This picture shows the front right wheel and brake caliper. To paint the calipers, I first removed and then thoroughly cleaned them. I then painted the caliper with red hi-temp engine enamel. For the next step my wife, who has a much steadier hand than myself(perhaps from years of experience painting her nails) used white paint(not fingernail polish) to paint the Mazda lettering. The result is a clean looking caliper that stands out and is visible through the wheel spokes while the car is moving. I chose hi-heat engine enamel for its durability and fade-resistance to heat. Over the last year, the paint has not chipped, peeled, wrinkled or faded. One of these days I'll try the Folia-Tec caliper paint since it seems to be glossy and a brighter shade of red(I wasn't aware of it at the time I painted these).
	I used the same process on the rear calipers as the front. Since the metal brake pad 'shim' is visible through the notch, it was painted as well for a more uniform look. I just recently replaced the stock Goodyear GS-D(225/50-VR16) with B.F. Goodrich Comp T/A ZR(245/45-ZR16) and have been quite pleased with the results. B.F. Goodrich is not my first choice in tires, but as I plan to upgrade to larger wheels in the future, I didn't want to invest too much in tires now. They are, however, worlds better than what I consider to be some of the most suck-job tires I have ever had the displeasure to use, the Goodyears. I found the dry handling capabilities of the Goodyears only mediocre and the wet road handling to be absolutely atrocious. The Comp T/A's offer much better handling and hydroplaning on the freeway has been eliminated.
	After 23,000 miles, the Goodyears weren't even down to the wear indicators, a sure sign of a crappy tire! :) I wanted to keep the Goodyears since they still had some tread left and maybe use them to tear up on a track just for grins. Unfortunately when the boneheads at NTB removed them, they chewed up the bead pretty badly on two of the tires rendering them useless. Fortunately they managed to ruin a left tire and a right tire and since the tires are directional that means I can still have some fun with the remaining two. What you see here are the two useless tires. One has all ready been 'modified.' I cut through the bead with the help of a hacksaw and dishwashing detergent for lubrication. Cutting across the tread and separating the sidewall was fairly easy. Cutting through the bead is an entirely different matter. The steel cords that make up the bead are really tough and a colossal pain in the ass to cut through. The tread as measured on the tape is over 6 feet long. Why am I cutting them apart? Aside from the curiosity, I'm thinking 20,000 mile, V-rated shoe soles...