Best colour choice for brake calipers?

[arbell9]

Hi All,

whats the best colour choice of caliper to go with my wheels out of silver or gold?

I am sorting out getting some of these with Dave Walters

images below are to show colours only, not the exact type:

[Robert Crooks]

Alex

I'd go gold. It works on the Lotus level with the green and gold theme. It also works with the orange of the side indicators and the gold on the wheel centres. Just my opinion.

Robert

[martynv]

Don't know about the gold ones, but the silver ones are laquered and if you spill any brake fluid on them well.... . Why they're not just adonized I'll never know !

Martyn

[arbell9]

Hi Martyn,

both the body of the caliper and the pistons are hard anodised inside and out to protect from corrosion.

CLICKY

Oh and which colour , you never said which you prefer?!

ta

Alex

[martynv]

The laquer definitely came off one of my Hi-Spec's so maybe they've laquered over the anodised surface.

I reckon silver would be more subtle, but I suspect gold would look best.

Martyn

Hi Martyn,

both the body of the caliper and the pistons are hard anodised inside and out to protect from corrosion.

CLICKY

Oh and which colour , you never said which you prefer?!

ta

Alex

[matk]

Golds too rapper pimp! Go with silver. Just as obvious and a little classier

Only my 2p!

[andydclements]

My personal preference would be silver, although the gold with the green is heading towards Lotus badge colours, neither of them are badge colours. I just think the gold doesn't really go with anything in particular (you're not planning a Bibs are you?) whereas silver is more neutral as it's the natural colour of the material they're made form.

But.

If you prefer gold, go for it.

[Vulcan Grey]

I vote Metallic Grey! all the new prototype cars from Ferrari, Lambo, Aston... they all have grey calipers now

My Brembo Racing brakes are a well worn titanium nitride goldish color. They are badly battle scarred but I don't plan on painting them.

http://vulcangrey.lotuscolorado.com/galler...hp/v/album_002/

[mike_sekinger]

both the body of the caliper and the pistons are hard anodised inside and out to protect from corrosion.

I

[SE Owner :-D]

Green

[superdavelotus]

I recommend the silver Alex, it's a neutral colour and the calipers are big enough to see.

When I fit a set to my V8, I think I'll either go for red or silver.

Sorry they are not availible in grey, green or any other colour apart from black, silver, gold or red (special order).

I think Alex wants to be able to see his calipers so I don't think he wants grey any way but this is just my opinion.

regards,

David Walters

[red vtec]

Silver will look nice,

Personnaly I want a bright yellow set of huge AP to match the badge. But back in the real world I'll get some HiSpec in silver or black

Ps Are these the same HiSpec as you have Martyn?

[rocket63]

RED.

[Jussi]

Hi Alex

If it isn't red...then definitely gold B)

Green/Gold=perfect colour combo imo

[mangel]

Silver for me but then I'd also change all the indicators for clear ones by Dave to bring the car up todate!!

[Backmarker]

Forget the calipers.

Respray the wheels to their original silver colour, re-attach the rear wing and you'll have achieved the stunning look that you're now seeking to create.

Sometimes people can not see the wood for the trees

Also don't forget the need to colour match with the newly purchased water pressure cap

[Rob]

out of those choices, silver.

but tbh i'd prob go for a proper set of Lotus APs like a sport 350 ;-)

[red vtec]

trouble with the ap setup is new hubs, new discs, new pads etc all mounts up in cost

the hispec just bolts on

[Simon350S]

Dont stress about it dude!

Different people will have different opinions, if it were mine I think I'd be making sure what I've got is working properly, brembos are fab caliper makers and have an ace reputation, combined with better discs, pads and hoses it may give you what you need?

My concerns with the HiSpec stuff is that they may well be cheap for a very good reason, and the discs that are being supplied with them are also of unknown origin from what I can tell, what I mean is they are not AP rotors or anything like that, I may be wrong but I'd be wanting to find out as the quality of the rotor material and design can make a big difference.

Also a little personal snobbery I guess makes me not want to have a caliper that says HiSpec visible from insde my wheels.

You've said yourself you're never going to track her properly and if your believing that changing your calipers is going to give you the sharpness you experienced in the Porsche the other day I cant help but feel your going to be very dissapointed, it just isn't going to happen.

From a colour point of view I'd go for Gold with your green car, but I personally just woudn't buy HiSpec. Sorry if I've confused things for you even more.

[red vtec]

If you want Brembos have a look for an XJR in the scrappy they have them on the rear

[Rob]

trouble with the ap setup is new hubs, new discs, new pads etc all mounts up in cost

the hispec just bolts on

Won't need new hubs for a gt3, but yes you'll need pads and calipers. The recent parts sales had these as a kit - maybe there are still some available? The lotus kit "just bolts on" too.

As for costs - I ran multiple different setups on a V8-Gt with brembos (pads, discs, fluids etc) which was all a complete waste of money. I eventually bolted on a set of APs to the (lotus developed) sport 350 spec. Even with stock lotus pads this was night and day better than anything i achieved with brembos.

My advice- if you want better brakes on an esprit, there is only one choice - lotus/ AP.

Consider this - you are lotus cars, you develop the fastest ever road going esprit (350), you develop the best-money-will-buy braking system from the brake manufacturer with arguably the best reputation out there.. now remind me, is this AP or is this HiSpec?

[superdavelotus]

Hi Rob,

I think you'll find Alex needs discs because A. His old discs are shot and B. The S350 has a different offset and bigger disc diameter 323mm as opposed to 296mm. So when you add this along with brackets (the latest Lotus calipers don't come with brackets) then the costs will be more. Oh not sure if the AP calipers need new brake lines or not.

As for Lotus choosing the best caliper money can buy I agree to a point. Lotus chose one of the cheapest AP calipers in the range and in the S300 AP caliper even down specced the piston to mild steel!

Also the AP caliper design back in 98 when Lotus chose the actual caliper was probably 10 years old or more. They weren't the most up to date caliper AP did. So yes they say AP on the calipers but it certainly wasn't the best money can buy, it was a good deal and a good sales ploy.

If I had the choise I would like to go AP but current range and then with discs and bells, you're looking at serious money.

Regards,

David Walters

Iam not for one minute saying that Hi-Spec are better, IMO they aren't but they are a relatively new design, billet alloy 6 pistons, come in many colours, inc stainless steel braided lines and come in at a budget to suit most Esprit owners.

[Simon350S]

A touch of style, non?

Clicky

Possibility for a cheapy upgrade?

Clicky

Just get some rotor hats and caliper brakets knocked up and bobs your uncle!

[arbell9]

Hello all,

my job is a scientist, i review data and come to conclusions, in fact my job is hazard identifiaction, risk assessment and risk mitigation and so when i came to think about replacing my brakes i have done some online research and spoke to one or two people for their experiences. I always do this before parting with significant cash.

So whats is out there in the multitude of car forums on the topic of brake upgrades (any manufacturer of car and brake and pad). It ranges from

"wouldnt touch em with a barge pole - just based on stuff i have heard" to "Been using for three years now on my golf. have to say the brakes work really well"

The negative comments on various brake setups are usually followed or preceeded with "my mate says, read some stuff on em, I heard horror stories" etc with not one bit of factual evidence to support the comments. Equally the positive comments dont say much either or provide evidence that they are good.

On the whole it seems impossible to find a balanced, descriptive review of someones car brake upgrade. Most who have done it swear blind they are better, maybe because they spent cash on them , but in reality the truth will be they probably are better than before. The views on pads and discs match the breadth and lightness of detail as the calipers. Brand name scores highly like with many things, its a trust and reputation thing rather than real experience.

Interestingly the Rally-car forums seem to like the Hi-spec more than the regular- auto / tuning forums. But I can find exmaples of happy customers and unhappy ones. You tend to get more grumbles on any car part, rather than people extoling their virtues on good car parts as we all like to vent steam and anger when we are pissed off but dont want to be seen to be bragging when we are happy.

My own view - yes AP brakes are good, or i should say have a rep of being good. I have no exerience or knowledge to support or doubt that because i dont have or have driven a car withthem fitted. However, Daves comment on lotus AP brakes is a fair one. The same applies to the brembos - these must be 12+ years old in design, more like 15+ yrs old. Not saying they are rubbish but i have had them on my car with good pads and discs and worn pads and discs. They are fine for every day driving - bit i dont think they are brilliant. I could spend money on a refurb, try different pads and discs and still would be a a fair wedge down in my wallet with no gaurentee of improvement (over when i had good discs and pads). Lotus picked decent gear and tested it to death to make sure to would do a good job for my type of car, this is not the same as saying they put the best gear on the car.

So, I would like an upgrade, i could get newer Brembos with adapaters and and spacers for a bespoke job, AP brakes if Lotus still have them but i am looking at some serious cash here. The hi-spec seem on the face of the research i can do a value for money upgrade to a bigger brake setup. I cant test different systems out and then pick the one i want, so of course its part of a gamble but not an unreasonable one. I know of at least two esprit owners with a hi-spec upgrade that seem happy with the improvement.

Its hard to explain personal choice, many of you think i am nuts for keeping my original wheels and not sticking v8 wheels on , and then the wing issue lol. What ever brake setup i go with could be fab or it could be disappointing. One thing is for certain- if poeple dont experiment with different parts we will never know what works best.

The colour i am going for is gold.

cheers

Alex

[Robert Crooks]

Good for you Alex. Look forward to hearing your thoughts on them at Donnington.

PS Good call on the colour.