Brake Dust
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 4,496
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From: Walhalla South Carolina
Brake Dust
Any thoughts on how to cut down on brake dust. I wash my C5 and drive it over the road about 2 miles to blow off most of the water and then finish drying it down and the wheels look like crap and I have to completely wipe them down again. I assume the water in the brake pad area clings onto the wheels as I am driving. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2011
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From: Fredericksburg Virginia
What kind of rims? What are you really asking? Something with less dust or a better way to dry the car? For drying I just use my shop vac as a lead blower and use that to dry the whole car. Works great and scratch free.
Chris
Chris
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 4,496
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From: Walhalla South Carolina
Stock C5 2001 wheels. I am asking if there is a trick or product to use that eliminates the mess on the wheels after washing. I wash the car and wheels and they look fine, drive over the road and they look like crap. Should I blow dry them in place without moving the care to eliminate the mess.
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I use Zaino on my CCW polished wheels. However, I make sure I dry off my wheels with a MF towel before I drive away. I also use the smaller California dash duster on my wheels. It's the perfect size to go in and clean up the wheels between washes.
I also run ceramic brake pads but I plan to swap them out later this year when I install some new Eradispeed rotors. Although they cut down on the brake dust, I feel the braking is harder, they squeak and they discolor the rotors over time. Back to semi-metallic even though I may have to clean my wheels more often. The softer material also helps polish the rotors and keeps them looking better longer.
Evil Twin has had numerous posts on this topic. Good stuff!
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I've found that the only true way to reduce the brake dust on my wheels is by putting a good pair of ceramic pads on my car. I spent about 50 bucks at the local parts store on pads last time and the amount of dust on my wheels after just driving a mile was insane. I went back and exchanged them and bought a 100 dollar pair and I have almost zero brake dust on my wheels between washes and that's usually about 100 miles. Both of those pad sets were ceramic but there are varying levels of ceramic in the pads.
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Check out the Carbotech 1521 pad, 100% non corrosive will not harm your wheels or paint and very low dust but, still perform on the street unlike an ordinary ceramic pad where you loose braking performance and pedal feel.
Carbotech™ Bobcat 1521™ The Carbotech Bobcat 1521™ is our high performance street compound that is our most successful compound. The Bobcat compound is known for its awesome release and modulation, along with unmatched rotor friendliness. Like our AX™ & XP™ line of compounds, Bobcat 1521™ is a Ceramic based friction material offering minimal rotor damage and non-corrosive dust. Bobcat 1521™ offers outstanding performance, even when cold, low dusting and low noise with an excellent initial bite. This compound’s virtually perfect linear torque production provides incredible braking force without ABS intervention. Bobcat 1521™ operating range starts out at ambient and goes up to 900°F. Bobcat 1521™ is suitable for ALL street cars, perfect for your tow vehicle, police cruiser. The Bobcat 1521™ compound has been found to last two-three times longer than OE pads you can purchase at a dealership or national retailer. That’s one of the beauties of Carbotech Ceramic brake compounds. Bobcat 1521™ is NOT recommended for any track use.
Carbotech™ Bobcat 1521™ The Carbotech Bobcat 1521™ is our high performance street compound that is our most successful compound. The Bobcat compound is known for its awesome release and modulation, along with unmatched rotor friendliness. Like our AX™ & XP™ line of compounds, Bobcat 1521™ is a Ceramic based friction material offering minimal rotor damage and non-corrosive dust. Bobcat 1521™ offers outstanding performance, even when cold, low dusting and low noise with an excellent initial bite. This compound’s virtually perfect linear torque production provides incredible braking force without ABS intervention. Bobcat 1521™ operating range starts out at ambient and goes up to 900°F. Bobcat 1521™ is suitable for ALL street cars, perfect for your tow vehicle, police cruiser. The Bobcat 1521™ compound has been found to last two-three times longer than OE pads you can purchase at a dealership or national retailer. That’s one of the beauties of Carbotech Ceramic brake compounds. Bobcat 1521™ is NOT recommended for any track use.
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Check out the Carbotech 1521 pad, 100% non corrosive will not harm your wheels or paint and very low dust but, still perform on the street unlike an ordinary ceramic pad where you loose braking performance and pedal feel.
Carbotech™ Bobcat 1521™ The Carbotech Bobcat 1521™ is our high performance street compound that is our most successful compound. The Bobcat compound is known for its awesome release and modulation, along with unmatched rotor friendliness. Like our AX™ & XP™ line of compounds, Bobcat 1521™ is a Ceramic based friction material offering minimal rotor damage and non-corrosive dust. Bobcat 1521™ offers outstanding performance, even when cold, low dusting and low noise with an excellent initial bite. This compound’s virtually perfect linear torque production provides incredible braking force without ABS intervention. Bobcat 1521™ operating range starts out at ambient and goes up to 900°F. Bobcat 1521™ is suitable for ALL street cars, perfect for your tow vehicle, police cruiser. The Bobcat 1521™ compound has been found to last two-three times longer than OE pads you can purchase at a dealership or national retailer. That’s one of the beauties of Carbotech Ceramic brake compounds. Bobcat 1521™ is NOT recommended for any track use.
Carbotech™ Bobcat 1521™ The Carbotech Bobcat 1521™ is our high performance street compound that is our most successful compound. The Bobcat compound is known for its awesome release and modulation, along with unmatched rotor friendliness. Like our AX™ & XP™ line of compounds, Bobcat 1521™ is a Ceramic based friction material offering minimal rotor damage and non-corrosive dust. Bobcat 1521™ offers outstanding performance, even when cold, low dusting and low noise with an excellent initial bite. This compound’s virtually perfect linear torque production provides incredible braking force without ABS intervention. Bobcat 1521™ operating range starts out at ambient and goes up to 900°F. Bobcat 1521™ is suitable for ALL street cars, perfect for your tow vehicle, police cruiser. The Bobcat 1521™ compound has been found to last two-three times longer than OE pads you can purchase at a dealership or national retailer. That’s one of the beauties of Carbotech Ceramic brake compounds. Bobcat 1521™ is NOT recommended for any track use.
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Dry the wheels before driving and that will eliminate a lot of your problem. Dust will still get on the wheels even by doing that, but it won't be quite so noticeable.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2013
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From: Pueblo, CO
Any thoughts on how to cut down on brake dust. I wash my C5 and drive it over the road about 2 miles to blow off most of the water and then finish drying it down and the wheels look like crap and I have to completely wipe them down again. I assume the water in the brake pad area clings onto the wheels as I am driving. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks
I have a compressor and usually use an air hose to blow the water out of the cracks and crevices and wipe the water off the paint. Lastly, I go through the car to dry the water from the trunk, door sills, gas filler door and the hood/headlights.
This usually takes about an hour and a half. If I do drive the car after this, almost no water comes off the wheels.
My daily regimen to keep the car looking clean and polished, is to dust the car with a California duster, including the brake dust off the outside of the wheels. Then, I use a California wheel duster to get the brake dust off the wheel barrels and backs of the wheel spokes. Next, I use Zaino Z-6 on all the windows and paint.
This usually takes about 15 minutes and I do it while enjoying my first cup of coffee in the morning.
The key to keeping the brake dust to a minimum and the wheels looking good all the time is to dust them off every day.