Brake Dust - BMW Forum

Cavalier2123 · 10-04-2004, 12:06 AM

I wash my car every Sunday. By Tuesday my rims are covered in little specs of brake dust again. So usually 2 times a week I find myself at the do-it-yourself pressure washer powering that shit off at $2.00 a pop. I tend to drive fast and use my brakes more than I should, but still this is getting ridiculous. Are there any miracle brake pads out there that leave little or no dust?

Silver4evr · 10-05-2004, 01:33 AM

Call toll free to the BrakeWarehouse.com. They can recommend a low dust pad.

A couple that I've heard of are EBC green stuff pads or Hawk Performance Systems (HPS).

What I did is get a California Mini-Duster and use in on my rims. It only takes a couple of minutes to clean all the rims.

Delmarco · 10-05-2004, 02:36 AM

Yeah I have the SAME problem!!!! I use the OEM BMW wheel cleaner. In fact I cleaned my rims saturday evening and tonight I had to wash them again. My front wheels are much much worse than my rear ones. On the e36 forum someone said that BMW OEM brake pads are theeee WORSE for dust!!!!
There is also this magnetic break dust spray that someone bought from Auto Zone (I think) that works to repel dust off and away from your alloy rims. They said it worked fine and was cheap. It think it was like "Dust Away" or something like that. Check it out. I havent had time to pick this up.

Look at my RIMS these ROndells are a beeotch to clean!!!!!!

Silver4evr · 10-07-2004, 12:28 AM

You can also use a Swiffer cloth duster to clean your rims if they're not too dusty.

MaThGr82 · 10-11-2004, 03:08 AM

I took someones recommendation and I waxed my rims. I was having the same problems all of you are talking about. It seemed to help a little. Now I only do the rims about once a week. I just wax my wheels every two weeks.

Cavalier2123 · 10-11-2004, 03:28 AM

Do you wax with the same stuff you wax your car with or do you use special kind of wax?

Silver4evr · 10-11-2004, 03:01 PM

A product called Never Dull has been posted on another forum as being great for reducing the brake dust and making it very easy to clean your rims.

MaThGr82 · 10-12-2004, 01:53 AM

I just use the same wax as I use on my car. I am sure I could buy some specific type of wax but I won't go to that hassle. It seems to help keep them cleaner a little longer.

WOSBY · 10-15-2004, 11:27 AM

Try P21S. Spray it on, hose it off.

Steve530 · 10-16-2004, 12:33 PM

Use a non-wax sealant on the rims.

Don't use wax, hot brake dust will melt into the wax and stick. But a sealant like Klasse wil not melt.

The dust slides off. Well, a lot of it slides off, some will come off with a good spary of water. The rest will come off easily with soap and water. I did this about a month ago and haven't had to use wheel cleaner since.

2001BMW325xi · 10-18-2004, 05:07 PM

Meguiars Wheel Cleaner....SPray liberally...wait for 5 minutes....the dust comes right off on a light spray.....yu dont want to spray hard on the wheel for the risk of injuring the pad or calipers.....

Delmarco · 10-26-2004, 05:31 PM

I think Never Dull seems like the best solution here....but I've been looking for the "Anti-Magnetic" Dust Away spray that repels dust off your rims and I can't find it. Just wondering if anyone else saw that post?

I use the BMW wheel/tire cleaner. It seems to work better than regular soap and water.

But the original post was never asking about cleaning brake dust but how to keep from cleaning your rims every two days.

I've recently seen my rims go from whitish grey (clean) to entirely black/brown (dirty) within a weeks worth of driving!

. Its hard to clean my rims when I want to now because its freezing a$$ now in NYC.

Are they any tips for washing rims/cars in the winter without risking frostbite?

Delmarco · 10-26-2004, 05:51 PM

Chech this site...

http://store.yahoo.com/autopia/tires---wheels.html

They seem to be well stocked on wheel cleaners and also
tips on cleaning wheels and preventing brake dust.... B)

Delmarco · 10-31-2004, 09:55 AM

Hey, I was just cruising around Bavauto and I saw something called kleen wheels; its a $32.99 metal plate that shields your alloys from brake dust!

http://www.bavauto.com/shop.asp

"Kleen Wheels - Set of 2 - For 16" 5 Spoke Style J Alloy Wheels -

Don't waste Saturday morning cleaning your wheels! Install Kleen Wheels behind your BMW factory road wheels for permanent protection against unsightly, corrosive brake dust. Made of aluminum alloy, they're vented to allow brake cooling. Each set protects two wheels. Only for BMW FACTORY WHEELS."

Cavalier2123 · 10-31-2004, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Delmarco@Oct 31 2004, 09:55 AM
Hey, I was just cruising around Bavauto and I saw something called kleen wheels; its a $32.99 metal plate that shields your alloys from brake dust!

http://www.bavauto.com/shop.asp

"Kleen Wheels - Set of 2 - For 16" 5 Spoke Style J Alloy Wheels -

Don't waste Saturday morning cleaning your wheels! Install Kleen Wheels behind your BMW factory road wheels for permanent protection against unsightly, corrosive brake dust. Made of aluminum alloy, they're vented to allow brake cooling. Each set protects two wheels. Only for BMW FACTORY WHEELS."

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From what I have read, those are bad news. Blocking your brakes means they can't cool off as well which leads to...problems. As far as adding new parts to reduce the dust, I think ceramic pads are the best way to go.