WHERE DOES BRAKE DUST COME FROM

WHERE DOES BRAKE DUST COME FROM

As you use your vehicle and apply the brakes, some wear is constantly happening on the pads and the rotors.

The type of brake pad you choose dramatically affects the type and amount of dust created.

One great choice to reduce brake dust significantly is using EBC Ceramic pads

An independent video of EBC Redstuff can be seen here

But again, remember EBC makes four dedicated race pads. Redstuff is NOT a race pad; it is a fast street, lower dust pad.

More great results on low dust have been witnessed using the EBC Bluestuff brake pads on faster cars such as BMW.

Watch this video for example

Finally, one of the best friction designers on the planet speaks openly about dust and the various pad options from EBC that reduce dust

WHAT DOES BRAKE DUST ACTUALLY CONTAIN?

In tests and research done at EBC, dust content is 92% Fe, which is iron. The iron comes from the metallic fibers in the brake pad itself, which is why they are called “semi-metallic,” which 99% of original pads are.

The rest comes from the iron of the rotor itself as the more aggressive semi-metallic pads wear away at the rotor.

There is some road dust and dirt in there, but it’s trivial compared to the iron and steel fiber deposits that semi-metallic pads make.

Fe (iron or metallic) particles adhere to rims and alloy coating due to static attraction and are harder to get off. In some cases, under heavy braking, these metallic particles can actually adhere to (sort of weld themselves as hot sparks) the wheel lacquer and burnish its glossy finish. Not good.

HOW DO I REDUCE BRAKE DUST ON MY WHEELS?

At your next pad change, or sooner if it’s a big issue, buy a non-metallic pad with either a ceramic or aramid fiber base…

However, as we said, you will never eliminate dust, but you can reduce it and you can change its content to a dust that does not weld itself to your alloys and is easy enough to wash off with soapy water and a soft brush. That’s what EBC Redstuff offers.

Here is a basic guide to pad and material types to consider:

There are only two types of brake pads you can buy:

1. Semi-metallic pads – these are what all cars are delivered with. They are cheap to make but can be noisy and dusty.
2. Non-organic pads, which include both ceramic pads and an even higher grade known as an aramid fiber pad.

British brake manufacturer EBC Brakes only makes non-organic pads, and here is a link to the various types of pads you can choose from their vast range:

It seems also that others agree with what we’re saying here. Another good article to read here