So I finally got round to painting my calipers :)
- Thread starter Tommo
- Start date
Tommo said:
Agree - totally. Painting rear drums is a joke, however most high performance sports cars of which the Zed is clearly one and many fast saloons these days have OEM red or yellow calipers.
I was in a dealers kicking tyres today and the reps spent more time on my car than their sales and the one thing they loved was the combination of open 108's, grooved discs and red calipers. Remember these guys sell M's all day long so to like them (even aside from trying to be a customers friend...lol) speaks volumes.
pvr said:
Not unless I have to. I had a client meeting in Derby today, so a line-up of 6 Z4's on a forecourt of the dealers I passed (OK slight detour) drew me in for a while....
Ok I'll be the devil's advocate once again.
BMW's OEM brakes are small and tiny. When you paint them red, yellow, or any bright color, it's like the brakes are screaming out "hey look at how cute and small we are". It doesn't help that BMW's OEM rotors are typically tiny and wimpy looking as well, which are the next thing that people will notice after the tiny red calipers have grabbed their attention.
Go with red or yellow calipers if you're getting a big brake kit. Paint your OEM calipers silver or black if you must. Of course, people are free to paint their calipers any color they want. Just as long as they're aware that while they might impress those who have little knowledge about cars and modifications, others are more likely to make fun of them for the ricey mod.
BMW's OEM brakes are small and tiny. When you paint them red, yellow, or any bright color, it's like the brakes are screaming out "hey look at how cute and small we are". It doesn't help that BMW's OEM rotors are typically tiny and wimpy looking as well, which are the next thing that people will notice after the tiny red calipers have grabbed their attention.
Go with red or yellow calipers if you're getting a big brake kit. Paint your OEM calipers silver or black if you must. Of course, people are free to paint their calipers any color they want. Just as long as they're aware that while they might impress those who have little knowledge about cars and modifications, others are more likely to make fun of them for the ricey mod.
Thanks. Yeah, after looking at the Monaco Blue thread on ZPost, I guess black really is the color to use. My 2006 doesn't quite look that sharp or dark blue, almost has a hint of purple. Could this just be the gloomy cloudy weather we've had in the northeast combined with a vehicle that hasn't had a wash/polish/was in a couple of months? I wouldn't think that a 2006 would have paint fading already. I've only had the car for a month and it has spent 99.99% of that time inside my garage, so hard to tell what the color is in summer-like conditions. Do you happen to have a photo of your car w/ the black calipers?
Lucy,
I've noticed you have a thing for yellow. I'm also a former engineer, and a guy, so picturing color schemes and what would and would not look good is, let's say ummm, not a strength. Maybe I'll try to learn PhotoShop over the weekend. I'm hearing black and yellow. Maybe I need to get her waxed and polished so that I can see what color she really is before deciding on a color.
BTW, are you still doing yours this weekend?
I've noticed you have a thing for yellow. I'm also a former engineer, and a guy, so picturing color schemes and what would and would not look good is, let's say ummm, not a strength. Maybe I'll try to learn PhotoShop over the weekend. I'm hearing black and yellow. Maybe I need to get her waxed and polished so that I can see what color she really is before deciding on a color.
BTW, are you still doing yours this weekend?
You guys are starting to sway me away from red now. :x And I'll admit that Z4's pic there does looks really nice, especially with the BMW stickers (I'm guessing) on it. Maybe black is the way to go? Not nearly as colorful, but after seeing the giant red Brembo's on my neighbors Porsche, I do sorta get GP20's point.
The calipers on my Z4 are quite rusty. When I bought the car from dealer 2 weeks ago, the salesman said they could clean and paint the calipers. But when I picked the car up, he said if the paint comes off and get into between disc and pad. It will invalidate AUC warranty. So only the hubs were cleaned and painted silver.
Can the rust on calipers be cleaned and restored to original colour (silver)?
Can the rust on calipers be cleaned and restored to original colour (silver)?