My car is about 3 weeks old now and I just dusted off my chromed 5-spoke stock wheels for the first time today.

I noticed the front wheels had a lot more black coating on them than the rear wheels. Is this stuff what's called "brake dust" I read about in other threads, or is this stuff coming up off the asphalt in the roads?

I was thinking it was road dirt because the front wheels do the turning (kicking up more dirt?) and are therefore dirtier? Or maybe it is brake dust because the front brakes are drilled and have more friction?

Can somebody set me straight? I want to know because if it is brake dust, and not road dirt, I guess there's something I can do about it (get lower-dust brake pads).

Thanks!

Its brake dust. Buellwinkel at one time posted a good explanation about this issue and the solution he found.

Do you have a coupe or sedan? My 2004.5 sedan hardly dusts at all, the coupe dusts like crazy in comparison. I switched to Porterfield pads on the coupe and it dusts way less, about equal to the sedan.

I also found that applying a coat of wax to the rims will help with the removal of dirt and dust later on. (That is, apply when your wheels are clean and dust free as you would the rest of the car)

Do you know why the front wheels get more dust than the rears? Do the front brake calipers squeeze harder? Or is it because the brakes are larger in front?

It's a pretty big difference, the rear wheels hardly got any dust at all, but the front had quite a bit after 550 mi.

I guess even old fogey MBWorlder's can ask dumb questions sometimes. Check my profile on the left, it says 2005 C230 Sedan.

Well, the car is about 3 weeks old, and has been driven about 550 miles. There was quite a bit of visible dust on the front wheels, but it was very easy to wipe off just using a towel. The rear wheels had virtually no dust. So maybe that's good, I don't have anything to compare against, which is why I'm asking.

How dusty do your sedan wheels get after 500 mi? If you answer "not at all", then maybe the '05 OEM brake pads aren't as dust-free as the '04.5?

I'll try that!

the coupe produces alot of dust on the front wheels.

I don't think you would benefit from Porterfield pads as much as I did on the coupe. Acutally, I think the Porterfields dust more than the sport sedan brakes which are excellent when it comes to brake dust. Your only real solution is to get brake dust shields or deal with it. Beverly Hills Motoring has been selling a set, pretty cheap. Used it on both W201's I've had for many years, no problems.

The reason the front dusts more than the rear is physics, when you apply your brakes the weight transfers to the front so the front has much more work to do than the rear brakes, hence the front brakes wear out much quicker than the rears as well as dust more (unless you leave the parking brake on when you drive).

Hey that's a good idea. I don't really like driving that fast, so maybe I'll just leave the parking brake on. It's probably worth it to keep my wheels looking shiny and not have to clean them all the time. Thanks!

please dont be wiping your dirty wheels with a dry towel.

I used a small microfiber dusting towel. It was dry though. But the dust wasn't heavy, and I didn't have to apply barely any pressure. Is that ok?

I went to the Beverly Hills Motoring site and they have nice products. I remember having those dust shields many years ago on a Monza I owned (yes, many years ago). Check JC Whitney also for more options and lower prices on dust shields, some starting at $29.95. If you're looking for specific brand, KLEEN WHEELS at Beverly Hills are $49.95 and JC has the same ones at $42.99.

Carlos