Brake dust problem

I

imported_dickie

New member
I have a 3 month old Alfa 156. Every time I wash the rims, and remove the brakedust, it just comes back after a few miles. Is it the dirt inside the rims, that it been thrown to the outside, caused by braking. The rims are 8 spoke.



thx
 
Sounds like brake dust. I’d bet there are some aftermarket pads that are designed to put out less dust for your Alfa.



A good wheel cleaner and brush set are very handy if you don't have those yet.





Adam
 
I have never tried them but hear pep boys has some dusltess brake pads. The way I drive, I could use some of those myself! I hate brake dust!
 
Dustless brake pads may lack the braking performance that you get with the OEM pads.

Being there done that ...

I had metal master brake pads on a previous VW car, and 'dustless' is relative, they did produce less dust but was harder to clean ... This is over 10 yrs. ago and things might have evolved since ...



Altough the OEM brake pads on my Leon are a set of dusty son of b*** but they brake incredibly well. (Same brakes as Audi S3) and my wheels have 20 slots.



The best I have found to do about this is to clean them often to prevent build up, some KSG on the wheels have helped a lot to reduce the amount of scrubbing needed to keep them clean.



The foam I use to clean is turn to pieces by the inside edges of the 20 slots after finishing the 4 wheels, that's 80 slots ....
 
I used to have a really bad problem with brake dust on my Pathfinder. And it finally came time to replace the pads, because the previous owner never replaced them, but just kept bringing them to Nissan to have them grinded off. So, having heard good things about Stillen, i bought some Stillen Pads and drilled rotors, and now, no longer have that much of a problem with brake dust. With Rain-X Wheel Protector on there, the minimal brakedust on the wheels is easily taken off with a sponge.
 
Alfa pads are soft, but that really helps with the braking. If you put harder pads on, do it for the right reasons, ie you get to much brake fade. It is a trade-off, good brakes - lots of dust, harder pads - less dust.



The best thing I can think of, is to clean your wheels, apply Klasse or similar and then cleaning will be a lot easier.



Steven
 
Lowejackson said:
Alfa pads are soft, but that really helps with the braking. If you put harder pads on, do it for the right reasons, ie you get to much brake fade. It is a trade-off, good brakes - lots of dust, harder pads - less dust.



The best thing I can think of, is to clean your wheels, apply Klasse or similar and then cleaning will be a lot easier.



Steven
Click to expand...
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I was just about to post the same exact thing. Great minds must think alike. ;)
 
Are you using OEM pads, cheap replacement pads, or performance pads? I don't know about Alfas, but IIRC, for my Nissan OEM pads are generally considered best for dusting and wear. Try some different pads and see what happens. Just make sure you break them in properly and your rotors aren't deeply grooved. Good luck.
 
It's not the same car but my VW has two different set's of OEM pads. One set dusts a ton, the other doesn't seem to dust at all. The point is low dust brake pads do exist without sacrficing performance.



If you use a polymer sealant coupled with something like Rain-X wheel protectant (if you can find it) or Sonus Wheel Gel, it makes cleaning your wheels so much easier.
 
Try EBC - Green



They're good even for regular street use (Don't get the Red or Black pads, they're strictly for racing brakes)



http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/ebc/greenpads.jsp



EBC Greenstuff “Road/Sport� Compound

Award-Winning, Dust-Free Kevlar Brake Pads



EBC Greenstuff Road/Sport disc brake pads are designed for sports cars, coupes and sedans used for high performance driving on the road. They are also suitable for sport driving in autocross, Solo II and many “track day� applications. The EBC Greenstuff pads feature a high Kevlar content formulation resulting in ultra high performance pads that are extremely kind to brake rotors.



EBC Greenstuff pads (friction level of 0.46µ) will be more responsive than most standard original brakes (typical friction level of 0.25µ to 0.35µ). Their high resistance to brake fade up to 1000° Fahrenheit make them a superb upgrade for luxury and high performance streetcars used for high speed driving or that encounter repetitive, heavy braking.



As standard brake pads wear, brake dust is released as the friction material carbonizes at temperatures found in everyday braking. EBC Greenstuff brake pads are formulated to run cleaner because they resist carbonizing until over 1000° Fahrenheit, so in normal street driving, dust is almost entirely eliminated.



Features and Benefits of Greenstuff brake pads



Upgrade brake performance by up to 30%, friction co-efficient of 0.46µ

Excellent initial bite resulting in instant response, no warm-up needed

Leading fade resistance on the street, heat stable to a blistering 1000°F

Extremely low disc abrasion due to high Kevlar content

Low dust formula, great for alloys due to zero carbon content

Low vibration, smooth operation

The EBC Greenstuff pads have won many awards from United Kingdom magazines. In 1999 they won the UK Autotrade Magazine INNOVATION AWARD for their clean running, high performance features, and were also rated #1 fast road car brakes by UK's largest circulation motorsport magazine, Max Power.



Brake pads are wear items and as such, should be inspected regularly and replaced as necessary. Pads should be replaced when approximately 1/8� of friction material remains on the steel backing plate. Drivers who participate in track days should always take spare pads to the track and may find it desirable to also carry a full vehicle set of EBC Redstuff pads in case they need to upgrade their brakes to provide longer pad life at the track or accommodate higher brake temperatures.
 
I've also heard good things about the new EBC Greenstuffs :up Apparently they dust a lot less than before.
 
I read elsewhere where someone was very happy with the Klasse Sealant Glaze on their rims. They said it made cleanings much easier.
 
Thanks for all the tips.



For starters, I will try Autoglym super resin and Autoglym extra gloss. Similar I believe to the Klasse treatment.



Am collecting car from dealer today (in to get rattles fixed - blasted Italian car); and will ask him about this brake dust.



thx
 
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