Brake dust - tired of it!!

[JFS2295]

The "ceramic" part is only the reinforcing fiber, which constitutes about 15 to 20% of a friction material formulation. Of the 12 to 20 different ingredients in a friction material you also have binders, fillers, lubricants, abrasives, and a host of other enhancements. All of these influence the characteristics of a friction material, as well as how it is processed will.

Take one formulation and use a lower pressing temperature with high pressure and you have a very dense, long lasting formula that makes noise. Lower the pressure and increase the temp to have the same formula with more porosity and you get less wear life but no noise. Play with the type of 1% abrasive used in the formula and you can have a lot of rotor debris or very little. All with the same steel fiber or ceramic fiber reinforcement.

The key is not to get hung up on a terminology that is used (in the aftermarket) for marketing purposes, but a brand and model of material that has shown in the marketplace the characteristics you are looking for. A ceramic pad at Autozone is going to be different then a ceramic at NAPA. Whether they private label or state the originating manufacturer they will most likely be different compounds.

Even within a company's lineup there are different formulations. In the example above of the Wagner Thermoquiet lineup, the formulation used for a F-350 is probably different then used for a Ranger, although both sold as "Thermoquiet".

 

[JDgreen227]

Not doubting you or challenging your work or knowledge. Ill try and remember to use brake cleaner and not air on them. But whatever they have in them visible dust reduction was my goal and that i got. I never was trying to get the ceramic better stopping power blah blah stuff. Thanks for the heads up about it as a carcenogen though, i will try and always use a liquid clearner no matter what brakes i do, i really never used air anyway.

I may be a minority here but when I do my brake jobs at home I put the vehicle out on the garage pad, jack up one side, block up a corner with a jack stand after removing the rim and tire, then use a power washer to clean the brake area and suspension well, both before and after removing the rotor and pads. No danger from airborn debris, and it's easier to work on things when they are not dirty.

 

[clemsonfor]

I may be a minority here but when I do my brake jobs at home I put the vehicle out on the garage pad, jack up one side, block up a corner with a jack stand after removing the rim and tire, then use a power washer to clean the brake area and suspension well, both before and after removing the rotor and pads. No danger from airborn debris, and it's easier to work on things when they are not dirty.

Good idea i have never done it, i use brake cleaner to "wash" all the loose contaminents down then go at it, not clean but not really dusty just dirty.

You do that on your garage pad? I would never do that all the greese for balljoints and the black and metal might stain the concete, and im not really a clean concrete guy nor do i have really clean concrete. Although i do wipe up oil as soon as i see it, cause i did not have uch when i bought my place on the ground.

 

[JDgreen227]

Good idea i have never done it, i use brake cleaner to "wash" all the loose contaminents down then go at it, not clean but not really dusty just dirty.

You do that on your garage pad? I would never do that all the greese for balljoints and the black and metal might stain the concete, and im not really a clean concrete guy nor do i have really clean concrete. Although i do wipe up oil as soon as i see it, cause i did not have uch when i bought my place on the ground.

My garage pad is 20 years old, still quite clean...actually, only one of our vehicles (my Yukon XL) has greasable suspension parts, and it has not needed brake work yet. I do wipe off the excess grease after lubricating it. And how often does one do a brake job? Last one I did was on my 2004 Lesabre, at 58,000 miles, odds are it will be traded in before it needs another brake job (61,000 miles now). For those who are worried about staining new concrete, you can buy a cheapo 99 cent blue tarp to catch the worst of the debris before power washing.