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I de-badged, added black hellcat symbol that's it, painted wheels and yellow nonsense everywhere. Tinted Windows. Granite Crystal, semi murdered but classy. Graphite wheel and matching brake caliper color. I love it.
Trackhawk wheel / caliper makeover
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692 Posts
Looks really good. What was the procedure for painting the calipers? Brand/color of paint, etc.
Thanks.
Thanks.
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10 Posts
hellcat emblem on ebay, most expensive part ... oe units... like $60 each. They have cheaper clones, but I just went with OE, which I then painted black with transparent black tint paint... pep boys. $8
G2 High temp brake caliper kit, many color options, amazon, $49... easy self leveling brush on... do as much of the caliper as you want, or just the fronts. Seems cheesy, but it works well AS LONG AS YOU CLEAN THEM UP REALLY WELL. Since I knew I'd be doing all of these since the first yellow banana colored caliper pic I saw a year or so ago, I did this right after picking up my car... thus, not so dirty. But still surprisingly dirty. Clean well, use qtips and have adhesive label remover or some other clear cleaner in addition to brake cleaner.
Wheel paint... graphite HWP102 by duplicolor... regular spray paint, but for wheels. Was skeptical, but I did it on my last jeep so knew I could make it look nice as long as I prepped well. $50 for 4 cans. I added clearcoat, HWP103 which works real nice. Do at least 3 coats, but lightly each time. No, I didn't dismount the tires. I delflated and moved the tire slightly away from the edges and taped them up. If you look, that's only where the original black paint goes anyway, including on the inside of the wheel.
Dental floss for emblem removal. Lots. Most broke during removal, but I don't care.
Brembo hi temp caliper decals, 4 pack from amazon with two smaller and 2 larger (for front). many colors there too. Just search for "Brembo decals caliper".
I know all of this seems super cheap... and it is... but it just goes to show you don't need to spend to get killer results. And I spend a lot, probably too much, most of the time. For example, $1700 clear bra just last week.
But BECAUSE I had an 06 SRT8 GC, and I painted those wheels black, I realized I could do something now to my new Trackhawk and not wait. Wait for actual nice wheel options... there are very few, all because of the clearance of the caliper up front. Thus few tires sizes or color combos. It was actually my only option given how little aftermarket support there is for Trackhawk wheel and tire setups. And I hate yellow. And our wheel options sucked for the Trackhawk... no nice midnight or other hellcat color options. Man the Dodge hellcats and other cars have nice color options for wheels now.
And I just felt the hellcat part could be subtly represented instead of making a screaming chicken emblem (ebay) or supercharged written under an already huge GRAND CHEROKEE. I don't like that the rear looks just like the trailhawk emblem either.
So this worked for me. If you are looking for new wheels and don't want to wait, who cares what you do with the OE ones in the meantime. You could color match your car and get it done cheaply and wake up the whole look for little money.
Yes, when I see some super cool wheel setup finally available, I might jump on some ADV.1s like on my GTR. But until then, I think these look COOLER than those and doing it yourself is awesome.
G2 High temp brake caliper kit, many color options, amazon, $49... easy self leveling brush on... do as much of the caliper as you want, or just the fronts. Seems cheesy, but it works well AS LONG AS YOU CLEAN THEM UP REALLY WELL. Since I knew I'd be doing all of these since the first yellow banana colored caliper pic I saw a year or so ago, I did this right after picking up my car... thus, not so dirty. But still surprisingly dirty. Clean well, use qtips and have adhesive label remover or some other clear cleaner in addition to brake cleaner.
Wheel paint... graphite HWP102 by duplicolor... regular spray paint, but for wheels. Was skeptical, but I did it on my last jeep so knew I could make it look nice as long as I prepped well. $50 for 4 cans. I added clearcoat, HWP103 which works real nice. Do at least 3 coats, but lightly each time. No, I didn't dismount the tires. I delflated and moved the tire slightly away from the edges and taped them up. If you look, that's only where the original black paint goes anyway, including on the inside of the wheel.
Dental floss for emblem removal. Lots. Most broke during removal, but I don't care.
Brembo hi temp caliper decals, 4 pack from amazon with two smaller and 2 larger (for front). many colors there too. Just search for "Brembo decals caliper".
I know all of this seems super cheap... and it is... but it just goes to show you don't need to spend to get killer results. And I spend a lot, probably too much, most of the time. For example, $1700 clear bra just last week.
But BECAUSE I had an 06 SRT8 GC, and I painted those wheels black, I realized I could do something now to my new Trackhawk and not wait. Wait for actual nice wheel options... there are very few, all because of the clearance of the caliper up front. Thus few tires sizes or color combos. It was actually my only option given how little aftermarket support there is for Trackhawk wheel and tire setups. And I hate yellow. And our wheel options sucked for the Trackhawk... no nice midnight or other hellcat color options. Man the Dodge hellcats and other cars have nice color options for wheels now.
And I just felt the hellcat part could be subtly represented instead of making a screaming chicken emblem (ebay) or supercharged written under an already huge GRAND CHEROKEE. I don't like that the rear looks just like the trailhawk emblem either.
So this worked for me. If you are looking for new wheels and don't want to wait, who cares what you do with the OE ones in the meantime. You could color match your car and get it done cheaply and wake up the whole look for little money.
Yes, when I see some super cool wheel setup finally available, I might jump on some ADV.1s like on my GTR. But until then, I think these look COOLER than those and doing it yourself is awesome.
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86 Posts
I'd suggest contacting ADV.1 to see what options you have for the Trackhawk. I'm guessing that they've already taken measurements of a TH's setup and can produce something custom. I've seen the ADV 5.2 wheels on a bunch of SUVs and I think they'd look good on the TH.
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9 Posts
Looks great I’m planning the same thing for my emblems. I don’t know why they don’t come like that from Jeep.
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78 Posts
Looks absolutely spectacular FlyByNight!!!
I am not a fan of the yellow calipers but haven't committed to painting over the factory finish yet.
Very classy and clean - I really like what you did.
I am not a fan of the yellow calipers but haven't committed to painting over the factory finish yet.
Very classy and clean - I really like what you did.
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10 Posts
Actually, that's how this happened. I was selling my GTR and inquired about the possibility of just changing the centers on my existing 21x11 wheels (rear), 21x10 front to match the bolt pattern on the jeep, adjusting offset as necessary. They looked into and said no.... and said the load rating wouldn't match either. Then I asked about the used ones they had on their site for an SRT8... no longer available. I then asked what other options I had. Two people, 2 months (all in late 2017) and then no response. I have ADV.10s on the GTR and ADV.05s, silver, on an 06 E55 AMG. I mean, I've paid my dues with them, usually going thru wheels boutique. Directly inquiring this time and it became a dead end with no responses. Weird for them. They are probably still trying to figure out which of their designs can work with the clearance, and they are specifically the manufacturer I'm waiting for to actually have some options laid out... instead of head scratching as it has been!
"
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86 Posts
So, you were thinking that the SRT wheels would also fit the Trackhawk? I've been curious if this is the case, or if the larger front calipers would be too big for wheels that fit the SRT Jeeps.
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692 Posts
Kodiakz,
Good to know about the wheel fitment. Thanks!
I've got a set of Forgelines on order for my TH and, even with making all the measurements five times, I'm still a bit nervous about caliper clearance. Your info makes me rest a bit easier, while I wait for them to arrive.
Good to know about the wheel fitment. Thanks!
I've got a set of Forgelines on order for my TH and, even with making all the measurements five times, I'm still a bit nervous about caliper clearance. Your info makes me rest a bit easier, while I wait for them to arrive.
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27 Posts
I put 22 Xo Luxury's on my TH- running 305/35 /22's- simple spacer was all that was needed...ive been trying to attach a pic..but i give up..not my forte'
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692 Posts
Good info, thanks. I'm sticking with stock 20x10 and 50mm offset. I just want a different wheel design from the factory wheel. That's why I was concerned about caliper clearance.
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27 Posts
ha- figured it out...and it says my file dimensions too large...grrrr
i'll get :surprise:some pics up here one day
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86 Posts
I'd like to see those pics. Please post when you can.
Your TH looks amazing. Best looking one I've seen.
So you didn't have to sand down the clearcoat finish on the calipers? Just cleaned and painted over them? I've used G2 on a friend's Vette and they turned out great and still look good 2 years later.
Like you, I really do _NOT_ like the yellow calipers. My TH is silver. I had an SRT GC before this, and the red looked good with the black wheels and silver paint. But I might go with a silver caliper paint on this one. But I do not want to have to remove the calipers, disconnect brake lines, and sand down the calipers just to get them painted well.
Thx.
@FlyByNight I have the same body color TH and I have to say that the color you picked for the calipers looks really nice. When I clicked your photo my mind was saying that I'm fine with the OEM color but your pic has me rethinking... props!
The question I have is about your hellcat badge. I was going to do exactly the same thing on the fenders, and I even ordered the badges before I got my jeep. However, when I look at the badges I got from EBay they seemed a little flimsy and the double sided tape didn't seem thick enough to accomodate the curved part of the fender - it didn't seem flat enough to mount correctly. So I haven't tried it yet.
Yours look so cool. Did you have any problems mounting them? Any gaps due to the curve on the fender? Did the OEM hellcat badges seem pretty sturdy or were they thin?
Appreciate your reply and thanks for posting pics.
Best, -Jeff-
The question I have is about your hellcat badge. I was going to do exactly the same thing on the fenders, and I even ordered the badges before I got my jeep. However, when I look at the badges I got from EBay they seemed a little flimsy and the double sided tape didn't seem thick enough to accomodate the curved part of the fender - it didn't seem flat enough to mount correctly. So I haven't tried it yet.
Yours look so cool. Did you have any problems mounting them? Any gaps due to the curve on the fender? Did the OEM hellcat badges seem pretty sturdy or were they thin?
Appreciate your reply and thanks for posting pics.
Best, -Jeff-
Let us know how it holds up. Did you do them yourself? Did you sand them down before painting, or just clean the calipers up really well and paint over them? Thx.
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