½cwt Posted March 10, 2020 Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 Just thought I'd throw a dilemma I have out at you guys for some feedback:- Last year I acquired some 18" GT3 replica wheels. These wheels need tyres at about £550 (for PS4 Michelins) but fitting them will expose my rather tired looking red brake callipers which have a lot of peeling clear lacquer coat and slightly faded paint. Calliper refurb cost is about £750. I have to do some brake work this year any way so I'd need to do all the bleeding etc anyhow. So do I get the tyres and fit the wheels then do the callipers next winter or do I go for a calliper refurb and park the wheels for 9 more months as I have at least a summer's worth if decent tread on the 17" tyres? Rather a first world problem I appreciate, but what would you do❓ 😕 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul chocks Posted March 10, 2020 Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 I’d have a go at the callipers myself - nothing to lose. I had similar a few years back and the callipers were pink. A quick rub down with wet n dry and fresh UHT lawyer and they bright red again. I even avoided sanding over the decals so didn’t need new ones, but they are cheap enough to buy new ones. Was a classic example of 20% effort for 80% result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted March 10, 2020 Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 What do you get for a £ 750 caliper refurb.? As above, I would diy and stick with 17“ wheels anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonogt6 Posted March 10, 2020 Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 Wow £750 sounds very expensive. Who's quoting that out of interest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topbox Posted March 10, 2020 Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 That does sound expensive for just painting. Or are they doing an overhaul as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red rocket Posted March 10, 2020 Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 Plenty of people on here have painted their calipers. If you search you'll find details and photos. That's what I would do and spend money on the tyres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 12 hours ago, PaulQ said: What do you get for a £ 750 caliper refurb.? As above, I would diy and stick with 17“ wheels anyway. 11 hours ago, Topbox said: That does sound expensive for just painting. Or are they doing an overhaul as well? The £750 is a full overhaul of all 4 callipers with all new seals, strip & re-paint and decals etc by BCS Automotive. I quoted this as it is the higher price I've had so far. Problem with DIY is that I don't have the space/facilities to do it properly and I hate achieving a less good result than I want when I do it my self, or worse making an expensive mistake. I have the 18" rims already so that money is spent, it is just the tyres required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bally4563 Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 Go for Kuhmo ES 91 all round £400 , and give someone a little money for painting up your calipers or get new stickers rub them down , mask them up, spray with high temp paint, I think you will be very surprised by the result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detail1 Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 Depending on your location, I have a colleague near Luton who paints the calipers and applies the decals to as good as factory finish, although unless you post them to him he will do them on the car, only area that doesn't get painted when they are on the car is right at the back, which you would never seen anyhow. I'm a fussy sod, so wouldn't recommend him if it wasn't a 1st class finish, charges approx £260-£300 (but don't quote me). https://www.unique-detail.co.uk/brake-caliper-painting-milton-keynes/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topbox Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 I would say £750 for an overhaul and paint sounds reasonable if they do a good job with service to match.👍 3 hours ago, ½cwt said: The £750 is a full overhaul of all 4 callipers with all new seals, strip & re-paint and decals etc by BCS Automotive. I quoted this as it is the higher price I've had so far. Problem with DIY is that I don't have the space/facilities to do it properly and I hate achieving a less good result than I want when I do it my self, or worse making an expensive mistake. I have the 18" rims already so that money is spent, it is just the tyres required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 4 hours ago, ½cwt said: The £750 is a full overhaul of all 4 callipers with all new seals, strip & re-paint and decals etc by BCS Automotive. I quoted this as it is the higher price I've had so far. Problem with DIY is that I don't have the space/facilities to do it properly and I hate achieving a less good result than I want when I do it my self, or worse making an expensive mistake. I have the 18" rims already so that money is spent, it is just the tyres required. Leaking seals seems to be rare, so I would leave well alone, unless of course they are already leaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apollo000 Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 What is the reason for the calliper refurb? If mechanically they are working fine I personally would just cosmetically refurb them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terryg Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 Two things, doing your own calipers is easy, I did mine on a driveway and they looked mint at the time and 2 - 3 years on they still look good. Second thing don't buy in to the Michelin PS4 thing, there are many of us who drive these cars very hard on the Kumhos that @bally4563 recommended above with absolutely no compromise on grip wet or dry that anyone other than an F1 driver or equivalent will detect. If looking at a car with Michelin written on the tyre is important to you , then buy them, if actually driving the car and having total confidence at a reasonable price is important, get the Kumhos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bally4563 Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 16 minutes ago, Terryg said: Two things, doing your own calipers is easy, I did mine on a driveway and they looked mint at the time and 2 - 3 years on they still look good. Second thing don't buy in to the Michelin PS4 thing, there are many of us who drive these cars very hard on the Kumhos that @bally4563 recommended above with absolutely no compromise on grip wet or dry that anyone other than an F1 driver or equivalent will detect. If looking at a car with Michelin written on the tyre is important to you , then buy them, if actually driving the car and having total confidence at a reasonable price is important, get the Kumhos. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bally4563 Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 K2 Red high temp spray £8.00 decals £5.00, bit of masking tape and a rub down, jobs a good un!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 1 hour ago, Terryg said: Two things, doing your own calipers is easy, I did mine on a driveway and they looked mint at the time and 2 - 3 years on they still look good. Second thing don't buy in to the Michelin PS4 thing, there are many of us who drive these cars very hard on the Kumhos that @bally4563 recommended above with absolutely no compromise on grip wet or dry that anyone other than an F1 driver or equivalent will detect. If looking at a car with Michelin written on the tyre is important to you , then buy them, if actually driving the car and having total confidence at a reasonable price is important, get the Kumhos. I hedged on the Mich PS4 already so as not to get advised to go for the 'best', 'N rated' etc.... In reality I may well go for GY Asymmetric 5 at about £450. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 1 hour ago, Apollo000 said: What is the reason for the calliper refurb? If mechanically they are working fine I personally would just cosmetically refurb them. Fair point, they are apparently all sound currently however it just seemed sensible that if I were taking them off the car to get tem painted to get them split and refurbed at the same time. My luck says that a seal would start leaking about two to four weeks after I refit them if I don't refurb them in one hit... I do have to do some brake line work, so if I end up breaking a bleed nipple or flare nut on a calliper and need to get a helicol/timesert, then it might make the decision for me if I have to strip one or more off the car anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terryg Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 2 minutes ago, ½cwt said: I hedged on the Mich PS4 already so as not to get advised to go for the 'best', 'N rated' etc.... In reality I may well go for GY Asymmetric 5 at about £450. When I was first advised on the Kumhos I went with it as I respected the opinion of the guy who recommended them having followed him around Yorkshire. That was 2 years ago and summer and winter they have been brilliant and since then a lot of the guys (including Bally) have switched and no one has regretted it (there is another thread recently from @Saxosim who has just fitted them) Pity you're not closer the Lancashire/Yorkshire posse would be happy to show you how good they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninesomething Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 Checked some reviews on the Kumhos and wasn't blown away but if you guys say they're OK good enough for me. Some tyres suit certain cars and some don't I guess.Will be needing rears soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 4 minutes ago, JonSta said: Checked some reviews on the Kumhos and wasn't blown away but if you guys say they're OK good enough for me. Some tyres suit certain cars and some don't I guess.Will be needing rears soon. OK, I'll bite. The threads all seem to refer to KU39 but I only been to be able to source PS71 or PS91 on Black Circles and nothing on the KwikFit/ATS/National sites.... These would save about £20 a corner vs GY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 I've been doing a bit more research on the calliper front and just got a quote for £400 for service (incl new nipples but not seals £75 if all seals needed which I think not) and paint with decals. It might just be possible to get both things done on this year's upgrade, as opposed to running cost, budget. hmmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terryg Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 1 hour ago, ½cwt said: OK, I'll bite. The threads all seem to refer to KU39 but I only been to be able to source PS71 or PS91 on Black Circles and nothing on the KwikFit/ATS/National sites.... These would save about £20 a corner vs GY. KU39 rear PS71 front @986CKY is the resident expert, IIRC he was recommended this combo by someone who really knew their tyres and whoever he was, he seems to be right. 1 hour ago, JonSta said: Checked some reviews on the Kumhos and wasn't blown away but if you guys say they're OK good enough for me. Some tyres suit certain cars and some don't I guess.Will be needing rears soon. I did that before buying tyres for my Jaguar and soon realised that reviews of a different variety of the brand on a different brand of car are utterly worthless. Like I say follow those who have them on damp, twisty Yorkshire roads and then make a decision. However, if, like some on here, you are a track day driver, then their opinion is almost certainly going to be more relevant. One thing I will add is that most of us were replacing all four, I have no idea if that makes a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cocky Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 Whether the weather be fine,Or whether the weather be not,Whether the weather be cold,Or whether the weather be hot,We'll weather the weatherWhatever the weather,Whether we like it or not! You can find the limit on any tyre with a RWD but the KU39 are a very good tyre wet n dry. I would if I couldn't get KU39 easily opt for Eagle F1's quite happily but those two are where I plan on stopping tyre wise. It is worth speaking to your local fitters for tyre quotes as sometimes they are cheaper than Black Circles for the supply/fit. My last pair of Kumho's the tyre place supplied and fitted them cheaper than I could order them off Camskill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the baron Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 I refurbed my black callipers which were in a pretty bad way and bought new decals, I didnt remove them so no bleeding required and it probably cost me around £30 max to do all the callipers, I did a thread on here so you can see the results, they are still good over a year later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 KU39 is a nice tyre, and cheap if you want 255/40/17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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