JulieMae

I admit, I don't wash my car very often. I joke that a good coat of dirt and pollen protects the clear coat. The silver doesn't show the grime as much as the black car I used to drive. That's a plus.

The problem is brake dust. The front rims have become covered in it. I actually cleaned them off this weekend. Prior to that, they were so covered they looked black.

Does anyone else have this problem? Is it normal?

Dr. Rx

Yep, it's normal.

hwho

Yes, very normal.. you need to clean the wheels regulary, otherwise it will be hard to clean.. besides, you need those wheels shiney!

Atacdad

Pull your wheels and put a good coat of car wax on the rims, inside and out. It will help cut down how fast the brake dust accumulates. It won't prevent it..just makes it a little harder to stick to. I find I need to do it every 3rd wash or so....

guy321

Use one of those small california dusters designed to clean your interior.

BIMMER5&RX8

The break pads used in perfromance cars tend to be soft and dusty. The RX8 is actually not too bad. Just take a look at the front wheels of any BMWs. They are all covered in break dust.

NavyDood

What pisses me off is there are tons of companys that make better brake pads that cause way less dust. Why aren't they making any yet?

Overport

yes, its completely normal...and completely annoying. now i cringe every time i have to brake hard because some dude decides to cut me off. i hate brake dust, but i wash my car once a week, so it doesn't get to out of control. my dads '03 Expedition has the same problem.

1.21 Gigawatts

Go ceramic! Its not worth the price, but hey.

ivyrose

You know I didn't really notice I had this problem until my dad pointed it out to me this weekend. Dammit. Oh well, what's one more thing to clean?

gsdev

You guys! Tom Sawyer. This is such a nice car you should never have to clean it. Let other people experience the joy of cleaning an RX-8.

ivyrose

Yeah, tell that to my husband ...

RotorGeek

No one washes my car but me

Grabitquick

The brakes on the RX-8 are SO good that I can live with the dust. For the car experts, would brake pads that create less dust be as effective, generally? I would think that it's similar to tires--our performance tires may wear out more quickly, but because they're softer and grip the road better, they're probably safer than what somebody else has on their Kia.

NavyDood

Like I said.... There are company's that could make a pad just as good if not better and produce less dust. Ceramic pads are well worth the money if they produce less dust.

Bad example but..... The Grand Cherokee we had was notorious for front brake problems. And not to mention the brake dust issue was just about as bad as the 8's. I changed the rotors to Brembo rotors and Satisfied Ceramic Pro Pads. They were $60. The Grand Cherokee braked like never before and the brake dust issue decreased by at least 75%.

Overport

yup yup...i gave the dudes at the car wash a chance, and they blew it. when the car came out of the wash...first the guy couldn't get it started, then he stalled it. i was flaming mad!! he could have flooded it because the engine was cold. never again....i do it myself now with the joy of Mr. Clean Auto Dry Car Wash.

JM1FE

The amount of dust is normal, and is less than what you would get with some other cars. You should clean the wheels regularly, otherwise the paint may become etched from the residue. 'Simple Green' does a decent job and won't damage the paint on the wheels like other, harsher cleaners.



Not necessarily. Read this:

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ear#post506097

bluesunlion

Any time you have friction, you have some kind of wear. I prefer the pads to wear faster than the rotors, thanks.

JulieMae

I use Simple Green for everything! It's what I used to clean them last weekend. I was a little concerned about full strength being too harsh (since full strength simple green can be used to degrease engines and clean concrete). I will probably dilute it a little next time.

apaul

The Service Mgr. at my dealership dilutes it 3:1... swears by it! I've been using the Eagle (I think) rim cleaner .. same ratio...but I think I'll switch to SG just to be safe. Thnx.

jrknu

they get dirty again in minutes.
I think the rims are coated with 'endust'

NavyDood

I dont use any other cleaner thatn car wash soap in a bucket. It comes right off.

apaul

I've been doing that too.. with a fleece mitt / just experimented with the rim cleaner stuff. But you're right, car wash soap has got to be the safest ( and least expensive. ) Thnx

mrthundercleese

Car wash soap.. easy and effective. I keep a 'wheel towel' in my trunk to dust my wheels off every so often. Ive used wheel cleaner before, and I always ended up washing it by hand anyway...

Racingwhore

COMEON!!!......Lets hear it for the VELOCITY RED!!!!!!!!!