I put Saleen wheels on my 2011 GT, but under hard braking have been hearing noises in spite of doublechecking lugnut tightness. check out the photos. 2011 factory wheels have machined-out recess on backside of wheel where it mates up to wheel hub. Saleen backside of wheel is flush. Look at the impression on the one hole (in the blue grease) from where the disc retaining washer hits.

So I'm thinking the best best is to just remove the disc retaining washer. Can anyone think of a reason why I shouldn't do this? [installing wheel spacers might be another approach, but seems like the wrong thing to do]

 

Definitely just remove the disc retaining ring. It's just there to hold the disc on during initial assembly. It has no use once the wheel is torqued on, and obviously, in your case caused some problems. Most aftermarket wheels do not have the proper recess to clear the ring.

 

Thanks. Just what I was thinking. But figured it'd be safer to check for a 2nd opinion before I did something dumb that I'd regret later.

 

+1^^

remove that retaining clip on the front of the rotor so the wheel can mount flush

 

Yup, I had the same problem.

 

This is an old issue and common on the 05's thru 10's, too. Just remove all of the rings.