Wow! Look at that BBK! Vroom vroom vroom It's huuuuu-- wait a second. Something's seriously off here... :skep: ^ This is another reason caliper covers aren't a good idea. Here's another vote for paint. Powdercoat might be another option too
I would expect that covers would impede heat removal by blocking airflow around the calipers... which would be bad for almost any track application. It seems funny to degrade performance by mimicing performance products... +1 for paint or powdercoating.
I suppose it really just depends on what you're going for. Sometimes it's more important to park hard then drive hard, but even then a BBK will help you park harder then a caliper cover for sure. At least with paint or powdercoat, you'll have the capability of parking or driving equally well without one affecting the other
You should look closer at some home caliper paint jobs..You might want to expand on the poser comment. :lol: Some should never handle the rattle can, EVER! :lol:
IMO leave them stock. Painting looks nice, but can take a lot of upkeep. Unless you disassemble and powdercoat or something else very durable, you will most likely see some chipping. I would always have to touch up multiple times a year. I suppose a good compromise would be a 'bare metal' color.
Powder coat is the best, but you need to remove and disassemble the calipers. Here is a set I had done for my VW: Unfortunately you cant disassemble the rear brakes like the front because of the parking brake mechanism. I had the carriers powder coated and then painted calipers. With proper prep the paint will last a long time.
Not recomended but can be done Dissembled rear R53 caliper prior to powder coating. Required a special cage lock tool for re-assemble. All other parts were thoroughly cleaned and polished. There is no kit for the rear yet that I know of, they are still none serviceable calipers? Powder-coating is the best looking and is more durable over painting but still can chip. Before disassemble of the rear R53 caliper and prep work for powder-coating After prep work: Here is my MINI front caliper with finished powder-coating.
I bought my Wilwood front calipers used when a friend upgraded to TSW calipers. They had been used pretty hard, so I did a rebuild and applied a few coats of flat black BBQ Grill paint (high temp). It looks very stealth and doesn't show brake dust at all! After about 2 years of service, I did a quick respray to clean 'em up a tad bit where drips of brake fluid from bleeding had changed the paint surface a bit. They still look great and, honestly, I prefer the finish to gloss powdercoat.
Thanks! Here is a better picture of the finished front & rear. http://www.motoringalliance.com/forums/member-garages/8727-2002-mini-cooper-s.html