[vishnurajanme]

Wow, that was an awesome DIY. Planning to do the same in my elite. Thank you so much for the steps. BTB, I found out certain problems. My brake caliper is not smooth. it is contoured in many places. So it wont touch this fake caliper correctly. Yours being a verna, will have the same issues na? Is there a gap between the caliper and the cover? Or did the anabond cover everything smoothly?

[Jassy1313]

I had ordered the caliper covers 6 months ago but was not sure how to install them. I saw a lot of videos on youtube but was not able to find the rite sealant in the local market. Then I came across your thread.
After reading you thread I decided to use your method. Everything went well and now I am super happy. It Looks awesome.. Thank you

[vishnurajanme]

Those who cant fix this bash this guy, and those who fix this supports him. Well written diy dear. You rock!! But even I too have the same doubt. How to change the actual brake pads when this cover is in place? Should I remove the cover???

[Jassy1313]

In my case I don't have to remove the caliper covers to change the pads because the caliper covers I have installed are of the smallest size available in the market. So they don't hide the bolts.

[197Horses]

Originally Posted by vishnurajanme

Those who cant fix this bash this guy, and those who fix this supports him. Well written diy dear. You rock!! But even I too have the same doubt. How to change the actual brake pads when this cover is in place? Should I remove the cover???

Yea i know that while changing break pads i will need to remove them, usually my break pads last for 40-45 thousand kms. Now i guess thats a pretty ling time.Your view sounds funny something like a bride wont do make up thinking that it will be washed away when she takes a bath.

Originally Posted by Jassy1313

I had ordered the caliper covers 6 months ago but was not sure how to install them. I saw a lot of videos on Youtube but was not able to find the rite sealant in the local market. Then I came across your thread.

After reading you thread I decided to use your method. Everything went well and now I am super happy. It Looks awesome.. Thank you

I am glad that you used my method.Your City looks amazing with those set of alloys.

Originally Posted by vishnurajanme

Wow, that was an awesome DIY. Planning to do the same in my elite. Thank you so much for the steps. BTB, I found out certain problems. My brake caliper is not smooth. it is contoured in many places. So it wont touch this fake caliper correctly. Yours being a verna, will have the same issues na? Is there a gap between the caliper and the cover? Or did the anabond cover everything smoothly?

Verna's caliper to similar to what you have described, to fill that gap use extra anabond.

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[Jassy1313]

I had been to Bali (Indonesia) a few months ago. Out there every 3rd car has these Brembo Caliper covers installed. Even My driver had it installed and he said nothing happens to the Calipers as he has been using it for quite some time.

[PatchyBoy]

I had upgraded to 16" OZ alloys a few months back and now the calipers look all crappy. Thinking of painting them and trying to decide on choices. I have come up with a couple of Photoshop visualizations, albeit amateurish. I have several questions -

1. How hot do Brake Calipers get?
2. Will plasti-dip hold up (advantage - reversible)
3. If not, what about regular enamel paint & clear?
4. Is it mandatory to use high temperature caliper paint?

Please see pics for concepts. Thanks in advance.

[biggrin]

Originally Posted by PatchyBoy

1. How hot do Brake Calipers get?
2. Will plasti-dip hold up (advantage - reversible)
3. If not, what about regular enamel paint & clear?
4. Is it mandatory to use high temperature caliper paint?

First things first, the alloys are drool maal.

The Photoshop visualizations you have created look great (especially the one with red caliper and white Fiat branding) but would be a task to execute. I don't think many painters would agree to give it a shot.

Plasti-dip is good, only because it is reversible, but I would advice spray paints instead. In case you want to change colour, you can sand the caliper surface and re-paint. You will not be able to go to 100% stock in this case, but silver/black would be good enough in case you want to revert to stock understated look.

Get a simple job done by a painter for the calipers, and ensure that they use a lot of gloss/clear (not sure what it is called but it acts as a protective shiny layer). Single shades like red or orange would look nice. Try doing a PS job on a picture that shows the profile of the car to get a better idea.

I am not too sure about this but caliper would/should be getting hot, as it is a brake component after all. Aerosol cans are low quality and markets are flooded with them. I have used one such spray can on a friend's car and the paint started to come off (crack) from the edges of the caliper in around 3 months. The paint on rear drum has held tight over the last one year. This might be because of different material of caliper and drum. I would suggesting going to a nearby painter instead. I got a quote of 800 bucks recently for calipers and drums in Delhi. Majority of people I know have gone through the 'painter' route and trust me, painters are in abundance in Delhi and you will never have to haggle for rates.

Which part of the 'Earth' do you live in by the way?

[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by biggrin

First things first, the alloys are drool maal.

Thank you.

The Photoshop visualizations you have created look great (especially the one with red caliper and white Fiat branding) but would be a task to execute. I don't think many painters would agree to give it a shot.

As with most other things in my car, this will be a DIY. The FIAT lettering will be vinyl sticker.

Plasti-dip is good, only because it is reversible, but I would advice spray paints instead. In case you want to change colour, you can sand the caliper surface and re-paint. You will not be able to go to 100% stock in this case, but silver/black would be good enough in case you want to revert to stock understated look.

Makes sense. Thanks.

Which part of the 'Earth' do you live in by the way?

Let's just say I am a global citizen, shall we?

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by PatchyBoy

1. How hot do Brake Calipers get?
2. Will plasti-dip hold up (advantage - reversible)
3. If not, what about regular enamel paint & clear?
4. Is it mandatory to use high temperature caliper paint?

1. I have seen the calipers of my WagonR reaching 70deg C on my regular office drive of 25kms on free roads with some hard braking. Calipers of my SX4 have got to 84-85 deg C on highway drives when the car is fully loaded and a couple of hard braking cycles.

2. Nope. I dont think so. Once the temperature heats up, the coating will either come out or melt down. Rubber is not a good idea.

3. Enamel paint should do, but clear coat should be able to withstand high temperatures.

4. I recently painted calipers of my SX4 but used a high temperature resistant paint. The regular spray cans are acrylic paints which wont last at high temperatures but the high temperature paints are usually resin based which become quite hard and resistant to erosion. Cross posting images from another thread:





In comparison to the calipers, the rims of my car usually hover around 50deg C and not more than that. I think plasti dip will be much suitable here.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by PatchyBoy

Thinking of painting them and trying to decide on choices.

I used 2k solid canary yellow to.paint the calipers on my 2003 Corolla.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...t-imag0344.jpg
All that we did was use thinner and a clean brushto clean the calipers surface and then paint using another clean brush.

Painting has to be performed patiently to prevent excess paint in rolling over and spoiling the looks.

Please put on a pair of gloves when painting.

[sgiitk]

I have had the brakes glowing red hot. It happened on a long down-slope in the French Alps in a rented Peugeot Auto. We ended up with a total brake failure, and only thing which saved us was an slip road going up. Why, we did not know the benefit of shifting down in the AT and continuous braking just cooked the calipers and discs.

[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by audioholic

1. I have seen the calipers of my WagonR reaching 70deg C on my regular office drive of 25kms on free roads with some hard braking. Calipers of my SX4 have got to 84-85 deg C on highway drives when the car is fully loaded and a couple of hard braking cycles.

In comparison to the calipers, the rims of my car usually hover around 50deg C and not more than that. I think plasti dip will be much suitable here.

Thanks a lot for specific information. May I ask if these were measured temperatures?

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by PatchyBoy

Thanks a lot for specific information. May I ask if these were measured temperatures?

Yes. I have an infrared temperature gun. Sometime back I had a doubt that the calipers on the SX4 were jammed so I kept measuring temperatures on a regular basis.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by PatchyBoy

Thanks a lot for specific information. May I ask if these were measured temperatures?

Remembered this thread as I came home today and here is the temperature for today after a 26km drive home in both heavy traffic and some free roads
Tyre


Rim


Caliper


I was off by what numbers I had stated to you. Just for everyone's reference