# Exposed Brake Caliper with these new open slotted wheels. Is that a maintenance issue? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 1, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982 "2013-02-01T00:22:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/1 "2013-02-01T00:22:03Z")
I usually ignore cars with holey wheels or huge open slotted wheels. They are butt ugly imho. I was at a restaurant and happened to glance at a VW’s front tire and was shocked to see the Brake Caliper totally exposed behind the open slotted wheel. How in the world are they keeping mud, snow, ice and road dirt from ruining the brake caliper? If I was a vandal, it would be so easy to slip a screwdriver in there and just wreck that brake caliper. There’s absolutely nothing protecting it from the elements. Do car owners with exposed brake calipers have a lot of maintenance issues? Here’s something similar to [what I saw](http://ramspeed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/VW-Golf-R32-MK-V-Grey-Custom-Ramspeed-Wrap-Ramspeed-Automotive-3.jpg?9d7bd4). Except the VW looked stock and not custom. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/2 "2013-02-01T00:38:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I usually ignore cars with holey wheels or huge open slotted wheels. They are butt ugly imho. > > I was at a restaurant and happened to glance at a VW’s front tire and was shocked to see the Brake Caliper totally exposed behind the open slotted wheel. How in the world are they keeping mud, snow, ice and road dirt from ruining the brake caliper? by properly designing the caliper. The piston is double sealed, and the pressures involved in braking are such that a little bit of water or mud won’t prevent the caliper assembly from moving on its guides. look, just because the face of the wheel is relatively open doesn’t mean the caliper assembly is any more exposed to the elements. > [@](#): > > If I was a vandal, it would be so easy to slip a screwdriver in there and just wreck that brake caliper. There’s absolutely nothing protecting it from the elements. what are you talking about? brake calipers are generally beefy hunks of cast iron. A screwdriver can’t do shit to it. Not a goddamn thing. > [@](#): > > Do car owners with exposed brake calipers have a lot of maintenance issues? No. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/3 "2013-02-01T00:42:45Z")
I’m not advocating vandalism. But, a good 10 inch screwdriver might pry that caliper out of alignment. Or even the slotted tip on a tire iron. \ I was just taken by surprise because normally the caliper is snugly hidden behind the wheel. Well, behind a solid wheel with a hub cap. 😉 It’s been awhile since I’ve done my own brake work, but seems like things got pretty rusty behind the wheel. The roter stays clean from constant braking but the rest was rusty. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/4 "2013-02-01T00:49:00Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m not advocating vandalism. But, a good 10 inch screwdriver might pry that caliper out of alignment. Or even the slotted tip on a tire iron. > > \ I was just taken by surprise because normally the caliper is snugly hidden behind the wheel. Well, behind a solid wheel with a hub cap. 😉 The caliper is bolted to the suspension, you won’t be moving it. I think you have an incomplete understanding of brake calipers. I’ll also note that the brake rotor on nearly every car is right out there in the mud and snow. Since the caliper acts directly on the rotor, it will also be exposed to the same environment. Very little crud comes in from the side of the car, most comes from the roadway below. If I took the wheel completely off, you would not be able to damage the caliper with a screwdriver. You may be able to spike the brake hoses if you held it tight while you jabbed. You can remove the brake pad retaining clips on some cars with that screwdriver, but the pads will likely remain in place for weeks or months. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/5 "2013-02-01T00:50:00Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m not advocating vandalism. But, a good 10 inch screwdriver might pry that caliper out of alignment. Or even the slotted tip on a tire iron. No, it won’t. The calipers are designed to withstand thousands of pounds of force in a hard stop situation; what makes you think piddly shit like prying on it with a screwdriver will have any effect? ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/6 "2013-02-01T00:54:37Z")
That is what the wheels on most cars besides entry-level econoboxes have looked like for the past 15 years or so, especially performance cars like BMWs, etc. Some wheels have smaller spokes than others, but they’re all pretty much open and expose the caliper. This is hardly a new or unusual thing. Lighter, more open wheels result in better handling, and better ventilation of the brakes. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/7 "2013-02-01T01:03:57Z")
Have you never seen a [motorcycle](http://0.tqn.com/d/motorcycles/1/0/l/D/0/-/2011-Harley-SuperLow-XL883L-BJN16.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/8 "2013-02-01T01:07:54Z")
What makes you think that being behind a rapidly spinning wheel, with basically nothing on the other side, protects a caliper from weather? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/9 "2013-02-01T01:19:25Z")
Car brake calipers are completely exposed to the elements all the time, and always have been. Unless your car has old fashioned, non-alloy, non-spoked, steel rims the calipers are always going to be visible from the outside, they just usually aren’t painted bright \*\*green \*\*or \*\*red \*\*so you don’t notice them. Even so, this ‘extra’ visibility is inconsequential in terms of its exposure to the elements… ---
**Author:** ![busterpickle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@busterpickle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/busterpickle)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/10 "2013-02-01T01:29:01Z")
Calipers are made from cast steel, not iron. And, they are mounted to the wheel hub assembly which is fairly robust in itself. If you have ever replaced brakes yourself you will see why the caliper is fine exposed to the elements: they are extremely robust. Also, the business part of the caliper, the piston(s) are on the other side of the rotor. What could impact the performance of a caliper would be a fine dust which would work its way onto and into the piston seals. However, brake dust is extremely fine so I assume they have designed the piston and ring material to compensate. A 10" screwdriver wouldn’t do anything to the brake itself. It really is that robust and I think if you were to use a 10" screwdriver on the caliper you’d just bend the shaft of the screwdriver. Maybe, a 10" pry bar or a longer crow bar might work. But, you will need something substantial to cause any type of damage like a hammer and chisel. Or, a 5’ long set of bolt cutters. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/11 "2013-02-01T01:35:52Z")
OP, have you not seen a car before? ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/12 "2013-02-01T01:36:05Z")
It would take a seriously dedicated vandal to attempt to tear up a caliper. There are far quicker, more visually exciting things to do to cars, like smashing windows, slashing tires, denting panels, scratching the paint, tipping it over, or setting it on fire. How often does a vandal think: “I’m gonna give this guy a big repair bill, in the least obvious way I can!” ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/13 "2013-02-01T01:45:12Z")
Seen lots of cars in the past forty eight years. Thankfully, Econo Line vans still have cast iron wheels and hubcaps. Or at least they did in 2001 when I bought mine. I recall in the 80’s spoked hubcaps got popular but there still was a solid wheel behind it. I just haven’t paid much attention to cars in the past decade. Maybe I need to look down low more often. 😃 Someone earlier mentioned the loud red, green, blue paints they are using these days. It really makes the caliper jump out at you. That’s why I happened to notice the one today. If it was black, then I would have never noticed it. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > OP, have you not seen a car before? ---
**Author:** ![Kazo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@Kazo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kazo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/14 "2013-02-01T02:01:49Z")
On my car, when i do the brakes and it needs new pads, the caliper pistons have to be retracted to make room for the extra thicknesses of fresh pads. To facilitate that, i remove the old pads and use a large pry bar between the rotor and the pistons. This is about as much force as one can generate against the caliper; no harm will come of it. Like a previous poster stated, those calipers are designed to generate THOUSANDS of pounds of force to slow your car down. At best, a vandal can only leverage a couple hundred pounds. Might be able to damage a hubcap or some bodywork, but i wouldn’t worry about brake rotors. ---
**Author:** ![Kazo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@Kazo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kazo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/15 "2013-02-01T02:10:44Z")
And one slight nitpick: your wheels aren’t “cast iron,” they are stamped steel. Mine are forged aluminum. Big differences! ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/16 "2013-02-01T02:14:01Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Thankfully, Econo Line vans still have cast iron wheels and hubcaps. Are you doing this on purpose? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/17 "2013-02-01T02:19:23Z")
😕 Econo Line Vans do have solid wheels. Here’s one similar to mine. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Ford--Econoline.jpg/800px-Ford--Econoline.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Ford--Econoline.jpg/800px-Ford--Econoline.jpg) We’re not talking about some ancient artifact here. I bought the thing in 2001 and it has 52,000 miles on it. A lot of trucks still have solid wheels with hubcaps too. I’m not a sub compact car guy. Never will be. I like utility vans and trucks that can actually haul what I need to haul. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/18 "2013-02-01T02:23:17Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > 😕 Econo Line Vans do have solid wheels. Here’s one similar to mine. > [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Ford--Econoline.jpg/800px-Ford--Econoline.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Ford--Econoline.jpg/800px-Ford--Econoline.jpg) > > We’re not talking about some ancient artifact here. I bought the thing in 2001 and it has 52,000 miles on it. A lot of trucks still have solid wheels with hubcaps too. > > I’m not a sub compact car guy. Never will be. I like utility vans and trucks that can actually haul what I need to haul. Those wheels are stamped steel, not cast iron. The only reason those vans/trucks have steel wheels is because steel wheels are _cheaper,_ not stronger. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/19 "2013-02-01T02:26:49Z")
Ok, I’ll agree it’s steel then. 😉 All I know it’s a traditional solid metal wheel with a hubcap. Exactly like the cars I owned in the 1980’s and 90’s. Apparently solid wheels are an endangered species in the modern world. ---
**Author:** ![Kazo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@Kazo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kazo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982/20 "2013-02-01T02:30:21Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > Those wheels are stamped steel, not cast iron. The only reason those vans/trucks have steel wheels is because steel wheels are _cheaper,_ not stronger. This. My Mercedes is a two-ton station wagon, hardly a subcompact. But the factory forged aluminum wheels are 13 lbs each, and probably a LOT stronger than any steel alternative. And they have a bunch of holes in them so vandals can admire my solid mounted, two-piston calipers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-brake-caliper-with-these-new-open-slotted-wheels-is-that-a-maintenance-issue/648982.md?page=2)