1996c220merk

Why do mercedes benz cars get brake dust all over their rims? Does it have anything to do with the fluids that are in the brakes or is it a sign of deterioration of the brakes? How can i help prevent my rims from getting covered in crap?

ruzhkata

Well I asked a mechanic that's been dealing with mercedeses for over 25 years now, and his response is that the break pads that mercedes uses are special made in a way that no matter how hot they get, they stop! it takes a lot of break dust, but they stop and don't squeek! I've been doing a little sports driving on my car for a while and for 10 minutes i get the breaks super hot and they still stop! if you wanna clean your wheels there's a special fluid for that and it's not that expensive, it's very effective and you can buy it from a local auto accessories store

DRBC43AMG

Guess you have to clean the rims more often but all brakes give out dust (pads and discs), but some give more then others. Have you tried EBC redstuff? They have a ceramic base which is supposed to give out very little dust.

waybomb

Buy Akebono Euro pads. Have them on the 210, the 202, and my kid is getting them for his C32. As others need pads, I'm going Akebono.

Brake dust 95% eliminated. I clean the wheels with diluted Simple Green.

Ttran

Agreed!!! No brake dust what so ever! I also have them on my Merc.

Sathinas

I decided I'm gonna stick to OEM pads. Yes, they are dusty, but this new invention works well at removing the dust. It's called water.

I'd rather have some brake dust on my wheels and be able to stop in a hurry, rather than have my wheels look bling bling and not have the stopping power of OEM, as I run into the rear end of the guy in front of me because I had my head up my ****

waybomb

And the guy behind you gives you whiplash.

Who said Akebono's have less friction? I can get the abs to work at any speed with Akebonos.

And water will not keep the wheels looking new. So then you must use chemicals. People should think "green"

Sathinas

Long as he has insurance, he can give me all the whiplash he wants.

I never said Akeboners (Sorry, Akebono's - Akeboners comes to mind every time I see that word... dirty mind and all, I suppose), have less friction.

Of course water will keep the wheels looking clean (not new) until more brake dust gets on there.

This is my philosophy on brakes. Go with what the manufacturer's engineers decided was good for the vehicle. Are there better brakes out there? Of course. But I'd rather my brakes grab as they were designed, and have the ABS come on only when necessary.

The way I figure it, AMG spent a couple of dollars testing all sorts of brake pad compounds before they settled on the pads they sell as OEM. I'm sure cost was a factor as well, but if Akebonos are so much better and obviously cheaper, why didn't AMG go with those, instead of the softer, more expensive brake pad compounds?

If you like the Akebonos, that's cool. I'm not trying to put them down.

1996c220merk

head up my ****? water to remove brake dust? dude come on. are you a mercedes owner? i didn't get this mercedes to have dust all over the wheels, all im trying to do is find a solution that allows me to have CLEAN rims, and good good brakes. if i have to spend a few bucks, thats fine.

ive started going on canyon runs in the san gabriel mountains, basically lots of windy roads and stuff like that i wanted to know if getting new brakes is a good idea. the brakes i have on my car are really soft and i dont want them to die on me while im going down hill. anybody have any ideas?

Sathinas

Obviously, reading comprehension eludes you.

Yes, head up my ****.

What do you use to remove brake dust? A little swiffer mop? What do you wash your car with, never been molested by the sheep herder, extra virgin lamb skin? You use damned water and a little car wash soap.

I really don't care why you got your Mercedes. Am I a Mercedes owner? No man, I drive a damned Pinto!

I got my CL65 to I don't know... DRIVE the damned thing. I'm not an attention *****... probably why I drive a silver, plain jane looking CL65 Mercedes instead of a bling bling exotic sports car.

I care little about bling and having the car I drive yell "Hey! Look at me!". I care much about performance, though. A little brake dust on the wheels (the rim is the outer part of the wheel, where the tire mounts, incidentally) isn't going to hinder performance.

Now then... I'm going to assume that this is your first Mercedes. (Only a first time MErc owner would ask "hey, WTF is up with the brake dust on my RimZ, y0!). Welcome to the family.

The brakes are fine. Mercedes engineers have been kind enough to put little sensors on the brake pads (typically one per axle) to let you know when your car needs new brakes. Until that time, drive your car.

If you just can't stand brake dust, then go buy some aftermarket pads. Everyone's raving about Akebono pads.

Maybe if you'd look around the forums a bit, you wouldn't make yourself look like a complete t00l by asking such questions. And if you'd be just a little less combative, people wouldn't quite chuckle at your question about the relation between fluids in the brakes...? huh? and brake dust.

ps. There's only one kind of fluid in the brake system. Not more that one. It's called, amazingly, "Brake Fluid". It has nothing to do with brake dust. Well, I suppose it has something to do with brake dust, for if you had no brake fluid in the brake system, you couldn't use your brakes, and hence, you'd have no brake dust. But I digress...

mikekuriger

It's amazing how much mis-information you can find in this forum!

Sathinas

????

Where am I mistaken? Please correct me, so I know better next time.

1996c220merk

dude what is your deal? im barely 18 and i drive a 100% stock 1996 c220, including the "rims." all im trying to do is maintain a clean car, thats all, im not trying to make it look bling bling or anything. from what i have heard, the type of brake fluid mercedes benz uses, it causes ALOT of brake dust. i might be mistaken, i might not, i dont know. and to your little comment about browsing on the forums....."f" that! if i have a question, im going to ask it! thats why i am on these forums. if you want to go look through all of these posts then go ahead, you do that while i actually go DRIVE my car through some AMAZING CANYON ROADS here in socal!
btw. if u are talking about ME being a tool, look at yourself! what do you drive: y0 MAMA! LoooL are you a third grader? my 10 year old cousin uses those kinds of jokes. and plus, if you dont think a cl65 isnt a "LOOOK AT ME" type of car, you are sadly mistaken. i might not kno alot about cars, or what akeboob thingies are, but im not the guy who is on the forums slamming people. thanks for your response though, now i know who to avoid for advice.

Sathinas

Yawn.

I like you. You remind me of when I was young and dumb.

It's obvious that you have no clue of what you speak. Why don't you go to www.howstuffworks.com and learn how a braking system works on a car. Pay particular attention how the hydraulic side of the brake fluid works and learn why brake fluid has nothing to do with brake dust. Maybe you'll stop listening to your 18 year old car expert friends once you realize they are as clueless as you are.


Aha! So you expect stuff to just be handed to you, then? LEt me guess, you didn't vote for the American, did you?

Amazing canyons. Kid, you ain't ever seen an amazing canyon.


Yup. And I tell you what, y0 mamma rusty and loose.

LoooL? WTF is Loool?

Nope. 2nd grader. And apparently, with a better grasp of the written English language than you.

I'm shocked your grand parents were smart enough to procreate once, let alone twice.

Oh, please, do tell. How is a plain Jane looking mercedes with dusty wheels scream look at me, again? Do tell.

If it was an SLR, or an SLS, I could understand your silly, warped way of thinking. Alas, it is neither.

Son, you don't know jack about cars. I'm shocked you have enough brain power to drive one.

Maybe you should school yourself on basic car stuff first, then go from there. People will quickly tire of your basic car questions.

And once again, you prove your idiocy. Thank you for making my point for me... again.

Don't you worry none, you're not getting any more advice from me. If anything else, I'll just annoy you some more.

Now go and learn something, you freeloading, sorry excuse for a n00b member!

1996c220merk

LOOL! i love how a grown man has nothing better to do than to hang out on some forums and make fun of kids.
i have a friend who set up his 1968 gto to be driven with a joy stick, my friends know ALOT more about cars than you do...ALOT more....dude go away ahahahaha!
my mom? go ahead man, shes all yours.
lol ur right, i didnt support "the american," hes too stupid. judging from your arrogance id guess you are republican and i have only this to say to you: YOU GUYS LOST! hahaha!
btw...nobody cares about your canyons, just like nobody cares about you or your worthless ***** LOOL john mccain...what a joke..are you bald too? go get the rogain man, viagra while you are at it

1996c220merk

HAHAHA young and dumb huh? well ur old and pathetic now

Sathinas

I like how you're choosing which points to touch upon. Typical...

But I will touch on every point you've made, simply because liberals absolutely hate rational conversations:

Someone's gotta set you young, snot nosed kids straight. You know, your kind who think the world should be handed to them on a platter.

This is the same friend who told you that MB brake fluid causes dust? From what you've said so far, I highly doubt your friends know much about cars, let alone more than I. I could be wrong, but at least I know how a braking system works.

Why, thank you. That's kind of you. But as I said earlier, she's kinda loose and rusty. Time to trade her in for a newer model.

Son, we ALL lost. ALL of America lost that day. I understand that you're too young to fully comprehend actual politics, but I hope you'll wake up from your kool-aid daze sooner than later.

But let me ask you something... Why are you driving a Mercedes? Shouldn't you be driving a Government Motors vehicle, since you're so gung-ho about what the usurper is doing? Shouldn't you be supporting Obama in his quest to nationalize every industry he can get his hands on? I mean, how will he be able to help you if you don't want to help him by buying a GM or Chrysler?

But why am I asking you such questions? I don't really expect you to understand your hypocrisy when it comes to not driving a GM or Chrysler.

Last I checked, you were the one touting your SoKal canyons, and how you like to drive on them? I never said I "had" better canyons. I said I've seen better.

My *****? Why would you bring my ***** into this conversation. Did you perchance hallucinate that I talked about my *****? Are you fantasizing about my *****? Why are you fantasizing about my *****?

Seriously, kid. Grow a brain, eh? I bet you won't have the same attitude when you grow up and move into the real world, where you'll hopefully realize how silly your notions were when you were younger.

Then again... you strike me as someone who thinks he's entitled everything. People with that mentality, seldom wake up and smell that thing called Real Life. I weep for the future of humanity, with people like you at the helm.

Now, I could keep this up all night long (we old people don't need much sleep), but I fear that I may work your three brain cells to the point of burning out. And since one of those brain cells is regulating your breathing... well, we wouldn't want you to keel over.

I'm done with you for two reasons:
1. I think it's obvious to other people who the kiddiot is here. In case you can't process that much information, I'll make it easy for you. It's you.

2. I don't want to bend MBW rules too much.

3. I don't pick on... ummm.. special people. That's just wrong.

1996c220merk

im glad you are done. for those willing to help me, id greatly appreciate it. if anybody else wants to help me out with my problem, i will gladly take your advice. sorry to everybody else who had to deal with the inconvenience above, my bad everybody.

Capt

Brake dust is my nemesis! I’ve owned Benz’s for about 13 years now and that is for sure my only pet peeve. I respect the design of the pads and the material they use since they work and they work well.

The simplest option for you was stated above; using an aftermarket brake pad designed to reduce the amount of dust will most likely solve your problem.

For me however, I prefer to take the approach of maintaining a regular schedule of wheel cleaning and sealing. Bi-weekly I will spray down my wheels with some P21S gel cleaner, agitate with a brush and rinse off. I’ll then follow up with some Chemical Guys Wheel Sealant which aids in repelling the dust and making your next cleanup job much easier. This cleaning method has proven to keep my wheels considerably cleaner and brighter for much longer under normal driving conditions.

One other thing to note is that if you start to see excessive brake dust buildup on the fronts and little in the back you should inspect your rear brakes for wear. Worn rear pads can put added strain on the fronts causing massive amounts of dust.
Hope this helps.

waybomb

Hey 1996, I know you are full of pizz and vinegar. I was, and my 22 year old still is. You both believe you know everything there is to know. You don't. In fact, the hardest part of learning new stuff is forgetting the old stuff. Start forgetting.

Really, you do have a lot to learn.

Brake fluid is in a closed system. If the fluid comes out, you loose your brakes. It has NOTHING to do with dust. Seriously. Do not fret over your brake fluid, other than you need to flush the system about every two years or so. Again, seriously speaking. I am sure none of your friends do it, but do it.

As for Akebonos vs OEM brakes. These "purists" need to learn something as well. Akebonos have stopping power just like and similar to OEM. The ceramic compound does not shed dust that sticks to the wheels. They still make dust. Plenty of it, and wear out just about as quick. But the compound does not stick to the wheels. They can spend their time cleaning their wheels, and in between cleaning, having their cars look like crap. I, on the other hand, try to keep all my vehicles and boats looking great at all times, even between cleanings, after rain and snow, etc.

1996c220merk

dude i know nothing about brakes. someone told me that the dust had to do brake fluid, obviously they were wrong. thanks for the tip. do akebonos last as long as OEM pads?

waybomb

They last about the same, and the rotors last about the same - two brake jobs to one set of rotors.

1996c220merk

hey waybomb, you dont know me, ok? i dont appreciate you telling me this sort of thing. i know i sometimes act like i kno my stuff when really i dont, but complete strangers on the internet dont need to point it out to me. with all due respect, stick to talking about cars. if i say something that doesnt add up, feel free to tell me. if you are going to talk about me, please do me a favor and keep it to yourself

waybomb

OK, you are going on my ignore list and you will never get help from me again. Good luck.

LawRens

lol bro you aint making ANY friends with your attitude. this is for your sake: lose the ego. It wont do jack **** for you, except get a whole community to shun you and your questions. some "complete strangers" may actually be renowned engineers in their field, and you will DEFINITELY be missing out if you ignore them and dont want the problems pointed out to you.

Just a suggestion; but you can always do what you want.