So...some folks swear by them, some say they are dangerous...

Now that I have my snows on, I have a few months to obsess over my white rims...I plan to clean them well, claybar them, then apply some type of durable finish - maybe Zaino, maybe Prima Wheel Armor - something mmore durable then a carnauba wax.

Changing the pads is not an option - I still have plenty of life on the existing ones, I plan to have the brakes done under warranty, and MINI service will not replace them with anything but factory pads. Can't afford to pay for a brake job on the outside.

So -are brake dust sheilds dangerous because they overheat the brakes?I don't race, though I regularly do "spirited" driving...
Or will they allow me to no longer obsess over my wheels!
And if they might look a little tacky, wouldn't they look better than dirty pitted wheels?
(Wouldn't ordinary hubcaps also cause brake overheating?)

Thanks, oh gurus of detailing and all things mechanical!

 

They block the airflow from out of the wheel and can cause the brakes to overheat in spirited use.

 

If your going to stay with the OEM brakes, as I do, then be prepared to have to keep those wheels protected, and cleaned regularly.

First, use a wheel wax, not a body wax. Wheel wax withstands heat better, so it lasts longer. I have had great results with Prima's Wheel Armor

Save your money on the brake shields, and spend it on something that makes you need brakes

Mark

 

They look stupid, just put on some 'no dusting' pads.

I changed my pads at 10K miles because of the dust. There was basically no wear on them, then replacement pads just slipped right in without pushing the pistons in. Learn to do this yourself and same your money.

Now my fronts and rears always look the same and easy to clean.

YD

 

i agree with Yo's... might as well spend that money on pads... theyre so incredibly easy to change... and your probably have slightly better braking and clean rims!..thats worth all the cleaning time you put/are going to put into them...

 

Great advice, just change the pads. It will take about an hour per end if you are slow. I also agree with shields are at best ugly and worst can cause brakes to overheat.

 

Does wheel wax work?

"Works" to me means that I only use a hose to spray off the brake dust, I don't need to touch the rim.

 

The other thing about a pad change - good low-dust aftermarket pads will last longer than OEM... perhaps even twice as long. So one way of looking at this is you're paying for your first out-of-warranty pad replacement *now* vs. later - and get the benefit of 2-3 years of dust-free front wheels as a reward. In the long run, you won't be spending much more (if any more) money than if you stayed on OEM - even counting the "free* dealer service... which isn't really free if your time is worth anything.

 

Uh oh...looks like I'm being talked into changing pads! Back in my wild youth, I would consider that a fairly easy job...maybe I can resurrect those skills...
I suppose it does make sense.

So now I need to research which are the best with the lowest dust. Oh you who are converting me to the pad replacement path - what have you used?

(So why does BMW use these pads anyway - is it simply that's who they have a long contract with, or are they the best in braking power??)

And SmokeM - that IS the ideal, but I wouldn't mind a gentle brushing with every coupla washes...of course, the more you brush, the more wax you take off!

Thnnks everyone for your input so far!

 

BMW uses these OEM pads because they have awesome initial "bite"... which gives you the illusion that the brakes are even better than they are... which makes a big impression on test drives.... just my opinion.

I've used both Hawk Ceramics and CarboTech Bobcats. Both work well. The CarboTechs I think perform a bit better, have better modulation, and do NOT wear rotors as badly as the Hawks. Both "feel" quite different from the stock pads, especially the CarboTechs, and so they take some getting used to. They don't "throw you into the dash" when you touch them... but the harder you push the pedal, the more the pad bites and the more the car brakes. In a panic stop, they stop as well as the OEM pads (either can invoke ABS) - but the CarboTechs give you more modulation/control of braking between "none" and "full" - less of an "on/off switch" than the OEM pads.

 

Whether or not you decide to change pads, my experience is that Wheel Shield wax and similar such products I have used help, but do not work, using SmokeM's definition. As for the metal shields, overheating is really a non-issue unless you are racing regulalrly. While they do block airflow, they also dissipate heat like a heatshield does. However, in my opinion, they are uglier than brake dust. They make alloy wheels look like wheel covers. They also hide the disk brake calipers and disks. I like those components being visible through the alloy wheels. And, since the accumulation of brake dust is an appearance issue, looks does matter.

 

and the Carbotech 1521 (Bobcat) pads put off less dust but also "cleaner" dust. OK Dustin, what the he!! is "cleaner dust"? Carbotech pads don't use steel or iron in the pads, only company that doesn't, and it's the steel/iron that make more dust and rusty dust that eats finish and rotors too.

 

I use Hawk HPS pads on the back brakes and would still have 'em up front if I hadn't gone to a Wilwood setup. The Hawk Ceramics are lower dusting that the HPS, but the HPS was so much better than stock in terms of dusting that I didn't care. They have a more agressive stopping power than the Ceramics, so they will suit a more agressive driver.

I've been through several track days, 2 auto-crosses, 40k street miles and I still have about 1/2 of my rear pads! I can't say enough good things about these pads.

EBC Green pads are also a good comprimise of performance and lower dusting... probably lower dusting than my Hawk HPS, but not as good stopping power.

 

+1

Alex

 

I think you meant ligher colored dust. Dust is still a contaminate leaving your wheels dirty reguardless of the color.

Agreed that iron components can etch the wheel finish - or melt the clear coat of wheels. I'd venture Carbon family components are responcible for the dust moreso. The presence of some form of powerized iron will almost allways be present due to those iron radiators we love to squeeze!

Alex

 

May I sugest the Hawk Ceramic as an alternative to EBC? You will experience better braking power. The dust really depends how your brakes are used.


In your testing when we sold EBC - our test cars wheels became VERY dusty. My beef was that the Kevlar pads have a tendency to like to help with uneven friction distribution. Many customers had contacted me with pulsing that was eliminated by a good threshold braking.

I liked their Red stuff pad much more- but you need some serous weight to use it as an effective street pad, its a more HP pad than green.

Alex