So I've had my 02 z-06 almost 3 months now, and 1 thing that's driving me crazy is how fast the wheels get covered with brake dust. Wheels are just the stock z-06 ones. I wish I knew what brake pads the previous owner bought and put on this car, so I'll make sure to never buy that same brand or type. What brand brake pads have minimal dusting on the wheels?? I washed the wheels and the car and within a day the wheels looked like I didn't even clean them.

 

That could just be the stock pads. They have good performance and even better dusting ability.

 

I have an 02 Z as well, they changed the pads for the z06's to ones that have better stopping ability, but the downfall is they do create more dust

 

Unless you drive it like you stole it or Track the car, stock AC Delco Ceramic pads are great...very low dusting.

 

........but if you do any serious driving, please keep the old pads if they are in good shape so you can swap them out for events !!....Jus Say'n'....

 

If you want a quality aftermarket pad I recommend the Carbotech 1521 pad. A low dust pad that is rotor friendly and performs like OEM. 100% non-corrosive dust will not harm your paint or wheels. This pad also contains NRS technology. Carbotech uses NRS technology on all C4, C5, C6 & C7 front and rear brake pads.

Here is a link to explain further what NRS technology is exactly: http://www.nrsbrakes.com

If interested let me know I will be happy to help you.

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.

 

I ran a set of Hawk HPS pads on the '00 I had and they had low dusting compared to the stock pads that were on it when I bought the car.

 

Thanks fo all the replies guys, looks like I'll be going with a ceramic type, I don't plan on tracking the car, just a little spirited driving on the street from time to time.

 

i have Hawk Blue - they work great on the street and track but dust a lot. On my 4Runner I have slotted front rotors with OEM pads and no dust - I'll research a bit more next time.

 

Hawk Ceramics , I track some and show also not lots of very little dust and they do everything I need in a HP pad . To get any dust have to run them hard and stop on a dime .. That's is what I'll put back on when ready for some new ones .. What's not to like.. Just a good all-round pad ..

 

Has anyone ever tried Wilwood's pads? Considering them.

 

Not really a mystery, its always a compromise.

Aggressively performing pads are going to stop better and fade less, but they will dust more.

Ceramics will dust a whole lot less, they will perform fine for most use (a little spirited is still ok) but they will fade sooner.

OEM pads are probably right in the middle, I went with them and was satisfied.

YMMV

 

Idiots Guide to Brakes (Im well qualified, as we have many many people here who I couldnt hold a candle to in all aspects, mechanics, engineers, people who actually know what they are talking about.....but...)

A simple way to think about it is...
The brakes dont stop the car by brute force per se, as in "grabbing" the rotors. What the brakes do is convert the kinetic energy of the rotating wheel to heat and then dissipate that heat, its that loss of energy that causes the wheel to slow. Two limiting factors on that system are the amount of friction (which causes heat) we can generate and the ability of the system to dissipate that heat.
If you are just selecting pads, you should realize that you are not altering the ability of the system (veins on the rotors, the brake ducting) to dissipate heat, so you are just effecting the friction variable.
You could put the grippiest pads made on the vehicle, and you would get amazingly better performance.....until those pads (much more quickly) oversaturated the brake systems ability to dissipate the heat generated, at that point....they would fade and fade quicker than less aggressive pads by the nature of their greater ability to generate heat. Or you could put "harder" (hence less dusty) pads on there and generate less heat (which means you are taking less energy out of the equation and not slowing as well). Or you could put some imaginary super hard pad on, genertae very little heat, imperceptible dust and not much fade (because you arent stopping the car anyway ).
Its all about the friction and your ability to get rid of the heat.

Ill let the experts here tell you which pads provide the right amount of friction for your application (which is going to vary greatly by use from, "not pressing them much Im more concerned with clean wheels" to "if they fade I die" ).

Trust me, if you tell them what you want to do with the car, they'll tell you which pad is best for that application.

 

Interesting - I replaced the factory brakes on my '97 Coupe with...

• PowerSlot slotted rotors
• Hawk HPS pads
• Russell stainless steel brake hoses
• AMSOIL Series 500 DOT 3 brake fluid

...and I experience more dusting than I did with the stock brakes. Contributing factors might be the rotors and Z-06 wheels which may allow more dust to get on the face than the original wagon wheels.

Nonetheless, the amount of dusting I get now isn't bad IMO...and since I treated my wheels with Rejex, cleaning is a five minute wipe down with a damp microfiber cloth.

The brake performance is noticeably better than stock.

 

There is a reason why the Z06 wheels are painted "brake dust gray". I have the 2004 Z16/Z06 with polished wheels...man do they show the dust. Like others said I went with the ceramic pads, don't tell anyone but I picked them up locally at AutoZone, economical, easy swap-out and they manage to stop my car even with some spirited driving. Brake dust is gone!

 

Thanks again for all the replies, car wil be driven as follows. 90% easy street driving, 10% spirited street driving with about 2 trips to the drag strip a year. I gonna go with either ceramics or the stock AC delcos and a new set of just stock rotors.

 

Good deal and I sure Auto Zone makes a good pad just not the same pad as the Hawk pads you get what you pay for ,I have a set of the A-Zone pads on my wife's Hot Rod coming off as soon as can get around to get them off . Spend a little more money and get a good quality pad in the long run you will be way better off .. Been there done that am not happy with the cheap results.. Honda or something not on a Corvette.. Just saying..

 

i took the advice from 'junkman' a few years back and installed Wagner Thermo-Quiet, you can buy them at local parts store , not expensive, no brake dust, no squeal, and they have performed well for me. just my two cents.............

 

These are the pads I used, Duralast Max, $60 and located just around the corner. No dust and stop my car as good as the OEM pads. Also lifetime replacement, buy'em once (on my third set for the 82 Corvette) I don't track/race the Z so can't attest to heat cycle. Buy for your driving experience not hype...yes, these are Corvettes but hardly exoctics folks...JMHO.

 

I run them on my DD and like the wear I'm getting from them too.