster used to clean out PC cabinets and keyboards) to hit any crevices where the brake dust and dirt wedge. Your hats should be clean after that, or should I say about as clean as you're going to get them without removing the rotor to soak it in a vat then pressure cleaning it.

If you really want to polish then clean you might try a buffing wheel on a drill, using some metal polishing compound to remove the contaminates and to polish the metal. 'White Rouge' abrasive buffing compound is perfect for removing scratches and surface contaminates on soft non-ferrous metals like aluminum, gold, silver and copper.

I personally would not use sandblasting because it'll eat into the surface of the metal which would probably make the surface much more susceptible to retain/trap dust/dirt.

 

Aren't the hats a rough aluminum casting? I just want to restore to the bright metal as they were new. Maybe I misunderstood what you said on polishing them?! That iron remover sounds like a good idea that I'll try.

 

Have you tried asking someone to hold the brake pedal down as you tighten?

 

That's not fair - that's too easy!

 

Maybe there's nobody around he trusts!

 

Maybe a toothbrush and aluminum/metal polish, since it's a rough surface?

 

What size are the wheel spacers on the front and rear?
Do you have pictures of what it looks like?
Are you planning to lower the vehicle?
IMHO when extreme width wheel spacers are use they make the car look very cartoonish if the car is not lowered.

 

@charley95 - Maybe you should invest in a Soda Blaster!

 

That's a good idea too! Might be exactly what I need.

 

Yep, noone around this weekend and I’d like to stay on “just waiving” terms with my neighbors.

I had already tried wedging the box the spacers came in between the seat and the brake pedal and even with the brake fully pressed (maybe it wasn’t), the disc still turned : /

 

Thanks, brotha.

 

Using 15mm front and 20mm rear. Agreed on your last point - practically every car I’ve own had coilovers installed but I promised my wife I wouldn’t touch the GS (fellas, learn from my mistake)! I just can’t stand the wheels being tucked so far in.

With the spacers installed the wheels look how I would expect they should have been stock. It could look so much better lowered, but I think it looks much better than before.