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Never liked the chunky polished Oronas that were part of the Portfolio pack on my car, so I was elated to happen on a local guy selling a set of Kalimnos for a song. Had a bit of curb rash so I got them refinished in hypersilver and they are now flawless.
Will need to take some better pics with the new rims, but to my eyes, the car looks 100% sharper and more sporting. The hypersilver also has a nice lustre that still complements the chrome trim on the car without being too blingy.
5 spoke wheels always look more sporty than higher number spokes. Now paint your calipers.
I toyed with the idea of colored calipers before to liven up all the grey but don't think they would have looked right with the original rims. The Kalimnos change the look and character of my car enough though that I do think some color wouldn't look out of place now. The calipers are also much more visible now. Not sure what color works best for a grey car - only color that seems right to me is yellow but I wonder how dingey-looking they get if you don't clean the brake dust off almost daily.
Last edited by Simon Tan; Jan 7, 2018 at 01:43 PM.
I toyed with the idea of colored calipers before to liven up all the grey but don't think they would have looked right with the original rims. The Kalimnos change the look and character of my car enough though that I do think some color wouldn't look out of place now. The calipers are also much more visible now. Not sure what color works best for a grey car - only color that seems right to me is yellow but I wonder how dingey-looking they get if you don't clean the brake dust off almost daily.
Calipers get dingey no matter what color. If you go with ceramic pads, you minimize it and actually caliper covers combined with ceramics rarely get dirty and are an easy reach in to wipe clean. I cleaned mine once this past driving season.
... Not sure what color works best for a grey car - only color that seems right to me is yellow but I wonder how dingey-looking they get if you don't clean the brake dust off almost daily.
Red calipers and red Jaguar Heritage logo center caps look good on my Shadow Gray XKR.
Very nice wheels. I am debating what to do with my Oranas as I am not crazy about them. I recently had my calipers powder coated red. I will post pictures of them in a few days so you can get a look at them.
Thanks! The Kalimnos and Oronas are both 20s so I didn't have to change tires. The Kalimnos are slightly narrower (8.5" front and 9.5" rear versus 9.0" and 10") but not enough to need different rubber. Didn't weigh them, but after lugging both sets around before and after the swap, I'm guessing the original Oronas are also quite a bit heavier.
Very nice wheels. I am debating what to do with my Oranas as I am not crazy about them. I recently had my calipers powder coated red. I will post pictures of them in a few days so you can get a look at them.
Yea, the polished Oronas always bothered me. Even when perfectly clean, they just look too heavy and chunky to me - like something that would go on a pickup truck, not a GT.
How much did powdercoating the calipers run you? Did get a logo or lettering added on? I'm thinking yellow or red calipers with a silver outlined leaper would look pretty sharp. I also remember there was another thread before where someone had an 'R' emblem applied after powdercoating.
The caliper coloring and lettering cost $700 or $175 per caliper. After it gets done raining here (1st time in 10 months) I will clean them up and post some picks. I also had the wheels painted to see if I like that better. The jury is still out on that.
Sorry for the delay in posting these pics. I guess my age is showing it slipped my mind. Also, keep in mind that it hasn't been cleaned since our massive rains the other day.
Rear wheel Rear wheel
I toyed with the idea of colored calipers before to liven up all the grey but don't think they would have looked right with the original rims. The Kalimnos change the look and character of my car enough though that I do think some color wouldn't look out of place now. The calipers are also much more visible now. Not sure what color works best for a grey car - only color that seems right to me is yellow but I wonder how dingey-looking they get if you don't clean the brake dust off almost daily.
The caliper coloring and lettering cost $700 or $175 per caliper. After it gets done raining here (1st time in 10 months) I will clean them up and post some picks. I also had the wheels painted to see if I like that better. The jury is still out on that.
Thanks for the pics, Ralph! The red calipers do look sharp. Was the $700 inclusive of taking off and putting the calipers back on, or did you have to bring the calipers to the powdercoater? I think the painted Oronas definitely look better than polished, but I still think the design in general is just too heavy looking and doesn't really fit the XKR aesthetically. The standard finish of the Oronas is two-tone which makes the spokes look a little shaper and lighter, but I'm really happy I lucked into the Kalimnos.
Last edited by Simon Tan; Jan 16, 2018 at 02:03 AM.
Thanks Simon. I delivered the car as it had been hit causing slight damage to the front bumper cover and the shop took care of all the work, including disassembly and re-assembling, at the same time. Total elapsed time in the shop four days. I think eventually I will change the wheels, but i'm not sure when.
Changed my wheels - it's like I got a new car!
