I found the cheapest place to buy them was from Stoptech themselves. I got a bit of a special being as I bought them on the last day of the fiscal year though.

 

Why would you spend that much on a front kit alone. I could understand if it were front and back, but come on. Maybe im just crazy, o well.

 

so you think when they paint them black there is some different process they do? if you ask me its B.S that they would charge $200 all you have to do is paint them red instead of painting them black, and im pretty sure red paint is not more expensive then black paint. and lastly though that calipers are big im sure you could paint at least 10 sets with one can of spray paint and it would only take a 5 min a set

 

The Stoptech brakes come normally Anodized black. Compared to painting, this is a much cheaper and easier process that yields a high quality, long lasting color. This means they can sell you their kits for less money for those people who don't want or need the showy red calipers.

When they are red, they are painted and it is an expensive process since they are not using Krylon.

 

StopTech hard black anodizes ALL our calipers. We also paint either Black or Red over the anodizing which also has a sealer to help the paint adhere. The paint is a 2-part high temperature epoxy that has to be mixed and applied under controlled conditions and then baked, again for a specific time at a specific temperature. The logo is then applied and again baked. Also note certain areas must be masked, adding to the process.

We priced the WRX kit below the normal price of our painted caliper kits because we felt most WRX owners buying a brake upgrade would be tracking their cars often and the paint was not as big an issue. Many customers have opted for the painted option, as that particular aesthetic is more important to them.

If it were a matter of readily available paint or typical powder coating, we would not have to charge so much. The truth is, we have spent a lot of time and research finding a paint that would stand up to life on a brake caliper (heat, dirt, chemicals...). We called Porsche at first to ask what they used, but the receptionist wouldn't tell us their formula... I can't imagine! I'm being tongue in cheek, but finding a good finish was a very big challenge for us.

There are companies that sell caliper paint, and if you were not tracking the car (really high temps), and could really get the caliper clean, it would likely do an OK job for the most part.

Matt Weiss
StopTech

 

The standard kit is black anodized. If a customer wants either black OR red PAINT, there is an extra charge.

I think the confusion lies in calling a caliper "black" without designating one as black anodized (standard finish on the WRX caliper) or black paint (an additional $200.00).

Matt