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This may seem like a trivial thread. However, my black wheels on my c7 are a pain to clean. With the Z51 brakes it’s less than a day after a wash that they are covered in brownish dust.. After switching to ceramic brakes it is much better, however, the cleaning of the wheels still is time consuming. It’s the only gripe I have. The wheels are amazing and so is the car.
Wanting everyone’s opinion on wheels for the C8. Right now I’m leaning towards the stock silver open spoke as they don’t show dust or dirt as bad. I’d prefer black. Just hoping maybe someone out there has cracked the code to keeping good looking wheels with much less effort.. Especially with the high performance brake pads.
I installed Carbo-Tech Bobcat 1512 Ceramic brake pads on my 2015 Z51 C7 when it had only 55 miles on it. The wheels are the black machine face wheels and they are very easy to keep clean especially after I coated them with 22ple ceramic glass wheel coating. I just drove 800 miles back and forth to Corvettes at Carlisle and the wheels had a very light coat of dust that was barely visible. I wiped it off with a duster. Occasionally I will spray them with detail spray and wipe them with a long padded tool with a microfiber wrapped around it. The ceramic pads work and grip just as well as the J55 Z51 pads.
I have the same wheels and the same pads as you. The pads are great on the street but you can’t track them. I’d like to keep the z51 pads.. Also, curious if you ever get squealing from these pads when it’s hot out. I do.
And if I had a lift like you it would be much much easier to clean the wheels... Ha
Last edited by Paul Frye; Sep 17, 2019 at 04:56 PM.
I've used GRIOTS wheel cleaner spray for several years. Spray on, swish it around a little, rinse off. Hit the wheel with compressed air and you are done.
I have the same wheels and the same pads as you. The pads are great on the street but you can’t track them. I’d like to keep the z51 pads.. Also, curious if you ever get squealing from these pads when it’s hot out. I do.
And if I had a lift like you it would be much much easier to clean the wheels... Ha
I have never had any squealing from the ceramic pads and the car has 18.8K miles on it. You are correct that the ceramic pads are not for the track. but it is very simple to change the pads back to the OEM Z51 metallic pads. You just pull two pins and the pads slip out of the calipers. And yes it is great to have a lift in your garage! So much easier cleaning the lower part of the car and the wheels when they are right in front of you.
Nobody knows how dusty this new compound will be.....Powerstop Carbon Ceramics solved all dusting problems on both my '16 Camaro, and '18 GS with no impact on stopping ability or brake feel.
The silver will look just as dirty in 20 miles too.... I have them on my Camaro.. I put a sealer on the Z06 black set and they get just as dirty and require cleaning the same as un protected.. just get better pads..
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
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Wheels
