Has anyone ever had a car produce more brake dust?

[JimD]

My 128i is the worst vehicle I've owned for brake dust. My Suzuki SUV goes more than twice as long between washings and still has virtually no dust on the wheels. I wonder if part of the issue on BMWs might be airflow. If they deliberately get the air moving out through the wheel, it would move brake dust out where we see it and also keep our brakes a little cooler.

Jim

[MA128]

Originally Posted by ejm3

My 135 with stock pads throw a lot of brake dust.
My old Acura TL had Brembos up front and they also were terrible.
Every other car I've owned not so bad.

I can vouch for the TL. I had a 2006 with MT so I also had the Brembos. Very dusty and very expensive to replace!

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by JimD

I wonder if part of the issue on BMWs might be airflow. If they deliberately get the air moving out through the wheel, it would move brake dust out where we see it and also keep our brakes a little cooler.

But wouldn't you also see dust on the panels directly behind the wheels?

[inthemovie]

We have had several BMW models and mini's and all very bad with brake dust. But the 2012 128 no brake dust at all. The wheels stay clean all week and then there is very little dust on them they still look very clean. The 2011 128 we had the wheels would look very bad after one day after a week of driving forget it.

[BrokenVert]

Ive been waxing my wheels for the past few years. Its easily been one of my better car related decisions.

The wheels still dust up a bit - but cleaning them turns into a hit em with a hose once a week exercise rather than compounding and getting in there with a brush.

Makes my 12 spoke OZs much less labour intensive.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by inthemovie

But the 2012 128 no brake dust at all. The wheels stay clean all week and then there is very little dust on them they still look very clean.

Same here.

[Bluelady]

I got my wheels painted black by my dealer. Wanted matte but the did gloss. After a day they look matte anyway so now the dust doesn't bother me.

[eazyefromli]

I recently had my pads changed by BMW and they seem to both be way dustier than the previous ones and are squeaky as hell. Definitely upgrading, as these tend to fade relatively quickly as well.

[froop]

Originally Posted by Ian///M

Apply a nano wheel sealant to your wheels. I did and it solved the problem, they stay clean for 2 weeks.

Try Nanolex or Wolf's nano technology sealants.

I sealed mine with Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armor. It makes it easier to clean but the dust still sits on the wheels. I think they don't get as dirty as fast but I still find that they're dirty after 2 days of driving and I have flat black painted wheels.

[The Transporter]

I agree with those who said the newer models must have a different pad. My 2012 135i is not bad at all. Perhaps you can find the newer pad spec.

My previous car, a Dodge Magnum SRT8 (Brembos) was awful.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by Glove

I agree with those who said the newer models must have a different pad. My 2012 135i is not bad at all. Perhaps you can find the newer pad spec.

I checked my front and rear pads and from what I could see, they're ATE Textar pads.

Also for the 128i (and maybe the 135i as well), RealOEM reports that as of 10/2010, the brake pad part numbers for the front and back pads changed... Maybe to a less dusty compound?

[JTBMW1]

Yes, two I can think of. My current MazdaSpeed 3 has the worst brake dust I ever experienced. Almost needs daily cleaning and the inside of the wheels get caked, the front primarily. Have to remove them and clean inside the wheels every 3k. The only other car that was bad was a 2003 Ford Escape. All my other cars have been normal- and I have owned quite a few!

[HeelToe]

Changing out the pads to something else will help tremendously. If you pick the right pads you can get the dust level to such a low level you only clean the wheels when you wash the car. Of course there are tradeoffs. Here is my personal experiences based upon much experimentation. I have two cars that I track regularly and I have experimented with both:

EBC redstuff. Virtually dustless and very long lasting. Have used these for years on three different BMWs and an Audi. Hard on the rotors and high pedal pressure. Can withstand HPDEs although not a track pad by any means. Would buy again depending on my priorities. Right now I have these on an Audi A3 that is street use only. Works fine for that.

Hawk Performance Ceramic. Low dust but not as low as the EBCs. Dust is kind of light tan color so its less noticeable. Not very good performance. Will not buy again.

Hawk HPS. Higher dust than Perf Ceramic but lower than stock. Did not hold up well at the track. Will not buy again.

Cool Carbon. Good grip and very low dust. Not much more dust than the EBCs. Not as hard on the rotors. Total meltdown though at the track. Would consider for a street only car but not for any HPDEs.

Performance Friction Z rated. Low-medium dust. More than the Cool Carbons and Red Stuffs. I just ordered my second set of these. They have good grip and have held up at the track although again not a track pad. Not as hard on the rotors as the EBCs. Since I street and track the same car and I'm looking for low dust this pad looks promising.

Bottom line is there are options each with its own tradeoffs. Think of it as a $200 experiment per set (assuming you install yourself). Do be aware that all of the pads have heavier dusting for the first thousand miles or so.

[EAS]

We have a lot of customers that are very happy with Cool Carbon pads both on the street and light track/autocross/HPDE . Others rate them 5/5 for street and 3/5 for track but they are not a true track pad. We love them on our cars, good bite, easy to modulate, low dust and rotor friendly plus low/no noise and good life.

[kyle135i]

I have to agree with this. I'm pulling my hair out trying to keep my wheels clean. I've heard something about cold carbon pads on here. Not sure if that would help?

[freshwhite335]

Originally Posted by Bill B.

From what I understand, sometime around 2010, BMW changed the pad composition to what I suspect must be a ceramic pad. My 2012 135i generates nowhere near the dust of my previous BMWs.

I would think that OEM replacement pads for the pre-2010 models would be of the new composition, but I'm not sure.

must be true. My '11 doesn't produce much dust. Though weirdly it makes more dust on the left side than on the right. Had everything checked at the last service and the brakes are balanced along with all the other suspension stuff.

My 07 E90 335i produced so much brake dust, and it only made my black wheels look brown. Our 06 E65 750i, which had the 21" Star Spokes was bad also, there was a lot of area that had to get dirty before they were dark, but it happened quickly. Strangely my Dad's E39 M5 doesn't produce much dust at all. My sister's Audi S5 is the worst. Literally within an hour of having it washed they're caked in dust, and they make a ton of noise too.