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YOUR RESEARCHShould I paint my black calipers red?
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Install with pccb (yellow)
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"S" cars have red calipers unless they are fitted with PCCB (yellow).
Leading evidence: 'Install with pccb (yellow)' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Clean rather than a refinishing' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Anyway, I'm sure the scheme has changed over the years just to keep the trivia nerds happy
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Suggestion
They might just need a good cleaning rather than a refinishing.
Repair professionally, and the guy doing it suggested i could
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Suggestion · Original poster
I�m have a scratch on the rear quarter repaired professionally, and the guy doing it suggested I could:
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Suggestion
Porsche uses the calipers as a status symbol by changing the colors...
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Or is that a no-no? My triple black 1999 996 C2 with 64,000 miles is completely stock, and I like it that way. I�m have a scratch on the rear quarter repaired professionally, and the guy doing it suggested I could:
1- have the rusted hubs refinished
2- have the inside of the stock wheels refinished
3- have the brake calipers painted red instead of black
However, are red calipers indicative of an S 996?
Do you wan't them painted red? Red looks good on black and if they need to be refinished then who cares? If you prefer a more stock look either refinish them in black or leave them be. Mine are black and I've considered going red but I might change my wheel color so I don't want to many clashing colors if I do.
When I had my 996 in the shop for a complete mechanical including brake rebuild I decided to paint yellow to match the car (it was green) and it looks great ... Don't worry about what anyone says....do what you like.
Another vote for painting the calipers whatever color YOU like.
They might just need a good cleaning rather than a refinishing.
I've redone several sets of BBS wheels that I thought were beyond hope but they all cleaned up with varying amounts of elbow grease.
BBS RS with 35 years of brake dust and grime.
BMW Style 42s
Porsche Sport Classic IIs. Not the best before/after pics but you get the idea...
I was looking for a spare set on eBay that I could refinish and swap out.
That way it would only take a couple of hours to swap them out instead of all the time cleaning and painting and drying time.
Since my car is my daily driver, I needed it back on the road quickly.
I found a set that was recently rebuilt and powder coated red on eBay.
They looked brand new except you could tell they had been mounted once.
The swap out was quick and easy.
I really like my red calipers!
Before
After
Pagid rotors look awesome.(I just recently swapped them out) They aren’t rusty like my old rotors above. Akebono pads aren’t dusty like my old Brembo pads either.
I say paint them something other than black. (Silver, red, yellow, neon green)
My preference is red, but anything is better than boring black.
I'm also in the "whatever floats your boat" crowd.
What would be more important to me is rebuilding all of the seals.
The brakes on my 996.2 were cooked to the point of the clear coat peeling by the previous owner(s) track usage. I have all of the parts to rebuild them, including a full set of seals and new decals. Maybe in the spring... I am sticking with original black.
[QUOTE=SoCal911t;16393059]Another vote for painting the calipers whatever color YOU like.
They might just need a good cleaning rather than a refinishing.
I've redone several sets of BBS wheels that I thought were beyond hope but they all cleaned up with varying amounts of elbow grease.
BBS RS with 35 years of brake dust and grime.
BMW Style 42s
Porsche Sport Classic IIs. Not the best before/after pics but you get the idea...
[/QUOTE
does your elbow grease include sandpaper?
@c didy
- Oh that's RIGHT...weren't YOU the guy whose wife came home to find his front Porsche wheels in the dishwasher???
All kidding aside, any particular wheel cleaner(s) you'd recommend to melt away built-up grime inside the barrels?? What about power tools, orbitals etc...or just plain elbow grease?
You should absolutely do what you like - it's yours, after all. That said, I spent all day yesterday repainting the calipers on my Boxster S; the PO had painted them yellow and I just didn't like it. Back to the original red for me.
Does anyone know if Porsche had the option to paint calipers a different color from the factory? Or were ALL 996.1 non-S (and non-C4) cars painted with black calipers?
Big Reds are not just a color option. They had 4 pistons versus the standard 2 pistons. Back in the air cooled days, they were referred to as “hands of god” due to their incredible stopping power. They were found on turbos. Third party kits were available to mount them on normally aspirated G-50 body cars (SC’s and Carrera’s).
Using Pelican Parts catalog and comparing 996 Carrera and 4S rotors and brake pads, it appears the red calipers on the 4S are indeed destined to hand bigger pads and larger rotors. Thus I would guess they continue to be a significant brake upgrade.
As for your black calipers, I suggest you contact Eric at
PBM Performance
. I am pretty sure he told me last year at Amelia Island that he was starting to do 996/997 calipers as well as his core business in air-cooled car calipers. Pricey, but worth every penny.
wow I'm surprised how many responses are in favor of painting them whatever color instead of the purist black.
I figured painting my Boxster non-S calipers red would be considered poseur, but I like the look.
Unless I'm misunderstanding his question, he was just asking if standard calipers could be ordered in a color other than black. Also, my 'standard' calipers are four piston not two.
I can only speak for my '99 C2 but for example, part # 996.351.425.11 is a left front caliper in red and part #
996.351.425.01 is a left front caliper in black. Other than the color difference, they are exactly the same.
Right you are on the design about the standard caliper being 4 piston. It has been 7 years since I sold my '99 and did the brakes on a regular basis for track events. And I haven't done pads on the '04 as yet. Loosing my memory!
Digging more into this, there appears to be interchangeability between 996 Carrera calipers and 987 S calipers. The Boxster calipers are, in fact, red. Maybe your car has a replacement caliper?
Would love for PorscheTech3 to chime in with a more detailed explanation.
Yes, yes you should paint them. I used the G2 High Temp paint system, and there are many colors to choose from. For $60, it doesn�t get much better than this!
The wife printed the Porsche lettering for me. Then gave it a high temp clear coat.
I'd love to have a set of red brake calipers on my silver C4 Cab. The ones on my car are unpainted and pretty much disappear behind the wheels. Just something else to add to the "want list."
This is what I mean. This a clean but kinda boring look w/o the red calipers in the background and the red would "pop" and color coordinate well w/the red in the center caps. LOL!
Good one. The only other reason I may keep my calipers black is because I have a triple black car. Black exterior, black interior, black convertible top.
I like the red calipers; it gives the car a bit of eye-catching color accent. Mine are currently black which I might change to red sometime in the future.
Here's a story:
When I had a WRX wagon, I had the Subaru 4-Pot (Group N) front brakes calipers which cleared my 15" rally gravel wheels for winter use. Someone actually walked by me and asked: Why did you rattle can your calipers red? I told tell them that the calipers came red from the factory and they didn't know how to respond back.
Also the red calipers matched well with the OEM Subaru STi Gold BBS wheels.
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Yours aren't unpainted, they're painted silver! The C4 (not C4S) came with silver calipers from the factory. Porsche uses the calipers as a status symbol by changing the colors...
Thanks for the clarification. What color are the calipers on the C4S?
Whatever color it is/was, I assume that silver on the C4 calipers means "less status." Just another reason to "upgrade" to red, I guess.
LOL!
"S" cars have red calipers unless they are fitted with PCCB (yellow). Anyway, I'm sure the scheme has changed over the years just to keep the trivia nerds happy
I think the red calipers really pop from behind the wheels, especially compared to black. I painted the calipers red on my 99' C2 Ocean Blue convertible, and it's a nice detail that catches the eye. And just to take it well into the purist forbidden zone, I ordered white "Brembo" stickers on Amazon for about $6, and then sprayed the calipers with heat resistant clear after the stickers were applied over the new red paint. And since Brembo was the brake caliper supplier for our cars, it's not inaccurate.
But regardless of what color you ultimately choose, don't forget to hit them with clear when you're done applying the decals. It makes a big difference keeping them fresh looking, and the color bright longer.
I have disliked my black calipers for 6 years.
I just can't decide what color, I almost considered orange.
Orient Red Metallic is a tough color to accent with a brake caliper.
So, I should just be happy w/my silver calipers because they're "different?" Having enough problems right now getting the "right" parts for my pending brake job -- a real eBay cluster F*CK! -- which will delay the work.
Don't really want to "paint" the calipers or buy a red set, so I guess I'll just stick w/the understated silver ones on the car which I can think of as "subtle and sophisticated" instead. LOL!
