I've always admired those beautiful big brake kits (BBK) on our Zs but I'm not able to afford a set right now. In the meantime, I figured I'd do my own version of the BBK and call it the "Small Brake Kit" or SBK. It's basically the OEM brake kit but with painted calipers.

Here's the kit I bought at Autozone for $15:



It only took me four hours last night to paint all the calipers -- raising the Z, removing the wheels, cleaning the calipers, painting the calipers (three coats per caliper), letting the paint dry after each coat, and then replacing back the wheels. I painted the left calipers first (front & rear) and switched over to the right calipers afterwards. I'm going back to Autozone today to see if they have a clear coat that I can brush on the calipers instead of the spray type since I already have the wheels on.

Here are some pictures of the finished product:

LEFT FRONT


LEFT REAR


RIGHT FRONT


RIGHT REAR

 

You really don't need clear coat with that paint. I used up one little can going around the car on my stocks and in 12k miles, no chips and the shine comes back every time I washed them.

One thing to note though, if you track your car and get your brakes real hot, the red will get darker.

Chris

 

i bought the same kit in black from autozone, they came out great and my small brake kit looks awesome hahaha. I should have a thread in there from like 5 months ago about it


here it is
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....inted+calipers

 

Thanks, Chris. I wasn't sure if I needed clear coat or not, but it looks like the paint will hold as it is. I'm doing HPDE and autocross but not on a regular basis. It's good to hear from you that this kit holds up well. I'll just make sure to clean them afterwards and if needed, paint over the dark areas. I really like them and it's an inexpensive, worthwhile DIY project.

 

Cmon guys, anyone can have BBK, you just have to streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech out them payments.

 

Hey David, I finished painting last night the rear windshield wiper hole plug that you sent me. I'll get that installed tonight. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

Looks better when you paint the pads also, IMO. Looks good though.

 

 

Looks very nice. I notice my '06 touring has a shinny metal plate over the pads. Next for you is to get some black caliper paint and paint the rotor hub and the inner area that the pads don't touch-will give you a more finished look. James

 

Thanks, James. I was taking a look at my wheels tonight and it does look unfinished with the metal plates not painted. You're correct about using black paint to cover the rest of the unpainted areas, to include the metal plates. I think the contrast in colors will look sharp. I will go to AutoZone tomorrow to get the black paint, along with getting a dremel tool (I forgot to get it today) so I can fit the plug that goes in the rear windshield wiper hole on the hatch.

 

I think I would do black of a darker silver to look more stock. Red just looks kinda cheap spray paint Honda-ish, ya know. No offence, to each his own.

 

Honda-ish? How about Porsche-ish or Z06-ish?