--- title: "Tesla Guys Are Selling Silicone Caliper Covers That Can Cook Your Brakes" description: "Tesla owners can now buy colored covers for their brake calipers. But why would you, when painting them is so much cheaper?" date: "2024-08-29" modified: "2024-08-29" authors: - name: "James Gilboy" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/tesla-guys-are-selling-silicone-caliper-covers-that-can-cook-your-brakes" categories: - "Culture" - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Tesla News" tags: - "Electric Vehicle" - "model 3" - "sedan" - "Tesla" --- # Tesla Guys Are Selling Silicone Caliper Covers That Can Cook Your Brakes ![A silicone brake caliper cover being slipped on to a caliper]() *\Caliper Skins\* Nobody can rehash existing ideas and pretend they're new quite like Silicon Valley can. [Tesla]() is the automotive outlet of that hubris, with fans that'll [gobble up features as basic as tire pressure monitoring like it's the new iPhone](). Well, Tesla guys have now reinvented [being a boy racer](), because someone's decided they want silicone oven mitts on their brake calipers. Why? Because it's "Performance Appearance Technology." I'm going to steal your lunch money. This "innovation" (that's a quote, not just sarcasm) comes from [Caliper Skins](), which has invented phone covers for brakes—their words, not mine. Painting brake calipers is hard, according to the iPad Kids of the car world. I'll save you a visit to their website to pick out one particularly painful passage: "Don't waste your time and money having your calipers painted," reads a blurb on the company's website. "That's a permanent modification you might regret. Think about it. Wouldn't is be nice \[sic\] to be able to easily revert back to stock caliper condition? For vehicle resale? For lease termination? Well, then Caliper Skins is your best and only option." > [View this post on Instagram]() > [A post shared by Caliper Skins (@caliperskins)]() Waste of money, you say? When you've already bought (or leased) a [Tesla]()? Buddy, your caliper condoms retail for *$180* and only fit the [Model 3]() and Y. I could get $20 worth of spray paint and sandpaper and do a better job in any color I want. Turning a couple of 17-millimeter bolts and clamping a brake line is not hard, even for my executively dysfunctional ass. I'm so tilted that I'm half-tempted to paint my brake calipers out of spite for this "Performance Appearance Technology." It's not even just a matter of aesthetics, either. There's a major functional disadvantage to these silicone covers: cooling. Painted brake calipers have only a thin layer of paint between them and airflow to keep them cool during high-intensity driving situations. Silicone, however, is not very conductive, meaning you're effectively *insulating* your brakes. Perhaps to assuage these fears, Caliper Skins touts on its [Amazon listing]() that the company's "patented caliper-specific vented design ensures heat -dissipation \[sic\] rates on par with the control sample." But it's hard not to see how placing a barrier of silicone over your vehicle's calipers wouldn't simply increase the risk of brake problems in a wide range of driving conditions. It's almost like spray-painting your rotors: [goofy-looking, if not outright dangerous](). I'd feel less embarrassed making reproduction splitter guards for Dodges than I would repping a set of caliper covers. Actually, scratch that—[Dodge splitter guard guys]() don't deserve to be lumped in with the crowd that would entertain these. At least they don't think their cars drive themselves. *Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com* ## Author James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids." ### Author social links [Instagram]()