Caliper paint

[cdeslandes]

Has anyone painted the brake calipers on their Z4 yet?

I did it on my previous car (Lexus IS), and am curious what it would look like on the Z4. The calipers aren't big monolythic ones like AMG/Porsche/Lexus and I'm not sure it's worth the effort...

[Z4@Phuket]

please don't do that. It will look like a mess

[Mr Breeze]

Originally Posted by cdeslandes

Has anyone painted the brake calipers on their Z4 yet?

I did it on my previous car (Lexus IS), and am curious what it would look like on the Z4. The calipers aren't big monolythic ones like AMG/Porsche/Lexus and I'm not sure it's worth the effort...

While I am a few days away from taking delivery on a 35is, I was planning on painting my calipers. Some have strong opinions about it, and they are entitled to their opinion, but it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks - it's my car. I've painted calipers on an M3, but didn't on my SLK55 as the calipers were much nicer looking on the AMG. I'm not trying to fool anyone by painting the calipers. My 35is is Titanium Silver, and was planning on doing the calipers in red as with so much of the car being silver or black, the red will give it a touch of color without being over the top. (in my humble opinion)

I agree that the stock calipers on the BMW aren't the best looking - so some may say that painting will draw attention to them, where others (like me) think it makes an improvement in the overall look.

To each his own, right?

Good luck with your decision.

[bill123]

I was going to paint mine red but in the end I painted them silver, (after my sig photo) because the calipers are not wide enough and red paint would make them stand out to be weedy (naff) IMO

[Mr Breeze]

Originally Posted by bill123

I was going to paint mine red but in the end I painted them silver, (after my sig photo) because the calipers are not wide enough and red paint would make them stand out to be weedy (naff) IMO

....sure, now after I already bought the red paint you tell me.

But seriously, it concerns me that the calipers aren't that big or nice looking, and the wheels are the same as yours, so the red might be too much. The others I've done this on had nicer calipers and the wheel was less open, so the red added a nice, but not obnoxious, bit of color.

Now what's a guy to do?

[ttuner]

paint them red, if you dont like it, re-paint them silver.

its just paint...your just out 30-60min it takes to re-do them if you dont like it. i plan on painting my calipers when mine arrives.

[Z4Andy]

My local BMW dealer paints all their used cars/company cars brakes black.

I was surprised when I seen a 3 month old Z4 on the lot with black calipers and I was told they do all their cars due to corrosion making them look bad..

[juhap]

Originally Posted by Mr Breeze

Now what's a guy to do?

Ask Memphis to Photoshop it for you

[bill123]

Originally Posted by Mr Breeze

....sure, now after I already bought the red paint you tell me.

But seriously, it concerns me that the calipers aren't that big or nice looking, and the wheels are the same as yours, so the red might be too much. The others I've done this on had nicer calipers and the wheel was less open, so the red added a nice, but not obnoxious, bit of color.

Now what's a guy to do?

You can see from this photo I have just taken what I'm on about

[Mr Breeze]

If I had the Deep Sea Blue, I wouldn't be considering painting the calipers. The body color really draws the eye. But with a Titanium Silver and the same 326 wheels, there is so much silver that it becomes a bit mono chromatic. The only thing that has color is the tail lights and that damn orange reflector on the front wheel arch we are required to here in the states. I'll be swapping out the reflector for color-matched inserts, so it is pretty much going to be a silver canvas. I think I may need to put some red tape over the calipers and see how it looks before going ahead with the painting.

Did you brush or spray yours? I've done it both ways, but prefer the brush-on method.

[bill123]

Originally Posted by Mr Breeze

Did you brush or spray yours? I've done it both ways, but prefer the brush-on method.

Brush on, I've tried spray on in the past with my last Z and I still ended up going over it with a brush

[cdeslandes]

I've decided against doing it after all. Those calipers aren't in one piece, it'll look like a mess.

I did it with success on my previous ride, but that caliper was huge and flat so it came out right: