brake caliper aesthetics...

[lsxfirstgen]

no sure if this has been discussed or not but what the heck...I dont eant to bash on anyones personal preference but where is there a line about the color of calipers. IMHO, i think its a bit tacky when an all stock daily driver has a brigh colored caliper that was intentioally painted to accent the not so special piece. On the other hand a 2/4/6 piston caliper that clamps a large diameter rotor looks really nice. So, what is the deciding factor when it comes to subtle black and gray colors or eye catching golds, reds, bright silvers? And whats everyones opinions on the best color choice if the caliper permits it? pics...?

[Rhino]

So, what is the deciding factor when it comes to subtle black and gray colors or eye catching golds, reds, bright silvers?

You hit it early on... personal preference. In my opinion, a car should have two colors, one primary, and one complementary. If the rotor isn't the complementary color it should be black/grey.

Regardless of my brake size, I still think I'd want them to fade into the background, not to draw attention from the car itself.

[chevy42083]

I decided on red as an accent. I may not have high dolloar stuff... just stock LS1 fbody.... but they are the largest I can fit in the 16s. They look good, IMO.
Truck is in sig. Only red is tubular arms, bushing, plug wires, and LT1 intake... and now brake calipers.

[JRouche]

Im with you on this one.. The problem?? Too many beater cars with rattle can red on the calipers, kinda cheesed the look I think.

I just bought some wilwood 13" brakes with four pot calipers and went with black. Not really looking for the flash, if I was Id just paint some flames on the side of the car :barf: JR

[bbcc]

When I purchased the wilwood components for my s-series I had to special order all the components in black. Waited a good month or so, but in the end they look very stealthy behind the wheels. Even for guys with red or yellow vehicles, an "accent" shouldn't be added to the callipers. A few months back there was a thread on what makes pro touring, the best thing pulled from that thread was "modifications that enhance performance first and looks a close second, without the risk of looking dated in two years".

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Anyone have their calipers powder coated??? Any issues having a local shop coat them. Mine are basic single piston factory GM calipers.

[jy211]

Personal preferance. I have the caliper's on my daily driver painted red, but I am running a 22" rim, so the car isn't technically stock. The calipers on my 55' are powder coated red since I am running a black (for now) center wheel, black coated rotors, and all black control arms. I am debating about what color to paint the calipers on my yellow 56' since my rotors are zinc coated (silver).

[chevy42083]

They may be rattle can, but I think they look good.
Maybe it's all that time block sanding. :)

No pics of fronts mounted hosted anywhere.... I need to host a shot of the whole truck with the new brakes.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/06/DSCN1422sized-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/06/100_0800sized-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/06/100_0810sized-1.jpg

[lsxfirstgen]

Anyone have their calipers powder coated??? Any issues having a local shop coat them. Mine are basic single piston factory GM calipers.


Second on this one, i am curious about this also. Should the mounting bosses, line sealing bosses, on the calipers and brackets be coated or left bare.

[chevy42083]

Yes, left bare. Otherwise, it may not seal, and it will more than likely crack and chip once you tighten down on it anyways.

You need to pull the piston out, and probably install a new seal when putting it back together also.

Not really sure how difficult that is... that's why I used a spray can :)

[lsxfirstgen]

Definetly all the rubber needs to be removed so it will not melt when being coated. my concern is the thickness of the coating causing issues with the mounting specs and clearances. Has anyone had calipers coated and dealt with the shop about the specifics of doing them?