BigMoeTaki42

Painting brake calipers isn't ricey. No one thinks painting their calipers makes their brakes work better, it just looks better. If you don't think it does, then don't paint yours.

theonetheonly

I am thinking of painting mine. It is not driving the car for 24hr that is holding me back for now.

Chicken

iTrader: (3)

I made it look *red* whereas it wasn't red before. Guess I'm guilty and should have left it "factory grey-brown" eh?

Honestly, not that there's a definition for "rice" but if there was, it seems people around here wouldn't know it. It's OK to paint battery covers and washer fuild covers, but not calipers. It's OK to put on vinyl stickers outside and inside your car (more the better), but if you change the color of the calipers, it's rice. And so on...

Cracks me up.

Take a poll of those who have painted their calipers and ask how many regret it. I'll throw out a wild guess and say zero. Paint your calipers, you'll like it, it looks better. If you don't believe me, ask anyone else who has done it. If you don't believe them, leave them stock dark grey-brown.

BigMike

Painting the stock non-Brembo calipers is like saying, "look at my weak-*** brakes that I wish were Brembos".

Chicken

iTrader: (3)

Actually it's like saying, "I wish Nissan would have used red calipers instead of dark grey-brown ones." I don't want Brembros, don't need them, honestly don't like gold brakes, and if I got Brembros (which I wouldn't) I would have them painted... RED. I also don't want, nor need, a BBK, all I want is red calipers, a bit of color.

Is any of this too complicated for you stock grey-brown caliper people to understand? I could use smaller words.

tonio

iTrader: (3)

I hardly think painting calipers is "rice." I just chose to be different.

Speedracer

Rice.....in the automotive world really implies trying to give the illusion of performance when there is in fact no such performance. Rice does not necessarilty mean the same as ulgy, tacky, sleazy, ghetto, stupid,although if something is rice, it does not exclude it from being any of the other aforementioned terms.

With regards to painted calipers, it depends on the application. Say you have a Daytona Blue car, and you paint your calipers blue just for the cosmetic effect, or you paint them a nice silver just to blend better with your nice silver wheels, then I would not consider them rice. Now....if you paint your single piston caliper red and put some sticker on them to make them appear as if they are some kind of high performance thing, that is definitely rice. I think you all know what I mean.

Extreme example: a rusty civic dx with a cheap coffee can muffler in which the tip has a cross-sectional area about 6 times that of the exhaust piping, that is dark green in color with some puny red painted calipers=extra fluffy white rice.

check this out: www.riceboypage.com

SB Track

Hell yea. Where are the chopsticks!

I got the Track model just because I couldnt' stand those wimpy looking calipers on such a nice sports car. No amount of paint/decals can make them look nicer, only makes it look more rice. Even on BMW's, where they NEVER decorate their calipers, cars such as the M3 have HUGE disc brakes and huge calipers (albeit they are still dark grey).

CAN0802

Not rice, and actually, it might help prevent a little bit of corrosion. Stating that placing something on the car to try and make it something is not makes it rice is, for the most part, ignorant. With that definition, it could be said that any mod done to your car would be rice. I think rice is more giving the appearance that you have something on your car that you do not, which would include stickers, turbonators, etc. For the most part, it comes down to personal taste, but what I do to my car makes sense in more ways than one. Generally, it protects it, gets me better gas mileage, makes the car go faster, or gives me a more pleasurable driving experience, including stereos and paint jobs. Will it be rice? That is a matter of opinion, but in the end, I am the driver, and the one who pays the bill.

zand02max

iTrader: (22)

Me and the wife got through painting ours, what do you think? Red for my Redline and white for her PPW Maxima, messed up the grass a little,

overZealous1

iTrader: (27)

this has got to be one of the dumbest topics i have seen on here. it is basically a matter of opinion on what someone would like to do to their car. if you need to ask opinions on what modification you do to your car, you should prolly stay away from it. painting the calipers is the same as carbon fiber engine cover, different emblems, hell what ever anyone decides to do. i personally like the painted calipers for the contrast and it actually hurts brake performance a little by making it harder to dissapate heat with paint on them (anodizing has no effect on it though). but i like the look and have painted the calipers red on all my cars. the Z is getting a built bottom end and greddy tt looking for 620rwhp and i have a 720hp vette too. both with red calipers, hahaha. if you could manage to call them ricey you would have to be a little retarded or jealous!

KenWH

iTrader: (1)

To me, painting your stock calipers THEN sticking a brembo, ssbc, stop tech, etc sticker on them would be ricey.

Painting your calipers to add a little color and style to an otherwise ugly, drab gray part is not. When I swapped my oe wheels for my black 5-spoke Ro_Ja's, the stock cali's looked ugly through the large openings in the new wheels. So I painted the calipers and used JVD's "NISSAN" graphics. IMO the red cali's behind my black wheels look great. Again, I didn't slap some aftermarket sticker on them trying to fool someone into thinking I have some high-$$$ brake system.

Also the paint is somewhat funtional/practical. The calipers are much easier to keep clean now that they are covered in a smooth, glossy finish. Where before the raw cast finish was very rough and brake dust seemed to stick to it like glue.

How about the Lambo door thing...seems alot of people want those but are they considered ricey too? I've seen Vette's, Z's, civics etc with them. IMO none of those cars can hold a candle to a real Lamborgini such as the Diablo and the newer Lambo's.

I guess one man's rice is another man's saki.

nicolaycastro

iTrader: (3)

well if you are painting them just to make people think they are aftermarket thats wrong, but if you are just painting them to make tham look better than stock thats a different story.

k4ngsta

iTrader: (2)

The oem brembos aren't all that great, more of a way for Nissan to make extra profit. Also the stock oem brakes are more then enough for daily driving and even spirit driving. Not everyone sees the need to spend $7,000 more to purchase a track model or $4,000 for a BBK. It depends on what THEY want out of their car and what they want to do with it, and if they want to "personalize their cars (aka not ricing out)" to make their cars look different from the majority of the crowd without spending too much money, then so be it. The oem brembos aren't unique either due to the fact that ALL track models come with them, but if you bought the track model to stand above the rest of the Z's and look down on their *wimpy* brakes and your satisfied, $7,000 well spent. I personally didn't go with the track model because I knew I was going to be tearing off a lot of the oem parts for after market parts. Spent a little over $5,000 and I have rims, exhaust, intake, coilovers, and a 2way alarm system and I still have spent less money than you on just your car payments alone. If you aren't into mod'ing your car then the track is a good way to go, not flaming you for going with the track, it's a great car no doubt but you have to consider what the objective of other people are, and you should also have the decency to realize that not EVERYONE who can afford a Z has extra cash burning a hole in their pockets. Every man to his own, and once anyone personalizes their car I'm sure that they're proud of it, being ugly or not is a matter of opinion. As for me, I will be purchasing a BBK as soon as I have enough money in my "BBK Savings Account".

With that said, MOD AWAY BOYS AND GIRLS!!!

zownz

iTrader: (28)

Have I asked you to give me your opinion on if this topic is good or not?
1st say its the dumbest topic on here then you contribute your time to write a paragraph about what you think. Whos dumb now.

Lerxst

iTrader: (2)

Exactly... just do a poll...

2003z

iTrader: (7)

I disagree, If I had to have drums, I'd rather them be painted than rusty.

Paul350Z

iTrader: (1)

Dead nutz stock.

ZBoater

I don't think they are rice. I agree with those who say rice is trying to pass your car or mod as something it isnt. Getting contrast in colors on the outside is just aesthetics, not rice. I powdercoated mine to make them look even nicer and match the NISMO graphics. Its just a matter of preference. I am not trying to make anyone believe I have a big brake kit or that my car is a Porsche. If they think that then they are idiots and I can't be blamed for THAT.

Z's

LMAO. Sure they do not squeak.