What is the deal with all the brake dust on GLC63's? I wash the wheels and dust becomes visible in a couple of hundred miles. My 2023 GLC43 doesn't behave like that at all....and why would that be....don't they have the same brake lining material? Short of getting ceramic brakes, is there anything to do about this. It is really becoming a pain.

EBC Red for me.

Those are ceramic. If I go that route, what else do i have to change out?

Nothing at all. I just put a fresh set into the front of my E63 (AMG/Brembo calipers). Took me about 20 minutes total for both sides. There are also many fans of the PowerStop pads, I can not recall the model of the PowerStop, tons if loyal fans.

ceramic brakes on a new 63 is a really expensive options like $4,000 i think. I assumed they used specialized rotors for ceramic brakes, if nothing else but to justify the price for that option. So, when you get that options, all they do is change out the pads for ceramic ones?

I was having issues with a lot of brake dust on my GLC 43 Coupe, but when I switched over to the Brembo brake pads, the amount of brake dust was dramatically less. I have standard rotors and not ceramic rotors on my vehicle. Brembo does make brake pads specifically for ceramic rotors also.

I will definately try the Brembo's when i change. Thanks for the info!!

You’re very welcome. 👍

No, the ceramic brakes on 63s are carbon ceramic brakes, meaning carbon fiber rotors with ceramic pads. Just changing the pads to ceramic pads isn't that. Carbon ceramic brakes are primarily indented for much higher heat resistance so they don't fade as easily under very heavy use like on a track. They are also much lighter compared to steel rotors, so they reduce unsprung mass. Altogether another level.

Brake dust is just something that shows the brakes are doing their job. The 43 and 63 have different brakes. The latter is designed for higher performance. All brake pads produce dust, but some dust is lighter colored such as when you use ceramic pads, so it's not as noticeable. Seems like most people who have lots of dust also mostly daily their cars at relatively low speeds. If you actually give them the beans and drive at the high speeds these cars are designed for, then the air blows out most of the brake dust and it doesn't settle on the wheels.

I haven't found the brake dust to be an issue with my C63S Coupe, but I also have black wheels, so it isn't as noticeable as on lighter colored wheels. Ceramic pads have other issues, such as not working as well at colder temperatures and they don't have the initial bite that the semi-metallic pads have. Brake pads is a matter of trade offs. If you mainly just commute with your car and tool around in the daily traffic mess out there, then the OE pads are overkill and you might wanna replace them with something else. I've replaced my rotors with full-floating Brembo rotors, but I'm still using the OE pads, because they work very well when you actually get on it. Once they have some heat in them, they are relentless, so I love them on my canyon runs and they do the job for normal driving. Perhaps I should also add that I mostly drive my car in manual mode and use engine braking for moderately slowing down, so I'm not riding the brakes constantly in slow moving traffic. That also cuts down on brake dust. I come from driving manual transmissions for 20+ years where downshifting and using engine braking to slow down is what one does.

My use case is typically not aggressive or super high speed. Not many places in the East Bay to really get it on. I know that these 63S's are meant for more aggressive high speed driving, but that would be the exception rather than the rule. I've not changed the rotors or the pads yet, but I'm sure I will be soon. What would you suggest for rotors and pads, with an eye towards minimizing dust. It is really bad in my case, probably, like you say, driving moderately around town. Any suggestions are welcome.

That's unfortunately not a use case I ever had to worry about. I live in the East Bay as well, but I don't daily drive. Back when I still had a commute, I took BART to the city and such. I had to commute to Menlo Park once, but I quit that gig after 6 months. They just couldn't pay me enough to waste my time in Bay Area commuter traffic. I've been working from home for over 10 years and live in a highly walkable neighborhood, so most of my errands are on foot. Grocery store is only a 5 minute walk from my house, and if I need a car for an errand, I tend to take my wife's car, which is much more suitable for just tooling around town. We both work from home.

My car is mainly for fun, taking it up north to the canyons and road trips, so I'm either hard on the brakes ripping through a canyon road or eating up miles with little use of the brakes. My rotor upgrade has been focused on the former. Better cooling and more consistent brake feel, so I went for the Brembo rotors that originally were OE equipment on the 204 C63 Black Series (link below). I got the kit from FCP Euro. They have lifetime warranty, so I just send back the worn parts and they give me full store credit for a future purchase. I'm on my third set, but have only paid for one replacement so far.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...mbo-0004206600

I just don't see these cars as daily drivers. I bought mine for grand touring on the open road and have fun in the canyons. I picked it up in Germany at the factory and did a 7000 miles road trip through Europe over 2 months, ripping up the German Autobahn and all. For me, this is just not the car to sit in Bay Area traffic every day and collect brake dust, that gets caked in further by the rain like we have today and over the past few days. My car pretty much hasn't seen rain since I drove it in Europe. On days like today, it doesn't come out of the garage. There are much more suitable cars for daily driving and nasty weather.

these are in line with what i was thinking. Significantly cheaper.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/clo...t-x253bframgsb

Yes, that's the same front rotor set as I linked above, plus Brembo rear rotors. I have Zimmermann rotors in the rear. Looks like this is a new kit that didn't exist before. Have to see if the same one is available for the C63 for next time. I'm very happy with the Zimmermann rear rotors, though. They were about the same price as the Brembo rear rotors in this kit.

Just keep in mind, those kits come with the same pads you already have, so brake dust will be the same with your current driving style. It might be a little different, because full-floating rotors self center between the pads, so there is more even use and pressure on them, whereas with the semi-floating stock rotors, either the inner or outer pad could be more stressed if the rotor isn't perfectly centered, leading potentially to more dust.

is there a pad that is less offensive?

I have to refer to others as brake dust has never been a criteria for me when it comes to selecting pads. Brake performance and fade resistance is much more important to me.