Brake Dust........

[L84THSKY]

As you might know, I have put on 17" in rims last week. Although I like the fact these rims are easy to clean, I don't want to be cleaning them every week.

The car has stock pads all around. I assume that since they were in the car when I bought it last year, and the female owner kept it basic.

I bought a set of Pagid pads from Bav Auto, not sure if I wanna use them.

What brake pads make the least amount of dust, and work good? I do not race, just drive with enthusiasm.

[maurolin]

welll... you have a BMW... they have good brakes. and the only way to stay away from brake dust... is ceramic SUCKY pads, or brake dust plates which look HORRIBLE!

What i use is wheel wax. Turner sells it... wax your wheels and then dust can be hosed off easy. or get your wheels powdercoated gunmetal or black!

[aceyx]

the pagids create a healthy amount of (unhealthy) dust. i believe the mintex are the best if you're looking to keep the dust down. for most driving, there's little to no difference between the two.

i second waxing your wheels. i usually put on a good layer before i put them on for the summer, and it works as long as i hose it off weekly. if i leave it for a longer time, there's a bit of light scrubbing with a wheel brush involved.

[1996 328ti]

I have been using Ultimate Axxis and have been very happy with them.
I found they dusted very little yet stop great.

Upon the recommendation of Carbotech I'll be going with Carbotech Bobcats next.
Carbo tech has always given me good advice. They are the ones who told be to get the Ultimates over their own brand at the time.

[J!m]

I am quite happy with the Porterfield R4-S pads. All pads have dust, but these are (what I've found to be) the best compromise. Low dust, low noise and EXCELLENT braking.

There IS dust, just about 1/4 what I got from the stock brakes with the stock four cylinder. Now I have a hevier, faster car with less dust.

There IS noise. Very rare, and only with very light pressure on the pedal, like rolling in neutral to a stop light with barely any pedal pressure. More or less pressure and there is no noise. ALWAYS use 'disc brake quiet' per the instructions with ANY disc pads. 99% of the time brake noise is from improper use (if at all) of the damping compounds for the pads.

It stops like hitting a school with stock vented M3 rotors. No grooves, no holes.

I also suggest waxing your wheels. The dust is corrosive, and will EAT the clear-coat if you let it. Weekly rinsing is a good idea- I (try to) do a complete wash every two weeks and never have any problems cleaning the wheels.

[L84THSKY]

Where do I find those pads, and some good wheel wax?

Originally Posted by J!m

I am quite happy with the Porterfield R4-S pads. All pads have dust, but these are (what I've found to be) the best compromise. Low dust, low noise and EXCELLENT braking.

[madfronter]

http://www.ebcbrakes.com/

I use the EBC Green Stuff pads for my car. The dust created by these pads is barely noticeable compared to the dust created by oem pads. I could tell the difference because I had them on the front and oem on the back. My back wheels would be so dirty looking but the front look clean. Check them out, they work great IMO.

[aceyx]

are they your first set? i've heard not good things about the longevity of the EBC compounds.

[pdxmotorhead]

We use carbotechs on our race cars. Fine pads good life easy on rotors have a red dust when using the Panther Plus pads. Usually blows off with the air coompressor.

Dave

[nick_hegel]

I got Pagids on my car from Bavauto too!! I'm trying something else next time. Much more dust is produced than I expected. Fortunately I've got dark wheels, so it's not a huge issue.

[vwt3]

Hey all, I'am useing EBC Green Stuff pads work well stop well very little dust on my TSW Alloys. That brake dust will eat the crap out of your wheels,just look at the wheels when you walk thru a parking lot and see a lot of expensive wheels looking like crap,owners just don't care. You can tell who the reel car guys and gals are by how clean there wheels are

vwt3

[moku]

I have Mintex and I've been very happy with them. Very little brake dust appears on my wheels now. They have good stopping ability and my silver wheels don't turn gunmetal after a couple of weeks anymore.

[CirrusSR22]

I don't have them myself, but people say the Akebono's ProACT's are excellent ceramic pads. I'm gonna buy them when I do my E46 325 upgrade.