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This is something I’ve wanted to do with my car for about a decade now. At least, ever since I got my Vossens back in 2013. And then even more since 2020, after getting those 2-piece rotors from Z1 Motorsports.
There’s nothing wrong with my Akebono BBK calipers. They’re OEM, I keep them clean, they look great. Painting them was always hard to rationalize, so the project just kept falling down the list. After four years of want, I just gave up and even took it off my list. (sad)
Anyway, here's a pic of the passenger rear:
Then recently I once again went down the rabbit hole, wondering how I could get this done, what parts would be needed to make it happen, what I would have to learn to DIY, or else budget at the shop. My mind spun for a while, until I talked myself out of it again. The numbers still didn’t add up.
When along came @rotarymike our friendly neighborhood Moderator. Mike very kindly gave me a deal on his old set of calipers. That transaction, along with the knowledge that I can sell my old calipers at a premium, made me get off the fence. Plus, I really needed a new car project. Ever since the tune, I’ve been kind of done.
So the numbers still don't really add up in any way that makes sense, but here I am again, at the very beginning of a project, starting a thread about it and seeing where it goes.
What colours are you thinking? I think the copper colour the 350Z used or a similar blue to what the newer BMW calipers use. You're doing powder not paint right?
What colours are you thinking? I think the copper colour the 350Z used or a similar blue to what the newer BMW calipers use. You're doing powder not paint right?
Yes, powder coat. The donor calipers will need to be disassembled, media blasted, primed, powder coated, have decals applied, clear coated and rebuilt. It's a lot, LOL. I've a number of different PC shops in the area, so I'm going to be shopping for a shop.
As for color, my car is Moonlight White, and I was originally thinking of metallic yellow, or gold. But over the years I've settled in with selecting metallic orange. Something like GM's Blaze Orange Metallic from the Caddy CTS-V.
Since I'm going down this path, I've decided to do something I took a pass on a few years ago with my rotors & pads project, and that's swap out the OEM brake lines for stainless steel. I don't think (?) brand is a huge aspect of this selection, and since I'm comfortable with parts from Z1 Motorsports, I'll just go with them.
@abrecos pointed out that the premium Z1 kit is more akin to the OEM lines, so I'll probably be purchasing these for $150.
I get how lots of people use the Akebono decals on their brakes. It makes sense. Seems that eBay is the place to source these decals, for anywhere from $8 to $20 for a set. But between nothing, Akebono, Infiniti or something customized, I'm leaning towards just going with "INFINITI".
I suppose it's right to target "high temp" decals, and just cross my fingers that it would be OK.
I get how lots of people use the Akebono decals on their brakes. It makes sense. Seems that eBay is the place to source these decals, for anywhere from $8 to $20 for a set. But between nothing, Akebono, Infiniti or something customized, I'm leaning towards just going with "INFINITI".
I suppose it's right to target "high temp" decals, and just cross my fingers that it would be OK.
You'll be fine with high temp decals unless you suddenly decide to start taking up track days. I've had my current decals since 2020 and they've held up perfectly.
What about a different font for INFINITI? Don't you have a dash emblem in cursive?
You'll be fine with high temp decals unless you suddenly decide to start taking up track days. I've had my current decals since 2020 and they've held up perfectly.
The only track days I've done are auto-x, which isn't enough to get the brakes as hot as a course track. And I doubt I'll be doing it again.
Originally Posted by Lego_Maniac
What about a different font for INFINITI? Don't you have a dash emblem in cursive?
I do, and I like it, and that's a pretty cool idea. But I think I'll stick with the OEM font.
Yes, powder coat. The donor calipers will need to be disassembled, media blasted, primed, powder coated, have decals applied, clear coated and rebuilt. It's a lot, LOL. I've a number of different PC shops in the area, so I'm going to be shopping for a shop.
As for color, my car is Moonlight White, and I was originally thinking of metallic yellow, or gold. But over the years I've settled in with selecting metallic orange. Something like GM's Blaze Orange Metallic from the Caddy CTS-V.
It's a lot to us, to a shop that does this stuff it's just Tuesday. This was the colour I was picturing, so similar to that CTS.
When I was a kid, as a HS graduation present, my parents paid to have my '76 Firebird repaired and painted. I selected Flame Red from the 1975 Corvette, (which was just orange, LOL.) Anyway, been drawn to orange on a car ever since.
You're right, that 350z color is close, but leaning towards the gold side of the spectrum. I think the Caddy color is deeper. I'll probably have a dozen different shades to choose from when I get to it.
Yesterday I did some preliminary research on PC shops, and picked four that I want to follow up with. All with good reviews, one that uses vapor blasting, a couple in an unfamiliar part of the city which has me curious. Lots of options.
When I was a kid, as a HS graduation present, my parents paid to have my '76 Firebird repaired and painted. I selected Flame Red from the 1975 Corvette, (which was just orange, LOL.) Anyway, been drawn to orange on a car ever since.
You're right, that 350z color is close, but leaning towards the gold side of the spectrum. I think the Caddy color is deeper. I'll probably have a dozen different shades to choose from when I get to it.
Yesterday I did some preliminary research on PC shops, and picked four that I want to follow up with. All with good reviews, one that uses vapor blasting, a couple in an unfamiliar part of the city which has me curious. Lots of options.
I deal with a few powder coating shops at work on a pretty regular basis, and would trust any of them for work like this without hesitation. This is small stuff for any real powder coating shops and I bet they'd all do a good job. I think a deep gold would look great too on the car, I much prefer deeper colours on calipers over the bright flashy ones.
There is no other color to choose but the orange you painted the engine cover with. It's the perfect shade of orange and you'll have something to match which is the engine cover.
Orange and white look really well with with another and it will give it enough POP to put on the italic cursive INFINITI design you have in the dash as well as leave them blank and it would still look good.
First runner
Second runner
Being that you're already going to disassemble, get your self:
At least 4x NEW bleeder screws and rubber caps to complete the finished look.
New OEM shims and slider pins as well
Mine are are closer to a golden shade of bronze, I left the stickers off since I rushed to paint them but the blank painted look grew on me. Being that you have aftermarket wheels with branding as well decals will look good. I would even say slightly better than blank even though blank is personal preference.
Those brake lines will be perfect and just exactly what you need and I believe they let you eliminate the front black metal bracket that goes on top of the spindle.
I noticed that 19s show quite a bit of this area and that bracket covers the natural beauty of an all aluminum spindle that can be polished/sanded/left in 100grit finish and make this area pop out more and more.
On another note and one you probably dont want to touch is your two piece rotors. Rotor hubs has been something that I've always paid attention to on vehicles and some of the most over looked when it comes to matching.
Here's some examples of different color hubs that you could benefit from if even interested to go down the line of messing around with the rotor's look.
With that being said I say MCLAREN takes the win on the right shade of orange.
02-26-2024, 03:53 PM
