Brake Caliper Covers for Tesla Model 3

Key Features Overview

• Give your Model 3 a “big brake” racing look that will make people notice your car without compromising on your braking performance.

• Designed and tested to specifically fit over the Tesla Model 3 (Prior 2022) and Tesla Model 3 Highland OEM brake calipers.
  
  
• Easy installation / Removable: Perfect if you want to go back to your original caliper colors or if your car is on lease.
  
  
• Made from aerospace aluminum and powder coated in red/green/yellow to prevent rust.
  
  
• Reduces brake dust and dissipates heat.
  
  
• Packaging includes a set of 4 covers, 2 adapted to the front and 2 for your rear calipers. 
  
  
• This product will not void your Tesla warranty as long as it is installed correctly. Find below our detailed installation guide.
  
  
• Compatible with 18" and 19" factory Tesla Model 3 (Prior 2022) wheels and Tesla Model 3 Highland 18" wheels. 

• Available for international delivery.

Note: For Model 3 Performance, it may use 19" brake caliper covers 

If you are reading this, chances are that you already (or plan to) removed your aero wheel covers and realised that adding a pop of colour on your wheels would lift the overall look of your car. Especially with more and more Teslas in the street these days. Whenever we see a car with coloured calipers, we can’t help but notice it.

Our set of 4 caliper covers have been designed exclusively to fit your Tesla Model 3 and make your car stand out from the growing crowd of M3s. The set includes 2 front and 2 rear caliper covers. The powder coated paint on the aluminum body of the covers give them a nice a sturd factory feel. Built with performance in mind, our caliper covers also reduce brake dust, keeping your car cleaner and dissipate heat to maintain bake performance. Made to stay beautiful over time, their aluminum body makes them durable in tough environment and prevent them from rusting. 

To go along with your calipers upgrade, check out our wheel cap kit and lug nuts covers to protect and enhance the aesthetic of your wheel.

If you have have been doing researches in order to find a way to upgrade your calipers, you might be aware now that several options lay before you. Before making your purchase with TALSEM, we want to make sure that you understand the different options that you have and you to be confident that this product is the right fit for you. When it comes to upgrading your calipers, you can either: Get a cover, paint them or powder coat them. Let's dive in!

Caliper Covers VS Paint Jobs VS Powder Coated

Caliper Covers

Are caliper covers tacky? This is a very polarised debate within the Tesla owners community. In the heated discussions of the most popular Tesla forums like TOO and TMC, you will see that some people only swear by paint jobs while others are thrilled with their covers. And usually, people who hates covers didn’t even try them or even paint their calipers. People commenting on covers though, speak from experience. 

It is a personal choice. To help you make your own opinion on the matter, let’s review together the options available out there. 

What are the key benefits of the caliper covers?

• Price: As a rule, more than half the cost of a paint job
• Installation: Easy, it tales 30 to 45min to install. You can do it by yourself or easily find someone to help you. Read our our quick and detailed installation guides below for more insights.
• Removable: Caliper covers are non permanent: You can take them off and replace them. This is a great way to test if you are comfortable with them and your color choice. This is also a great option if your car is on lease.

What are the downsides that most people comment about?

• Heat up your brakes and affect braking performance
• Increase dust accumulation
• Damage your warranty 
• Fall off on high speed
• Copying the Model 3 performance 

These downsides are actually a bit of a misconception. Thanks to their lightweight aerospace aluminum bodies and design, our caliper covers help to dissipate the heat and therefore maintain great braking performance. If you want to learn more about this process, we have developed more on the subject in the heat dissipation section.

Another myth that we can often encounter in discussions around this topic is that adding covers on your caliper could be an issue for your warranty and braking performance. It wouldn't affect serviceability of the vehicle or affect the vehicle warranty unless it was not installed properly and created some damage. Your caliper covers won’t be an issue for the service center.

The fairy tale about covers felling off on high speed probably come from the fact that back in the days, some standard caliper covers solution were made to fit different types of vehicles. Our covers are designed for the Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model 3 Highland only, their snug fit will make them hold on tight to your calipers even at 120mph on the highway.

Another thought that some owners have shared with us before is that they somehow feel uncomfortable upgrading their calipers because it feels like they are trying to mimic the Model 3 Performance.

Are you uncomfortable and feel like you are copying the Model 3 Performance? 

You might feel uncomfortable getting red caliper covers as it could convey the fact that you are pretending to own a M3P.

Reality is, red is a traditional color for calipers and there is a good reason for that. It fits nicely with a wide range of vehicles color from Black to White.

But if you are looking for something different  we went out of our way to offer you 2 additional color options: Green and yellow. 

Painting your calipers

What are the benefits of painted calipers?

• Fully customised, you can choose the color and paint that you want. 
• You can keep the original shape of your model 3 calipers
• If you do it on your own it will be cheaper or as expensive as caliper covers

What are the common downsides of this solution?

• The process: It takes much more time to make, you will need time to prepare the car, apply one paint layer, wait for the paint to dry, apply another layer and so on
• Even more tedious (and expensive) if you want to maintain the Tesla logo 
• Require some solid DIY skills if you want to do it on your own
• More expensive / more labour intensive if you need professionals help. In some areas like California or Washington DC, getting a customed paint job on your 4 calipers will be at least USD500. 
• The risk of getting paint on some parts that you don’t want to
• Brakes heating and cooling cycles increase the chance for your caliper paint to crack and peel off.

Powder Coated Calipers

To summarize, the process will be as labour intensive as the painted solution but it will add a layer of complexity since you will need to remove the calipers from the wheel. 

Here is our take. If you are convinced that you will never need your original calipers colour back, that you have the budget or the time and skills to perform a paint job, go for it. You will be, for sure, pleased with the results. But if you are looking for an easy do it yourself solution, be able to change your mind or caliper style easily, our caliper covers are a perfect fit for you. You won't regret it.

Some people might think caliper covers are not as authentic as a paint job. So what?

Truth is, they are incredibly bright and even larger than the original caliper, giving them a nice racing-ready look. You’ll love them!

If you want to learn more on this topic, we recommend you to watch this great video made by the Youtuber Tesla Photograph.
Let's go over some additional benefits of adding our caliper covers to your Model 3.

Enhance the look of your car

Designed for Tesla Model 3 factory brake calipers, our covers provide a “big brake” racing-ready look that will make heads turn! Caliper covers don't just hide an unattractive part but create a unique look of their own. Our solution is an inexpensive alternative to a paint job, removable and won't alter your factory brakes.

Reduce brake dust to keep your wheel cleaner 

Our brake caliper covers are not just for the look, they also act as a protective dust shield by reducing the amount of brake dust that gets on your wheel. They keep your wheels clean longer in between washings. If you are the type of person who is sensitive to wheel how clean wheels appear, then you know what kind of problem brake dust can be. Our caliper covers direct the air and dust toward the backside of the wheel, keeping the front of the wheel much cleaner.

Improve heat dissipation to maintain performance

Why are heat creation and dissipation important when it comes to your bracking system and how can we improve it by adding caliper covers?

First, let’s start by redefining what are brake calipers?

Brake calipers are a specific component of your braking system that are crucial for the function of your brakes. Calipers are found on each wheel and work to squeeze the brake pads against the rotors in an effort to slow the spin of the wheel and get the vehicle to reduce its speed.

The reason to increase heat generation in a braking system is to create added stopping power.  

A braking system works by converting the kinetic energy of a vehicle into heat through friction, so more heat means more friction and stopping power.  

The drawback of increasing the heat generating properties of your braking system is that heat dissipation is much harder to accomplish once you have done so.  Brake systems that can’t dissipate the heat accordingly can cause braking failure, damage, or unpredictability. 

What can go wrong at the caliper level?

One of the most common symptoms of a bad or failing caliper is brake fluid leakage. The calipers operate using brake fluid pressure from the master cylinder and pedal to extend the piston and slow the vehicle. ... Over time, with constant exposure to intense heat generated by braking, these seals will wear out and leak.

Some brake rotors/pads are great at producing a good amount of friction, but are poor at dissipating heat and vice versa.  Additionally, braking materials can handle various heat loads depending on their molecular structure.

While driving and using your brakes your caliper temperature will increase and will run cooler thanks to our covers. Testings with infrared heat detectors have shown 20 to 50 degrees difference in brake temperatures. The increased surface area in direct contact with your brake calipers provides a large heat sink for your brakes.

Our covers are made of aerospace aluminum and act as a heat sink, dissipating the heat from the caliper more efficiently. The curvature of the cover also helps direct air to cool down the caliper.