[cooolone2]

What to do about those OEM Brake Pads???

OMG, I have never seen such DUST, its terrible!

So... What have you swapped to? EBC? I haven't seen much mention of this, so is it just tolerated? Car stops well, but that amount of dust is crazy! Had less than 200 miles and they were covered, wheels looked bronze! lol

[MarcoZandrini]

Scrub the wheels absolutely clean and apply 2 coats of RejeX to them. Allow the first coat to thoroughly dry before adding the second coat. You’ll be able rinse the dust off with a garden hose.

BMW factory pads have always produced a ton of dust.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by cooolone2

So... What have you swapped to?

Hawk DTC-70s here; however, they produce dramatically more dust than do the BMW pads. When warm, they also stop the car like you've run into a bridge abutment.

I clean my wheels with Sonax Wheel Cleaner Plus and a variety of brushes so as to reach every space on my Orbit Grey 436 M wheels. I then apply Sonax Wheel Rim Shield, which makes the brake dust dramatically easier to wash off. On my wheels, the Rim Shield lasts for two or three cleanings before it needs re-applying.

I want my wheels perfectly clean, so I take them off the car and clean every part of each wheel. That gives me a chance to clean the brake calipers - they get Sonax Wheel Rim Shield applied to them, too. It's also an opportunity to examine both sides of the wheels and tires for any damage or degradation that may have occurred since the last examination.

I suspect what you're looking for is one of the organic pads that's designed to provide adequate performance while producing minimal brake dust. They'll likely enable your rotors to last longer, too. EBC has a bit of related info here: https://ebcbrakes.com/articles/brake...hat-causes-it/.

[mikeyymonster]

Originally Posted by cooolone2

What to do about those OEM Brake Pads???

OMG, I have never seen such DUST, its terrible!

So... What have you swapped to? EBC? I haven't seen much mention of this, so is it just tolerated? Car stops well, but that amount of dust is crazy! Had less than 200 miles and they were covered, wheels looked bronze! lol

Look up Akebono on the forums.

[keylime503]

I have EBC yellows on the front. Noticeably less brake dust than OEMs.

However, the brake dust really doesn't bother me. There is a reason the 2 OEM wheel options on this car on grey and a darker grey (no silver). I got the lighter grey wheels knowing that brake dust would make them ever dark. Then I just forget about them entirely except when cleaning.

[mcompact]

I'm reminded of a comment that I once heard a European auto engineer make:
“European drivers don’t care if the brakes squeal, just as long as they stop the car. American drivers don’t care if the brakes stop the car- just as long as they don’t squeal.”

[Joaco135]

Originally Posted by mikeyymonster

Look up Akebono on the forums.

I have Akebono since about 6 months ago, they stop just as good as OEM and the brake dust is almost none. Check them out

[Jnat]

I use ceramic, very little brake dust, they are a little noisy though. I'll deal with the noise as opposed to the dust, I've used in the past on other BMW's and other vehicles.

[rfranklin]

Originally Posted by cooolone2

What to do about those OEM Brake Pads???

OMG, I have never seen such DUST, its terrible!

So... What have you swapped to? EBC? I haven't seen much mention of this, so is it just tolerated? Car stops well, but that amount of dust is crazy! Had less than 200 miles and they were covered, wheels looked bronze! lol

If you decide to keep the OEM pads, I would recommend picking up a bottle of Adam's Wheel & Tire Cleaner or P&S Brake Buster. The Adam's product works a little better, but they're both great products. If the weather is nice, I will spray the wheels and tires and give them a good scrub. Now that it's winter, though, I've changed my routine to spraying them down, letting it sit for a couple minutes, and then hosing it off. If you don't have a hose handy, I'd throw a bottle in your car and head down to the nearest car wash. You'll be amazed with the difference it makes.

Another option would be ceramic coating your wheels and brake calipers. It's more expensive, but once coated, you should be able to spray the brake dust right off.

I'd suggest giving the sprays a try first, and if you decide it's too much to deal with, then find a local detail shop that can do ceramic on the wheels.

[cooolone2]

Appreciate the info. I'm ok with sealing and protecting the wheels, this is not the issue. The issue is entirely the dust! I'll be applying CQuartz Dlux to the wheels in a few days to seal them up and protect them for a while. Back to the pads:

I've used ceramics, semi-metalics, etc., etc. Honestly Power Stop pads have worked well with nowhere near this dust on a heavier car (I modded oversized rotors onto). I'm just a bit taken back by it. You would think that those supposed top notch BMW engineer's would put together a better package, and yes, that is a criticism. I've used R1 Concepts in my older E46 with Ceramics and they're great. Very little dust.

That said...

I've never tried the Akebono's and maybe I will. Of course I'll have to do a bit of research first. Lol, again, appreciate the replies.

[MerlinMc]

I put a set of EBC redstuff pads on my new M240i shortly after it arrived in May. These are street pads with a little better performance than stock. The install is very easy. If you need track pads, get a dedicated set designed for the purpose and swap them in/out for track days.

Brake dust is massively lower. Nonetheless, I still recommend either waxing the wheels or applying a ceramic coating.

Here's a link: https://ebcbrakes.com/product/redstuff-brake-pads/

[FCBuff]

Brake pad choice is so subjective. I personally like OE performance and don't mind a little dust. There is always a compromise somewhere, less dust usually means lest performance. YMMV. I am not fond of Akebono's, but many like them. The initial bite is not as good despite what some will tell you. I wash my car weekly so, no big deal. Ironically BMW pads don't produce near as much dust as their older versions. They have changed the formulas...
Brake dust =no big deal. Brake squeal I can't stand on a street car. Most higher performance pads I have been around tend to squeal?

At the end of the day, pad swaps on these cars is relatively easy, so if you are not happy, it isn't a huge deal to change them out with something else, other than $

[240Newbie]

You know what I do? I wash my car every weekend.....

[Shovelman]

Maybe the 240 has different brakes but my 230 doesn't make a lot of dust. At 35,000 miles I had the rears replaced with ? at an outside shop and still running clean. This car stops great. Maybe because it's just a DD I'm not using up pads.

[cooolone2]

I applied some Cquartz Dlux and will see how well the wheels resist the dust now. If they hose off clean and easy, I'll leave the stock pads for now. They do feel pretty good (stopping).