Brake Dust - Revisited

[Rambit]

A while back I posted a question regarding excessive brake dust on the wheels of my SRT8. There wasn't a lot of discussion or recommendations other than a reference to "bedding" the brakes by Dave Zeckhausen, which I read. It didn't cover brake dust problems however.

Interestingly, the search results I did throughout the forum only came up with folks stating they had little or no brake dust problems. I don't know if I'm driving a little too agressively or if it's the ESP that's causing the problem, but I've washed my car several times now and pay a great deal of attention to the wheels. They are covered with brake dust after only driving 50-60 km's which continues to build up till I wash it again. I now have 500 Km's (300 miles) on the car and it's not getting any better. This is all over the outside and inner portions of all four wheels. Getting it off is easy enough, but is awfully time consuming, besides the spoke edges are very sharp on the inside edge when I go to clean the inner portion of the wheel I'm always cutting my thumb.

Once again, I'm asking specifically the SRT8 owners if they've noticed this as well on their wheels, and if so, maybe we will just have to put up with it. I've noticed when applying the brakes what I would consider normally, that you definatly get the impression that these brakes mean business. I've never had a brake dust problem with any of my Dodge Ram trucks.

Rambit

[BrilliantBlackHemi]

The SRT-8 obviously DOES NOT have ceramic brakes pads like the 300C. You may want to consider getting ceramic pads if the brake dust bothers you that much. I see NO brake dust on my 300C with aftermarket ASA 18" chrome wheels.

[VIPedition]

Originally Posted by Rambit

A while back I posted a question regarding excessive brake dust on the wheels of my SRT8. There wasn't a lot of discussion or recommendations other than a reference to "bedding" the brakes by Dave Zeckhausen, which I read. It didn't cover brake dust problems however.

Interestingly, the search results I did throughout the forum only came up with folks stating they had little or no brake dust problems. I don't know if I'm driving a little too agressively or if it's the ESP that's causing the problem, but I've washed my car several times now and pay a great deal of attention to the wheels. They are covered with brake dust after only driving 50-60 km's which continues to build up till I wash it again. I now have 500 Km's (300 miles) on the car and it's not getting any better. This is all over the outside and inner portions of all four wheels. Getting it off is easy enough, but is awfully time consuming, besides the spoke edges are very sharp on the inside edge when I go to clean the inner portion of the wheel I'm always cutting my thumb.

Once again, I'm asking specifically the SRT8 owners if they've noticed this as well on their wheels, and if so, maybe we will just have to put up with it. I've noticed when applying the brakes what I would consider normally, that you definatly get the impression that these brakes mean business. I've never had a brake dust problem with any of my Dodge Ram trucks.

Rambit

Rambit I have the same problem and I upgraded my brakes to Brembo, I always notice brake dust right after I drive the car to my first destination. If I remember the SRT-8 has the Brembo brakes , right? Maybe it has to do with the pads from Brembo.

[Rambit]

Originally Posted by VIPedition

Rambit I have the same problem and I upgraded my brakes to Brembo, I always notice brake dust right after I drive the car to my first destination. If I remember the SRT-8 has the Brembo brakes , right? Maybe it has to do with the pads from Brembo.

Yes it does have the Brembo brakes. I PM'ed jMatt and he has the same problem. It's really bad. At least I know I'm not the only one who has the problem. I don't know much about the ceramic pads. What are their characteristics and will they work with the Brembo brakes? Thanks

Rambit

[JMatt]

As mentioned - yes, the brake dust on the SRT-8 is horrendous. I'd guess that if braking performance isn't that crucial, that many SRT-8 owners will opt for different pads the second time around. I just cleaned my wheels within the last 60 miles, but I'll take a picture of what they look like with only 2 weeks of driving on them. (Unless of course yours are currently dirty Rambit? Then you could show folks the before/after pics).

[JustForFun]

wax

JFF

[DZeckhausen]

It's too early for the Friction Materials Standards Institute (FMSI) to have published a shape number and diagrams of the pads used by the SRT-8. However, it's likely that the Brembo calipers used on the SRT8 use the same pad shape as some of the other Brembo-equipped cars out there, such as the 350Z Track Model, Infiniti G35, and Subaru WRX STi. If someone with an SRT8 would be kind enough to provide a pad tracing with labeled dimensions for the front and rear, I'll try to find a compatible low-dust pad.

[Model 57]

Thanks Dave; I'm sure that the SRT-8 owners will appreciate your offer, maybe you can help them out with something more desireable.

[Rambit]

Originally Posted by Model 57

Thanks Dave; I'm sure that the SRT-8 owners will appreciate your offer, maybe you can help them out with something more desireable.

Yeah, thanks Dave.

Rambit

[north49guy]

Rambit, I sent you a PM.

I will see if they plan on making EBC greens for the 300 Brembos (or they may already). I use the greens on my Vipers and they work excellent.