Brake Dust!?!?!?!?

[AckerMINI]

Ok so the past month or so I have had a huge build up of break dust on my front rims. I just had her in for state inspection and the breaks are great, not wearing funny or anything like that. But it seems that my five star rims are almost black by the time it comes for her weekly washing. Any thoughts?

[Farley]

From what I have read on here in the past this is just pretty common for the mini. I have had mine for almost 3 weeks now and the two times I have washed it the wheels have been covered with brake dust.

[stu2]

hi there
you should try having white s spoke
wheels like i have,,,,
talk about brake dust...!!!!!!!!!
been told to try some green coloured
brake pads but havn't yet found out the make...

[Rich'sFroggy]

Well I'm sure you have seen all the related threads below re: brake dust. They contain much better advice than I can lend. Sometimes I'm too lazy or too busy to do anything about my dirty white S spokes so I just pretend that "It's COOL to have brake dust!"

But don't pretend too long or it will bake on. Thats BAD.

[phazer]

Quote: Originally Posted by Rich'sFroggy

Well I'm sure you have seen all the related threads below re: brake dust. They contain much better advice than I can lend. Sometimes I'm too lazy or too busy to do anything about my dirty white S spokes so I just pretend that "It's COOL to have brake dust!"

But don't pretend too long or it will bake on. Thats BAD.

Brake dust = poor man's power coat

[robfenn]

The green pads are by EBC greenstuff. I have them on my clio and theyre quite awful, low temp operating range and lots of dust! Before the 4 pots i had some aftermarket kevlar pads which produced hardly any dust but i cant for the life of me remember the manufacturer! Shame..

[MiniTiger]

Quote: Originally Posted by AckerMINI

Ok so the past month or so I have had a huge build up of break dust on my front rims. I just had her in for state inspection and the breaks are great, not wearing funny or anything like that. But it seems that my five star rims are almost black by the time it comes for her weekly washing. Any thoughts?

As it was explained to me...
This is common on all German vehciles. German laws require all vehicles (delivered?) to have pad made only of organic material which create a nice black dust for our rims. I know, our cars are made in England, but we are under German company with BMW brake parts.

If you notice... all BMWs seem to have dirty rims also.

Your only option is to go with aftermarket pads. I just purchased EBC green stuff pads from Helix13.com and going to replace soon.

[cook1e]

Quote: Originally Posted by robfen

The green pads are by EBC greenstuff. I have them on my clio and theyre quite awful, low temp operating range and lots of dust! Before the 4 pots i had some aftermarket kevlar pads which produced hardly any dust but i cant for the life of me remember the manufacturer! Shame..

EBC also make Kevlar pads and they are much cheaper than their green stuff pads. Not sure of prices for the MINI but for my other car (Triumph GT6) the kevlar pads are about £12- and the green stuff pads are about £35-, ie 3 times the price. MOSS may well sell the EBC Kevlar pads for the MINI as they stock them for Triumph's, MG's and the like. Don't know anyone who has fitted the Kevlar pads though, the green stuff pads are suppossed to be an improvement over standard.

[robfenn]

I have a feeling this is what i had, blackstuff? No increase in performance just in terms of lasting and lack of dust! I'd like to find something in the middle, probably some Ferodo DS.

[Jen]

Quote: Originally Posted by stu2

hi there
you should try having white s spoke
wheels like i have,,,,
talk about brake dust...!!!!!!!!!
been told to try some green coloured
brake pads but havn't yet found out the make...

Yes indeed, I love what white wheels, but I whine constantly about the brake dust on them and clean them about once a week. Sometimes twice. Was just noticing this morning what a disaster they are again! Someone I know has tried using a product called Rainex (probably spelling that wrong) on his white wheels. Doesn't prevent the build up, but does make it easier to just hose off. I plan to try it this weekend when I wash her.

[andyupnorth]

All brake pads give off dust, the problem has just been increased because asbestos has been taken out of their formulation due to Health & Safety regs.

[whovous]

I wrote in this forum about my experience with a RainX product. It was not too bad, but more recently I have applied Meguiar's NXT with really excellent results. All I've needed to clean my white wheels has been a soft dry towel.

NXT is not a wheel care product. It is a 'wax' that is getting a lot of press as providing an even better shine than does Zaino. I've not tried it on my car yet, but hope to find the time to do so soon.

[AckerMINI]

Well, im glad Im not the only one with this problem. Ill just keep cleaning them off on a weekly basis. I have waxed the rims and this does help with the cleaning.

Thanks for all the feedback

[SteveM3]

Mintex have started claiming their brakes are dust free. While this seems unlikely,
the material has to go somewhere, their red box pads have a good reputation for
low dust. I have no experience of these pads. I couldn't find the Mintex claim so I
don't know the name of these pads are supposed to be dust free so you'll need to
call Mintex to find out if interested. Freely available for the MINI is EBC greenstuff
which are good pads I have used in the past and can testify to their low dust formula.
In the states there are brands like PBR/Repco/Axxis Deluxe that have similar
reputations. Try searching long running forums for experience of these pads.
Keeping wheels clean is not a MINI problem though white wheels does seem to be
asking for trouble

[maggie444]

I was advised to use the green pads too - but not told what make they were

Meguiar's products I have only used on bodywork before but I have been told to try their wax or wheel products

Stu - ur white wheels looked v.nice on sunday ( when they were clean )