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As all are aware, for the OCD detailers in us all, the scurge of Corvette owners, especially Z51 owners, is how to deal with all of the brake dust regardless of wheel type or color.
While I am not the perfectionist with detailing some others here are, I can't stand the brake dust after 2 or 3 drives, specifically on black wheels.
Short of changing out the pads to Hawk or whatever, is there anything else that can be done to either eliminate or make it easier to remove the brake dust. Even extending the period of time between cleaning would be a plus.
I was told to ceramic coat the wheels and the dust will just rinse away but I have not found that to be true.
I have found ceramics to work in and making sure the dust doesn’t stick. Agreed they don’t hose off completely clean, I still have to run a wash mit around the spokes quickly but then it’s completely clean. I have used CquartzUK or guyon RIM, both were effective. What ceramic Did you use that You didn’t get the results you wanted?
I have a non-Z 51 so the brake dust isn’t bad at all, I really like that.
Wheel color makes a difference, with these gray wheels the brake dust is no longer noticeable between washes. Probably not a practical solution and wasn’t why I picked them but a solution nonetheless
I’ve owned two Corvettes with Z51 and the only way to totally eliminate it as you know is a pad change which isn’t that bad unless you need the stopping power during track sessions. PowerStop Z26 and Carbotech are good street brakes for us OCD individuals….dust gone happy life.
I've had really good results with ceramic coating the wheels. I'm sure that varies a lot in brand and type of coating used. The waxes and spray on styles just don't work. The actual liquid polymer that bonds to the surface is way better. I can just hit wheels with the hose and 90% of it just runs right off, the rest with just a rag wiping them down and they're perfect.
I tried ceramic coating my wheels. For me the problem was my Z51 wheels got dirty before I felt like washing the car. The dust would wipe off easy but that was still a PITA. I could not blast off the dust with water without getting some overspray on the car so I wound up washing it.
Just changed to power stop. Dust is less, but still a small amount, just a different color. Seems no way to eliminate the problem completely. You can just reduce it.
Just changed to power stop. Dust is less, but still a small amount, just a different color. Seems no way to eliminate the problem completely. You can just reduce it.
I just needed to reduce it to the point that the wheels didn't need washing before the car needed washing.
From: Early 2020 Z51 Coupe, Original Owner, Ahwatukee Foothills, AZ
Z51 option for me is a must order, really like all the 2020 options that came along for just $5K. Not sure what the option cost is today but after the last terrible out of control 3+ years I'm sure it's gone up.
With the Z51Brembo brakes just couldn't get along with the heavy dust. Very heavy. One of my first mods was the 1521 CarboTech low dust break pads. Still have them after 25K+ miles and could not be more pleased with the almost zero dust and overall performance. They matched up perfectly with my lightweight 2-piece Gyro Disc rotors.
I changed out the Z51 pads for the Power Stop pads. No regrets here. I also have ceramic coating on my wheels and they clean easier, but I do use a wash mitt as well. Having a 5 spoke wheel sure helps with the ease of cleaning. Some of the wheels that look like flowers or cheese graters seem like it would be a nightmare to clean. There are multiple threads on brake dust and pads here.
agreed, I love a lot of these new wheels that are very intricate, but my God are they hard to clean. Definitely a Daytona Speedmaster brush should come with most of these complicated new wheels. I love the comment by Brock Yates of motor trend when he was writing riding in the 80s:
“the best wheel for a car is one that shows the most swept area for the Brake and is easy to clean with one swipe of a wash mit……
Has anyone found a low dust option that works at the track and doesn’t squeal on the street?
You really need a set for the track and a low dust set for the street. That's why I went with Carbotech. They do both well. Since their track and street pads both have similar compounds, you don't have to scrub the rotors when switching between the two.
Brake Dust
