RitchieZ

I have a Super Black auto for about a month now and I cant beleive how much brake dust gets on my front wheels.I have to clean them after about every 50 miles. I just want to know If this is something everyone is going through as the norm.If this was any other car it would be sleeping with the fishies.But its not its my Z and so I will live with it 4 now.Is there anything that would help until I get brembos.I have stock brakes now.If anyone can sugest anything I would greatly appreciate it. These Z's turn the heads of all who see them. Money well spent.

apex locator

iTrader: (5)

only solution is to change out your pads

or dont drive the car

Nordy 1

Change pads to what kind ? I have been having real loud sqeeky brake noise, mainly when backing up. Took car in with 6,200 on it. They say they changed the pads anturned the rotors. Sound went away for 4 days.Today car was in again. Nissan, not my dealer says that they aren't doing anything else. They say it is the way I apply the brakes. Has anyone out there every heard of that ? It never happened on any of my other cars.I am madder than I had ever thought it was possible to be. HELP

Buub

iTrader: (1)

I've heard good things about Hawk HPS pads.

Someone else told me Axxis was even better.

What are the opinions of some who've done some testing of different pads?

johnsZ

you have two trade-offs- either no squeak (Mercedes approach) which makes your front a dust pile- look at any MB car. This is a conscious decision on MB's part to not have the brakes squeak, ever.
Or, on the other end, the super hard pads, which squeak when cold or with light pressure, but stop really well, and often, even when hot.
Look at Wilwood, or Baer or Summit Racing for various pad options. Brembo has a high cool factor but simply overpriced IMHO.

little_rod

You might want to do a search, plenty has been said on this subject.

I have the Hawks, and they cut down dust a whole lot. The Hawks only come in front brakes for the stock brakes. My fronts now dust up about as much as the stock rear pads do, so it works out quite well for cleaning. Obviously, you have the stock rears, and you know they don't dust near as fast as the fronts. With the Hawks, they will all dust about even.

Now I did bed my brakes, but I do get a sqeak every once in a while. Nothing to slit my wrists over, just every once in a while. Worth it not to have to deal with all the dust. There are a few others out there that work. A search will help you with some of those others.

RitchieZ

Thanks Rodney

RitchieZ

Thanks JohnZ

bosotheclown2002

I was having the same brake dust problems and I changed my front brakes pads (took all of ten minutes) last week and the problems disappeared immediately.

I found some relatively inexpensive from Satisfied (Pro Ceramic) on TireRack.com for $37+sh.

Seem to be working great, no noise and no dust. They do not grab quite as hard as the OEM pads but that is to be excepted I guess, more than adequete for my every day driving.

DZeckhausen

The Axxis Deluxe Plus pads will produce far less dust than your OEM pads without giving up any performance. They are quiet and rotor friendly. Once they've been bedded in, they should perform as well as stock, but without the dust. (Bedding in pads: http://www.zeckhausen.com/bedding_in_brakes.htm)

Axxis are made in Australia by Bendix-Mintex, the same manufacturer that makes PBR and REPCO pads. All of those pads are now marketed in the USA under the Axxis name: Deluxe, Deluxe Plus, Metal Master, and Ultimate.

The Deluxe are the original PBR Deluxe formula and also a low dust pad. But they are too easily pushed to fade for the Nissan 350Z application. The Ultimate is a high performance, high friction pad, but it won't help you as much in the dust department. And it is more aggressive in terms of rotor wear.

My costs (and thus my pricing) on Axxis pads just dropped last Friday and I updated my web site last night. The front pads are only $43 now, down about $10 from before.

The rear pads are not yet available from Axxis. I'm keeping my eyes open, but for now I only have CTEC rear pads, which are OEM replacements. See: http://www.zeckhausen.com/Nissan/350Z.htm

archman350z

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Brembos also make alot of dust. I can get about 100 miles before it gets black enough to notice. A quality brush and a bucket of water (no cleaner) have become real good friends of mine...it's a labor of love, I guess. I'm gonna give the Nismo pads a shot here in a few weeks for race-day...I'll let you know if they're any better.

noel48

Curiously,my Z doesn't generate much brake dust but my G35 has the worst of any car I've had.Must be the grabby brakes.

RitchieZ

I wanna thank all of you for your responces and great advice on this matter.

Nocturnal

iTrader: (2)

Oh yea, I am running the Aftermarket Brembo GT series Brake, well, the Pegid 421 pad they are running are one hell of a dust maker...or my lip is one hell of a dust collector, but either way, it is bad.

I clean the car, I drive the car down the road. And the polish lip is no longer polish.

DZeckhausen

You can replace the Pagid pads in the aftermarket Brembo kit with Hawk HPS pads to greatly reduce dust production. A side effect will be a very slight reduction in pedal firmness, since the HPS is more compressible than the Pagid RS 4-2-1. On some platforms it's not even noticable.

The Hawk HPS is also available for the factory Brembo calipers.

Nocturnal

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the info DZ.

The car WILL not be driven on the track, and probably WILL not ever see 120+mph (we are so space limited here), so basically, it isn't like I really need the performance here. Well, I kind of do need it when some idiot put a U-turn over a soild center divider, or some idiot who jump over a fence to cross over a street, and lets not even mention the scooters. Brake here are only used to stop you from hitting cars, motocycles, and running over people.

I am just looking for a NOISE-LESS brake pad that won't DUST, plus it have to be able to stop cold. Basically as OEM feeling as possible without the dust problem.

Given that condition, would you still recommand the Hawk HPS pad?

The system I am running right now is the AfterMarket Brembo GT brake in the front, and some kind of custom system in the rear, but it uses the factory track brembo's rear brake pad, does Hawk have a pad for that also? Can I get some part number and price...and also where I can order them. Thanks.

DZeckhausen

The Hawk HPS is available in both the Brembo GT size ($124) and the factory 350Z rear Brembo ($63). If dust is your enemy, this pad is probably your best bet in terms of overall performance and dust reduction. Plus it's available for both ends of your car.

Take a look around to see if you can find these pads locally at a decent price to save on shipping, duty, etc. The FMSI number of the front pad is D810 and the FMSI number of the rear is D961. With those numbers, you should be able to have an intelligent conversation with any brake pad supplier and not worry that you're getting the wrong shape pad.

If you can't find them, I'll be happy to send a set to you. Just give a local shop a try first to see if you can save some time and money. I hate to see people overpay for shipping and duty when they don't have to.

By the way, for those of you with the factory Brembo front brakes, the FMSI number of your front pads is D0960.

garygoon

I have the same exact problem. Its like a metal on metal sound when I apply the brakes while backing up. It happens mostly when I turning the wheel while backing up. Sometimes when I go straight back. I have 3k on the car and it still hasnt gone away. I have the AT Touring. Ive always done all my own brake work and have not had this problem with any car Ive ever owned or driven. Kind of annoying. It doesnt sound normal. Any body else have this problem?

DZeckhausen

Try bedding the pads per these instructions: http://www.zeckhausen.com/bedding_in_brakes.htm

See if the sound doesn't go away. Hint: print out a copy of the bedding instructions and bring them with you while you follow the process. If the police pull you over for "reckless driving," simply hand them the printout and blame me!

Seriously, I have had a couple of customers get pulled over while bedding brakes, so it's good to have your cover story ready.

Edretti

Is this metallic noise in reverse only in the morning? If so then it's the over night dew/humidity/rain that creates the light surface rust but goes away the first time you hit the brakes. I need to get the hawk pads but they are a lot more expensive then I would've expected. Either way it sucks having to clean polished wheels more often then necessary. Nice post!