Well, I finally did the un-imagineable..

[Rat3d ///M]

..I painted my stock calipers No, don't leave yet..

I have gone back and forth on this one for quite some time. Today, I rolled out of bed, and something compelled me to finally go through with this, despite changing my mind half a dozen times between when I woke up and started this project. Took me about 3-4 hours total.

I know this "mod" is highly taboo. Why not just get a BBK? A couple reasons. Firstly, not all of us po' folk can afford $6000.00 for brakes Secondly, even if I could afford Brembo's, I don't track my car. Been to the 'Ring once, and don't have much of a desire to go back. I do want to get a nice Brembo kit in the future, but I just can't see spending that kind of money for a cosmetic mod, because for what I use the car for, and it's current power level, that is what it would be, is a cosmetic mod If I was a serious track junkie or I went FI (which I do plan to in the future) it would be a different story and the cost would be justified. But for now, shitty paint job it is.

All that aside, I am not trying to fool anyone, and I know our OEM brakes don't belong on this car. Why BMW would think it's important enough to give us 275 tires to transfer 414hp to the ground, but give us this bullshit to stop all that power is beyond me. I know, I know, so why draw attention to these ugly brakes by painting them bright yellow? I wanted some nice contrast behind the wheel for something to look at when the car is rolling down the road or standing still. That is really all this is about. Just some color to accent and compliment my fairly dark theme I have with my car.

So without further delay, here are the pics:

The kit I used:


What is included in the box:


A before picture of the front driver wheel:


After paint:


With the wheel back on:


Driver rear painted:


With the wheel back on:


And an overall front/side shot after completion:




So the $1,000,000 question (well, two questions): Would I do it again? Do I regret it?

Maybe, and perhaps a little.

I see nothing wrong with painting the OEM calipers. Yes, they are nothing special to look at, but as an accent to compliment a color scheme on your car, I think it is okay. To make it look like you have a BBK? Not sure who you think you are fooling. However, if I was to do this again, I would get them done professionally. I didn't do as good of a job as I wanted to. At a glance, or even from 5 feet away, they look great. But up close, you can tell they are painted calipers. Brush strokes, uneven coats, shitty masking job, runny paint, maybe a couple areas where the black shows through slightly.

For now I am going to stick with it. I may add black ///M decals and clear coat them if the paint holds up after a month or so and I decide I like the look. If I really can't stand it, I am going to paint them a nice gloss black. My calipers were rough anyways, so whether I painted them black or yellow, they definitely were in need of some TLC. I already had the paint kit in my garage from about 7 months ago when I bought it and planned to use it on my Mercedes before I sold it, so this literally cost me nothing except my time.

[Helmsman]

Thanks for sharing mate. I am thinking about this from the very same reason as you. And what's wrong with cosmetic man, heck most of the "mods" we get to see are right?

Yellow talks nicely with blue. Im thinking blue calipers for my AW.

Let us hear your report back after a few weeks braking to see if the paint decided to stay or not.

Cheers

[Bavarian Beast]

They look ok to me and it is your car so if you like it that is good enough.

[buddalun]

Honestly, it reminds me of the civics putting around with fart cans and ground effects.

[e92m3_jesse]

You not alone contemplating on painting calipers, only difference is you actually went ahead and gave rest of us an idea of what painted OEM looks like.

I too wanted yellow to contrast against ILB and now more likely to pull the trigger but will take your advice of professional painting.

Bottom line, not everyone has few G's to drop on a mod and especially when it's not tracked. Most that have BBK's don't even track imo but more power to them for the purchase.

Thank you

[EJT86]

Nice job
I went through basically the same dilemma a year ago. I had a shop painted them in lemans blue to match the body paint for $200 and went with that for a while. Until I found some deals on a bbk and couldn't resist the painted those as well but with iND this time
It looks good though

[nthretourNAFTW]

i think you didn't need to be overly worried justifying your mod. it has the same controversial sting than people who paint side reflectors, no more.

honestly here were my thought looking your picture. 1. wow, our oem brakes really are small. Your yellow color makes that more obvious. Not very flattering. 2. The yellow and blue color theme works very well, it's definitively a bonus when looking at your car. 3. it didn't occur to me that it looked painted. not a big deal imo.
Overall i say it was worth it.

[anom3]

Thanks for the post.

I have been on the fence on this as well. Having recently wrapped my car blue I too have thought a little bit of color would look really nice in there.

I dont track the car, although will be going for the first time in about a month... I just cant justify 6000EUR on breaks that will perform just as well as the OEM's in the city, where I spend 99% of my driving time.

Thanks to your insight, one thing thats for sure, if I do decide to go the same route as you I'll have them done professionally... Removing the calipers from the car, cleaning them up as best as possible with them off the vehicle, etc.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by ||||||||||

..I painted my stock calipers No, don't leave yet..

I have gone back and forth on this one for quite some time. Today, I rolled out of bed, and something compelled me to finally go through with this, despite changing my mind half a dozen times between when I woke up and started this project. Took me about 3-4 hours total.

I know this "mod" is highly taboo. Why not just get a BBK? A couple reasons. Firstly, not all of us po' folk can afford $6000.00 for brakes Secondly, even if I could afford Brembo's, I don't track my car. Been to the 'Ring once, and don't have much of a desire to go back. I do want to get a nice Brembo kit in the future, but I just can't see spending that kind of money for a cosmetic mod, because for what I use the car for, and it's current power level, that is what it would be, is a cosmetic mod If I was a serious track junkie or I went FI (which I do plan to in the future) it would be a different story and the cost would be justified. But for now, shitty paint job it is.

All that aside, I am not trying to fool anyone, and I know our OEM brakes don't belong on this car. Why BMW would think it's important enough to give us 275 tires to transfer 414hp to the ground, but give us this bullshit to stop all that power is beyond me. I know, I know, so why draw attention to these ugly brakes by painting them bright yellow? I wanted some nice contrast behind the wheel for something to look at when the car is rolling down the road or standing still. That is really all this is about. Just some color to accent and compliment my fairly dark theme I have with my car.

So without further delay, here are the pics:

The kit I used:


What is included in the box:


A before picture of the front driver wheel:


After paint:


With the wheel back on:


Driver rear painted:


With the wheel back on:


And an overall front/side shot after completion:




So the $1,000,000 question (well, two questions): Would I do it again? Do I regret it?

Maybe, and perhaps a little.

I see nothing wrong with painting the OEM calipers. Yes, they are nothing special to look at, but as an accent to compliment a color scheme on your car, I think it is okay. To make it look like you have a BBK? Not sure who you think you are fooling. However, if I was to do this again, I would get them done professionally. I didn't do as good of a job as I wanted to. At a glance, or even from 5 feet away, they look great. But up close, you can tell they are painted calipers. Brush strokes, uneven coats, shitty masking job, runny paint, maybe a couple areas where the black shows through slightly.

For now I am going to stick with it. I may add black ///M decals and clear coat them if the paint holds up after a month or so and I decide I like the look. If I really can't stand it, I am going to paint them a nice gloss black. My calipers were rough anyways, so whether I painted them black or yellow, they definitely were in need of some TLC. I already had the paint kit in my garage from about 7 months ago when I bought it and planned to use it on my Mercedes before I sold it, so this literally cost me nothing except my time.

[luis_m3]

Originally Posted by buddalun

Honestly, it reminds me of the civics putting around with fart cans and ground effects.

+1. But in the end, the only thing that matters is if you like it.
I bought a set of Stoptech to put on my E90 back in the day, but it was for performance reasons mostly. You can find some reasonably priced on used items for sale.

[nthretourNAFTW]

by the way your title "i finally did the unimaginable" augured putting a S65 into a f8x Mfour a.k.a M435i to make it a real M car

[STooK]

Who cares what people on the internet think? You did what you wanted to do on your car and that's all that matters. Personally, I think it gives a nice contrast with the overall dark colors of your car and wheels. I do wish bmw gave us nicer brakes on the M, hell even the f30 3 series gets nicer brakes than ours..

[MachinesWithSouls]

If your looking for a cheaper alternative, these match up well:

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E92-M3-...nce/ES2857708/

f80 gold calipers, or blue if you prefer.

[Ryan00085]

[/URL]. Or just a clear coat and a decal.

[avantegardestyle]

Originally Posted by buddalun

Honestly, it reminds me of the civics putting around with fart cans and ground effects.

to you, but its not a Civic, its a BMW M3, with pained calipers so whatever it reminds you of it isnt that.

One of the thing I dislike is in owning these kind of cars, Mod Manufacturers create a whole bunch of over expensive parts that could be more price friendly, in order to capitalize on this kind of mindset.

OP, I see nothing wrong with it, its your car, you can do as you like........

[MineralWhiteDropTop]

Looks good!

[ellekz]

I'm gonna go ahead and say it looks good.. because the previous owner of my M3 also painted them (red)

[buddalun]

Originally Posted by avantegardestyle

to you, but its not a Civic, its a BMW M3, with pained calipers so whatever it reminds you of it isnt that.

Your logic is impeccable. Do you want to try again? Because one thing is not another, it does not possess the quality or ability to remind one of something else?

Also, I did not realize brake calipers possessed the ability to feel. Your post "pained" me.

[InnerBlueSkies]

Not my cup of tea but look fine to me given your rationale.

[SteveInfante]

Originally Posted by SoManyBlueCars

If your looking for a cheaper alternative, these match up well:

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E92-M3-...nce/ES2857708/

f80 gold calipers, or blue if you prefer.

OP I think that it looks great. Powder coating is always the alternative should you get tired of that and can afford to have your car apart for a couple of days. I have done this on previous cars and it doesn't last very long and you end up having to redo it eventually.

I like the above option the best of course. Doesn't look like it will break the bank either and it's OEM so you know you aren't going to have problems with fitment. Some people spend that much on just two wheels. No me, but some people.

[anom3]

Am I correct in assuming this ECS parts link is ONLY the 2 fronts? Or all 4 wheels?

Originally Posted by Stevedotmil

OP I think that it looks great. Powder coating is always the alternative should you get tired of that and can afford to have your car apart for a couple of days. I have done this on previous cars and it doesn't last very long and you end up having to redo it eventually.

I like the above option the best of course. Doesn't look like it will break the bank either and it's OEM so you know you aren't going to have problems with fitment. Some people spend that much on just two wheels. No me, but some people.

[Ezio]

i dont see anything wrong with painting them.

I think its a bit overplayed though .

[hpapad01]

Originally Posted by Stevedotmil

OP I think that it looks great. Powder coating is always the alternative should you get tired of that and can afford to have your car apart for a couple of days. I have done this on previous cars and it doesn't last very long and you end up having to redo it eventually.

I like the above option the best of course. Doesn't look like it will break the bank either and it's OEM so you know you aren't going to have problems with fitment. Some people spend that much on just two wheels. No me, but some people.

I believe they offer only the 2 fronts.

They also offer only the 2 front calipers (blue only) from the F10 M5 and their own slotted disks and brake lines http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E93-M3-S65_4.0L/ES2804295/.

It is an interesting concept but leaves the project unbalanced IMO.