Brake Dust

[DarKnyt]

I have read a lot of posts on the dusting issues with the stock brake pads. I knew when I bought my car (06 w <17K miles, stock 20"wheels) that the brakes would have to be replaced before the end of summer. While I love my car, I have had one really odd issue with dusting. I clean my car/wheels daily. After my 40 mile round trip commute every day, the front wheels look like i just washed the car and the rears need to be seriously wiped down to return to being silver. Any ideas on what is causing the excessive dusting in the rear vs the front? Also, in everyones opinion, what are the best replacement pads for my car? Thanks

As a side note, get Keep Clean by Eagle One. I have had such a problem with brake dust, I decided to give this a try. Since treating my wheels it is so much easier to clean them at the end of the day. What was a 40 minute cleaning has been cut to 10. Just my $.02

[Rambit]

You'll find the rears will wear faster than the fronts. That's due to ESP and the brake lock differential. If you drive "spirited" a lot you'll notice you get more dust. I turn my ESP off as a routine.

If you're getting tired of the dust, many of us use Centric Posi Quiet pads from DaveZ (supporting vendor) - Chrysler 300C SRT8 Products: StopTech big brake kits, stainless steel braided brake lines, tires.

Changing the pads is a 4 minute per wheel job BTW and you won't find an easier brake job!

Bernie

[CoolVSRT8]

what bernie said

[DarKnyt]

Good to know. Granted, I don't normally drive my car like I stole it but how much will the braking performance change with the Posi Quiet pads?

[Kaiser Bill]

how odd...my rears stay clean, & the fronts get dirty.... mind you everything is different - diesel, right hand drive, station wagon. The brake setup on SRTs must be completely different

- must be cos I live in a different hemisphere!

I did find this however, on a manufacturer site, which shows a regular wash is more than cosmetic....


Brake dust is actually a combination of carbon fibres, metal filings and adhesive residues. It is often deposited on rims at very high temperatures, meaning that it immediately etches into any protective coating. The adhesive residues in brake dust not only cause it to firmly bond to everything it touches, but also initiate corrosion in their own right, as they are often acidic. If that wasn't bad enough, the metal filings contained in brake dust have a tendency to oxidise, and if they do this when in contact with the metal of the rim the process of galvanic corrosion sets in. Thus, brake dust gradually erodes protective coatings until they fail, after which point the rim itself starts to corrode. This gradual erosion not only makes the rim look unsightly, but can also eventually affect the structural integrity of the wheel

[Rambit]

Originally Posted by DarKnyt

Good to know. Granted, I don't normally drive my car like I stole it but how much will the braking performance change with the Posi Quiet pads?

Yes, but for the majority of us who don't track our cars it's insignificent. Granted there are members here who would sooner have the OEM pads, but for them dust is not a problem. I'd love to see a comparison of a 60-0 stop with both pads. I'm not so sure you'd see a big difference at least on the first stop, but I have nothing to base that on.

I should point out that there's nothing wrong with the OEM pads. It's just the pad material they selected. For most of us they don't get up to their optimal temps and that's where the squealing comes from. These brakes NEED to be used agressively for best performance.

Bernie

[Rambit]

Originally Posted by Kaiser Bill

how odd...my rears stay clean, & the fronts get dirty.... mind you everything is different - diesel, right hand drive, station wagon. The brake setup on SRTs must be completely different

- must be cos I live in a different hemisphere!

I did find this however, on a manufacturer site, which shows a regular wash is more than cosmetic....


Brake dust is actually a combination of carbon fibres, metal filings and adhesive residues. It is often deposited on rims at very high temperatures, meaning that it immediately etches into any protective coating. The adhesive residues in brake dust not only cause it to firmly bond to everything it touches, but also initiate corrosion in their own right, as they are often acidic. If that wasn't bad enough, the metal filings contained in brake dust have a tendency to oxidise, and if they do this when in contact with the metal of the rim the process of galvanic corrosion sets in. Thus, brake dust gradually erodes protective coatings until they fail, after which point the rim itself starts to corrode. This gradual erosion not only makes the rim look unsightly, but can also eventually affect the structural integrity of the wheel

You're right Bill, brake dust is very corrosive if that's the right word to use. That's one of the main reasons for me going with Posi Quiets, but the cosmetic factor is the most important for me.

Bernie

[stevesrt8]

It should be noted that all brake dust is NOT inherently corrosive, just certain kinds.

I now have 40k miles/nearly 4 years with VERY dusty stock pads and my wheels have absolutely no damage to their factory painted/polished finish. I clean them roughly once a week and they are ALWAYS dusty!

Wear your brake dust proudly. In a very high performance group of cars my SRT8 is revered as some of the best brakes on a stocker.

[saleen8927]

Like Steve said, they are definitely very powerful stock brake pads...but like you, I was hating how dusty my wheels always were. A few days after a wash, the car looks dirty from the near-black wheels.

I know many people here use the posi-quiets, but I tried the Satisfied pads and love them. After a few day break-in period where there was still a good amount of dust, I now get very little dust. The dust I do get isn't black, so it isn't as noticeable. These pads also don't squeak much - I had problems with squeaking OEM pads, but I know many people reduce or eliminate this problem by bedding the brakes.

I definitely notice a reduction in braking grip, but I quickly got used to it, and they're still great brakes, just not as grippy as the stock ones. For me, it was well worth the trade-off.

[UK CHRYSLER 300C]

I have the Brembo GT kit on all 4 RS-1 wheels and I can honestly say that I suffer from very little brake dust on the wheels,way way less than stock brakes that I had before.What I can say is that when I had stock brakes and Startech Mono's, the brake dust didn't corrode my wheels and I very rarley clean my car(still dont,sorry guys)