I just purchased a white 911 GTS and the car has white wheels (OEM Turbo S wheels). I love the wheels and the look of the white wheels with the white car. Brake dust creates a bit of challenge in terms of keeping the wheels looking clean and white.

Does anyone have any special tricks that can be used to keep the white wheels clean longer? I applied a coat of wax to the wheels last night and am anxious to see if that helps the dust wipe off easily. It's not the end of the world - I actually enjoy cleaning my car and find it somewhat therapeutic anyways. But if someone has a proven shortcut, I would love to see it or hear about it.

I do love the look of the white wheels with the white car and the white aero kit and spoilers.

 

I replaced my brake pads with Aekebono European pads and my dust is down 90%. The initial bite is not the same but it's progressive and when you get on them the stop is still there. Wouldn't use them on the track but on the street they are great and literally no brake dust or noise

 

That's exactly the kind of advice and experience I was looking for. Thanks!

Have others tried these pads? Is there any chance they will harm my OEM rotors?

I don't race or track my car, so I am willing to sacrifice some braking performance if I can truly reduce brake dust by 90% - even 30 or 50% reduction would be awesome.

Thanks.

 

I have installed the Aekebono European pads on all my BMWs and it is true that they do make a huge difference as far as dusting the rims. Be aware though, that they do not offer the same grip as the OEM pads, are a little bit slippery (for my taste) when wet, and tend to glaze themselves after a while. You may need to perform a few really hard brakings to get rid of the upper layer of glazing on the pads.

For street usage they are fine and safe.

Yves

 

Hawk Ceramic pads also dramatically reduce the dust and are popular for our cars. You'll find discussions about them here and on Rennlist.com. No harm to the rotors, maybe even easier since I'm noting no wear of concern in 10k miles on my current car.

The small amount of dust they do produce is very light in color and sticks less than the dust from factory pads. I'm very happy with the performance of them too, as good or better than OEM in my opinion. I've used them on my last three cars. I no longer have to clean the car/wheels early just due to brake dust.

The above-mentioned Akebono pads are probably fine too, but my direct experience causes me to recommend the Hawks.

 

Has anyone tried both the Hawk and the Aekebono European pads?

If so, I would be interested in hearing experience with comparison between the two pads.

Thanks.

 

Autogeek.net has a C5 wheel armor product I was going to try.

 

Hawk ceramic pads here. I can vouch for StormRune's experience, at least on silver OEM wheels. They don't eliminate the dust problem completely or even 90%, but I can go 3-4 times longer before my wheels really need to be cleaned. I find residual Hawk pad dust much easier to loosen and scrub off. I may not be the best expert on braking differences, but I did not notice any between OEM and my Hawks. Akebonos had been strongly recommended to me by my Indy (well-known Porsche technician), but I could not find the correct fitment for my 2008 997 C2S Cab at the time, and Hawk had the correct fitting pads. I am still using the OEM rotors with no apparent difference from their perspective. Considering truly white wheels, I could see Hawks causing them the look slightly yellowish-brown with use, but never gray or black.

 

I wish this thread had been up a couple of months ago when I did my brakes. Even on black wheels the dust is a PITA. I live I a high rise, so my only option is a regular full wash, usually due to dirty wheels. Arghh. The lack of a private garage is what I miss most about having a house. I used to love to clean my car, and did it often. At least I no longer have a black car.

 

I think I'm getting close to time for a brake job so thanks to all for the info. From what I have read if I want OEM bite but less dust go with Hawk ceramic. Thanks.

 

Be careful to make sure you get the right pads for your make and model. I've seen mentions in threads where people initially got the wrong ones due to errors in reseller's web sites.

I went straight to Hawk's catalog at http://www.hawkperformance.com/sites...ATALOG_WEB.pdf and verified the specific pads my car uses and also used the diagrams they provide there to visually check that the shape was correct. Note that the diagrams don't show the harmonic damper weights (the two silver weighted disks that stick up outside the calipers on some pads), but they are there if your car uses them.

 

I've found that this armor all wheel protectant actually works as advertised. It significantly reduces the amount of brake dust on the wheels. I apply it every time I wash the car and swear by it now. You can pick it up at walmart. It's works so good I'm scared they are gonna discontinue it so I keep a couple bottles in the garage at all times.


I'm currently on stock pads but the hawks sound like a good idea when it comes time to change them.

Ken

 

I am another user of the Hawk pads and I highly recommend them. The Hawk ceramic pads have reduced the amount of brake dust by 66% to 75% versus the OEM pads.