[boostm3]

How bad is the M235i Brake dust? In my former BMWs, I always replaced the brake pads with less dusty ones. For once, I wish BMW used pads that stopped well, but also produced a Reasonable amount of dust. If its as bad as what my others exhibited, it'll have to be Orbit Grey rims once I finally pull the trigger.

[Nahlem]

Originally Posted by boostm3

How bad is the M235i Brake dust? In my former BMWs, I always replaced the brake pads with less dusty ones. For once, I wish BMW used pads that stopped well, but also produced a Reasonable amount of dust. If its as bad as what my others exhibited, it'll have to be Orbit Grey rims once I finally pull the trigger.

It is as bad as it gets, That's the only answer i can give you that would be fair to it. The dust is retard how much it dusts even when you drive like a normal person its ridiculous.

It's like "Look at the horizon what that? A Forrest fire? A House burning? No its an M235i enveloped in its own brake dust."

[Mywifes335]

You can always go with a ceramic based pad but you'll sacrifice braking performance.

[BentZero]

Pretty bad. i wash my rims once a week. By the time it's time to wash them they look like they haven't been washed in a month :/

[B_Rice]

It's bad. Real bad.

[doccyber]

Just don't brake so much. :

[Nahlem]

Originally Posted by doccyber

Just don't brake so much. :

Well doccy (btw loving the name) The problem is that the car is so ridiculous fun to drive so you are able to make songs with how much you pedal to the floor only to press the brakes few secs later just to feel the acceleration, Never get tiered of that

[ParkerJarvis]

Get a 228i. No brake dust issues over here!

[leeadam]

i thought it was just me the brake dust is terrible even if you potter 10 miles up the road and get back they are dusted again. AND they are the most awful wheels to clean, im getting rid of mine for some 19s, at least ill be able to get my hand in there to clean without those silly gutters bmw put in the 18s on the 235

[usafmike]

The brake dust is terrible. Have to clean the wheel every wheel and they don't stay clean for long. Will be switching pads whenever these wear out.

[aerostar]

The worst is those little flakes that refuse to come off the wheel. -_-

[nike001]

Buying a BMW and complaining about brake dust is like buying a car with a V8+ and complaining about gas mileage.

You knew what you signed up for when getting a performance-oriented vehicle IMO.

Cars with M-Sport (blue) brakes have stock European (good) pads whereas the cars without them have special US-Spec pads made for people who complained about brake dust that have less braking power and initial bite.

[chattanooga240]

If you have ever had Brembo brakes, then you get to the point where you just don't care and drive the shit out of it.

The dust is bad when your car can stop on a dime.

My next BMW will have the carbon set up though.

[Tpeterson]

Originally Posted by ParkerJarvis

Get a 228i. No brake dust issues over here!

Get a 228i without THP. With it, the brake dust is just the same as the M235i members are describing. But I'm not complaining. The brakes work great and the blue calipers look great. I don't mind washing the wheels more often than the rest of the car(!) and they can always be replaced with some low dust performance pads.

[CalRick]

It's why they went with the dark grey/gunmetal wheels on the M package models - it hides the dust (sorta) a lot better than the silver finish they normally offer.

[mdputnam]

I have used these EBC street pads on my track car:

http://ebcbrakes.com/product/redstuff-brake-pads/

They are rotor friendly, no brake dust, and stand up to track use. I haven't ever used them on our BMWs as the pads have always been replaced under warranty by the dealer.

On another note, I buy 5L Sonex Full Effect wheel cleaner by the case (it is cheaper):


I put it in a commercial high pressure sprayer:


Once a week I pump it up to 55psi and blast the wheels with Sonex Full Effect, let it sit for 5 minutes, hose it off, and wipe it clean with a towel. Sparkling wheels in 15 minutes!

[nike001]

Originally Posted by mdputnam

On another note, I buy 5L Sonex Full Effect wheel cleaner by the case (it is cheaper)

I buy the BMW wheel cleaner. It's essentially Sonax and it's cheaper. Win-Win.

[mdputnam]

Either way the secret is the high pressure sprayer with a nozzle selected for the viscosity of the cleaner.

On a price basis:

BMW wheel cleaner $9.63/0.473 L = $20.35/liter
Sonex wheel cleaner $74/5 L = $14.80/liter

YMMV

[overcoil]

What's the theory behind the HIGH PRESSURE SPRAYER as opposed to the traditional spray bottle?

[Liquidpaper]

FYI -- you can't have it both ways. If you want good breaking performance, you will have dust, noise, poor cold bite, aggressive rotor wear, etc. If you want quiet, dustless brakes, you will necessarily sacrifice performance.

I run EBC Yellows daily, and they have mediocre cold bite (nothing dangerous, but they definitely get better after a hard stop or two), they have some minor squeal under very light (bumper to bumper LA traffic) breaking, and make a ton of dust. However, when they heat, the stop hard and are difficult to overheat (bedding them in on public roads is a bit of a chore). I don't happen to mind the brake dust, personally (badge of honor as far as I am concerned).

The only other option is CCBs, but then you're paying 10k an axle for a brake job.

[mdputnam]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

What's the theory behind the HIGH PRESSURE SPRAYER as opposed to the traditional spray bottle?

I don't know the theory. I tried a plastic garden sprayer initially because my hand got tired pumping the little bottle and misting the wheel. Switching to a Home Depot plastic garden sprayer helped with the sore hand but didn't do much for speeding the cleaning along, I still had to use a brush to dislodge the glued on brake dust. Figuring if a little is good a lot is even better, I used my stainless steel Hudson X-Pert sprayer that I got for spraying fruit trees. At 55 psi with a, Teejet TP8002 nozzle you get a fine fan spray that will sting your hand if you put it in the stream. The thin wand also allows you to reach all the nooks and crannies.

I would guess a quick hard spray dislodges the outer brake dust layer allowing the Sonex to come in direct contact more quickly with the dust glued to the wheel surface as opposed to just soaking in as it does with the little hand pump attached to the bottle.

[overcoil]

^^^
Good to know, thanks !