blsching

Just mounted new 20" wheels. The calipers appear quite exposed and unsightly. Considering painting them black. Would appreciate advice/comment. Thanks.

Fadiboy

I am picking my 2014 A8 up on Tuesday (finally here). I am planning on painting the calipers black, I paint the calipers on all of my cars (if they don't already come painted) as they are just easier to keep clean. My 5-series calipers I painted silver - which worked out fine as far as keeping them clean, but I felt it didn't provide enough contrast. I'll probably pop a decal with a set of Audi rings on them. Not a fan of putting S-Line or S8 logos on if it isn't actually that way from the factory.

I think black is best as they are not exactly the most attractive calipers and it will hide dirt and the awkward panels well.

blsching

THANK YOU FADIBOY.

What kit do you use, and where does one get the audi decal? Is there any heat dissipation issues?

Fadiboy

I like the G2 paint. I have tried the Duplicolor spray on and one other, but they do not last anything like the G2. G2 is less expensive on Amazon than on their own site. eBay has a myriad of decal choices, just search "Audi caliper decal" The ones I like the best seem to ship out of the UK, but I haven't exhausted the search. I have never noticed any detrimental heat issues from using caliper paint.

navin in KC

ALERT, ALERT: You are now hearing from a guy who sees ABSOLUTELY NO VALUE in aftermarket (or stock) "fancy" wheels. So take my comments with a mountain of salt. That being "said", here we go:

Another option would be go to back to the stock wheels and spend the (god knows how many thousands of) dollars on something more useful. The beauty of this plan is that you don't have to paint the calipers! I'm actually serious but understand that someone will probably get mad at me for this. Think of the time and money you'll save. Taking apart (I would assume you would need to do so) calipers to paint them can't be easy and there are safety concerns about putting them back together safely.

KarlS8

Naive KC, you obviously never modded a car. It is not the money, it is personnel satisfaction.
Also, powder coating calipers is easy, you do not idisassemble it, just remove and powder coat.

navin in KC

I actually have modded cars. I just see fancy wheels to be like a fancy belt buckle. None of my belts have ever needed a fancy buckle and none of my cars have ever needed fancy wheels. Heck, you can't even see the wheels while the car is moving (which is what it should be doing).

I'm glad you don't have to take off the calipers to paint them.

tenspeed

No car ever needs fancy wheels. The owners want them. It is true that you can't see the wheels when moving quickly but at those speeds, you can see the calipers.

I prefer black or silver on stock brakes for a finished look. I think it looks better than rust and corrosion.

navin in KC

wow. that caliper in the picture does look bad. I'll have to take a look at my A8 calipers when I get home this evening.

DeerHunter

Do you mean painting? Powder coating will definitely require removal and disassembly of the caliper as the powder coating requires baking in an oven.