Tyler Batty's Show Stopping brake calipers by PMB Performance
Introduction
Generally, when customers approach us about caliper restoration, they are looking for our expertise in a 1 to 1 recreation of how their calipers would have looked the day they rolled off the assembly line. Occasionally, customers ask us for custom colors, specialized logos, or both. Very rarely does a customer have a request quite like Tyler Batty, who wanted a functional piece of art under his wheels. This spring, Tyler, a local football player, signed an NFL Contract with the Minnesota Vikings! To celebrate, he wanted to equip his beloved twin-turbo B7 Audi RS4 with a truly unique set of Vikings-themed calipers. Check out the man behind these calipers, and the unique process we used to make them.
Who is Tyler Batty?
Tyler grew up in Payson, Utah, on a family ranch. He comes from a cowboy background, where horses and hard work shaped his early years. The Batty Family runs a program called Edward's Hands, which offers equine therapy to kids. Tyler attended Payson High School and went on to play college football at BYU, a local university. Here, Tyler really launched his career, showing a lot of talent as a defensive end. Over five seasons from 2020 to 2024, he started 44 of 53 games. His stats include 224 tackles, 33.5 for loss, 16.5 sacks, two interceptions, and three forced fumbles. In 2023, he earned second-team All-Big 12 honors after a strong year with 57 tackles and five and a half sacks. He even scored on a fake punt reception that season.
As mentioned, this spring, Tyler signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent. At 6-foot-6 and 271 pounds, he brings power and size to the edge rusher spot. He's been turning heads in training camp with big tackles for loss and quick bursts through the line. We'll be excited to see Tyler playing in the big leagues in the coming seasons!
Tyler has always had a thing for machines, and he says his two older brothers, Clayton and Justin, are to thank for that. At an early age, they pulled him into the world of motors, with him helping (being in the way) while they worked on their snowmobiles, dirtbikes, trucks and cars. Tyler's first car was a humble '99 Toyota Camry, which he thoroughly used and abused. When it was finally time to get a "cool" car, he bought a 2005 Audi S4, which bit him with the Audi bug that's now consumed his car hobby.
Tyler's Fleet
These days, Tyler has 3 Notable cars. One is a rare B9 S4 in Miami blue—one of just twenty, with a unique silver-gray interior. One is a B7 S4 Avant in Suzuka gray, a real one of one. Both of these cars are getting fully forged internals and built motors from a company called AMTuned in Florida, with the B7 S4 getting a unique single turbo setup. Finally, he has his crazy twin-turbo B7 RS4 in Daytona Gray, where our calipers have now found their home. We asked him if he had any Porsche plans in the future, and it seems he does. He's driven a 991 and 992 GT3RS, a 992 Dakar, a 991 GT2RS, and a 718 GT4RS, and he says he's "definitely hooked".
His B7 RS4 that was in our shop is his current main project, which is a combined effort between himself, his two older brothers, and his Cousin Daxton. It's undergone a full chassis and drivetrain refresh as well as a huge amount of modifications.
The car has shaved and reinforced frame rails, a custom tube front end, and a fully custom cooling setup. The RS4's already monstrous 4.2L V8 received Ported and Polished heads, and is now being boosted by a VS Racing Twin Turbo kit, with totally custom plumbing, a pair of Wagner intercoolers, 38mm Tial Wastegates, and a Tial Q50 BOV. The car also has a completely custom exhaust from the manifolds to the muffler. Supporting all this stuff are a Walboro 450 high flow fuel pump, ECS race motor and transmission mounts, and an RR Stage 5 Clutch.
Tyler's goal is to push over 600 WHP through this car, and he's so far spared no expense or effort in building this weapon of an Audi. He didn't skimp out on handling either, making a concerted effort to make sure this car isn't all about straight line speed. Keeping this car planted on the ground, are some KW V3 Coilovers, running into custom 5x114.3 converted hubs. The car rides on a set of ultra light (21 lbs!!!) Enkei GTC01RR Wheels in 18x10+30, with our custom PMB Performance brakes riding underneath them. The car also has a custom strut brace, a 34mm rear sway bar, and an Apikol rear differential mount.
This may not even be all this car is capable of, with Tyler planning on building a second even crazier motor in the future to really push this chassis to its limits!
The craziest custom calipers we've ever done.
When the RS4 rolled off a trailer into our shop, it was clear that this car wasn't getting a normal set of brakes. So how did we handle the challenge? Well, after talking to Tyler and getting to know what he wanted, our painter got to work on figuring out the best way to do the sort of "crackle" design Tyler had in a way that wouldn't compromise on durability or usability. We wanted the custom work on these calipers to be every bit as durable and streetable as your everyday plain-jane set of red Brembos. We began by laying out his design on our computer, using two different sizes of crackles, and cutting a vinyl mask. While our designers were working on that, the calipers were going through our standard restoration process, non-abrasively all the original finish, and getting fresh seals. Once the calipers were ready to go into paint, our painter got to work, applying the yellow base coat first. Then, he carefully hand masked the caliper in hundreds of places, applying each "crackle" individually. We then applied the custom metallic purple topcoat, and carefully removed the intricate mask. Finally a set of custom yellow Audi RS logos were added to the calipers, before they were finally clear coated over. Tyler's unique calipers required the skills of many members of the PMB team, and many hours of work to create, but the final product speaks for itself.
If you've got an artistic idea burning a hole in your brain, or just wish your calipers still had the same pop they did when they were new, please reach out to us. PMB Performance is the only company out there that does both custom and factory Brembo brake caliper repaint and restoration using Brembo's factory methods and parts, making sure that your vital and expensive braking components receive the quality of service they deserve. We use non-abrasive stripping methods to make sure that none of your caliper's protective anodizing is compromised (sandblasting aluminum brake calipers is the fastest way to ruin them), and our high quality paint and durable clear coat, and custom printed logos makes sure our finish looks factory fresh. No ugly sticker logos that fall off, no rattle can orange peel, just a set of calipers you'll be proud to have on your car.
You can check out our painted caliper program here. Don't see your car listed? Pick one of our generic 4, 6, or 8 piston options and be the first one to have your specific calipers done!
