Enthusiasts love to modify their cars. Sometimes it’s because their stupid E39 came with the world’s flimsiest cupholders. Other times it’s because they want to stand out or go a little faster. Whatever the reason, every modification comes with its pros and cons. People also have different priorities, so one mod that’s worth it to one person may be a total waste of money to another. Still, we can all agree that these silicone Tesla caliper covers that the Drive found look like a terrible idea, right?
For $199, you get a set of Caliper Skins caliper covers that only fit the Tesla Model 3 and the Model Y. Just slip them on, and you’re good to go. That’s a lot less than it would cost to have your calipers painted by a professional, but at the same time, we’re talking about one of the least important modifications you can make to your car. No one is going to notice unless you take it to a car show, and no one at a car show is going to give a Tesla a second look unless it’s one of the original Roadsters.
More importantly, the Drive points out that the silicone cover is also bound to trap heat. The listing tries to assuage those fears by saying, “Patented caliper-specific vented design ensures heat -dissipation [sic] rates on par with the control sample,” but let’s just say the rest of the copy doesn’t exactly give us a lot of confidence that’s accurate. There’s just no way you can wrap a silicone sweater around your brake calipers and not trap more heat. Maybe a smart engineer in the comments can explain how it might be possible, but until then, we’re calling bullshit.
If you throw these Caliper Skins on your car, you probably won’t immediately crash and die. It just seems like a bad idea to do something that ensures your brakes run hotter just because you’re too cheap to shell out for the real thing. Especially since if your brakes ever fail because of it, there’s no way to tell when that will happen. You might not care about your own life, but what if it happened with someone else in the car? It’s better just to not mess with these kinds of things.