Brake dust, repellent

[dstewart51]

I'm surprized at the ammount of brake dust the 4BW OEM pads generate even with light use. What are you guys using for treat the wheels with to help repel the brake dust? I know some replenets are not good on dark wheels. I had used Armor All brake dust repellent in the past, I'm sure there is better stuff out there now, but I've not kept up on it.

 

[rubberduck]

Ceramic coating. But I get very minimal dust with CCBs.

 

[rdollie]

Have steels on 5 BW. Fortunately wheels are ceramic coated so the pressure washer has no challenge cleaning them.

 

[Exia]

You'll need ceramic coating otherwise they will get filthy quickly even with low use. Such is the nature of high performance non CCB OEM pads.

 

[PrimeTime]

Ceramic coating. But I get very minimal dust with CCBs.

Struggled, with the dust... However, at 9k for the option yesterday. Performance and looks are expect. Ceramic coating helps!

 

[ClassaxV]

Ceramic coating is a must.

 

[srothman]

My wheels are ceramic'd but I still use this:

https://www.amazon.com/Sonax-043630...hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584138871857292&psc=1

You put a light coat on clean/dry wheels and most of the brake dust doesn't stick. What's weird is that because it does such a good job of repelling the dust, it has a tendency to clump up in the channel behind the spokes of the wheels where it gets "trapped". I'm still a fan mind you...

 

[1Evil55]

I ceramic'ed mine like many here. I almost wonder what they'd look like without it. This is my first ceramic experience. The power washer does push everything right off fortunately.

 

[pkincy]

First thing I did with the ATS-V and the C7Z06 was install ceramic brake pads. Used both Carbotech (expensive) and Powerstop (cheap) and they work wonderfully well knocking out 90% of the pad dust. Ceramic coating the wheels inside and out when changing the pads handles the other 10%. You will not find replacement pads for the 4BW but the ATS-V pads work. They simply don't have the little brake sensor cutout in the pad backing/brake material like the OEM pads have. Just zip tie that wire and sensor out of the way and you are good to go. I used the Powerstop Z26 on the 4BW. BTW, if you have never changed pads on the Brembos on the Camaro, Z06, ATS-V, 4BW try it. It is the easiest pad change you can imagine. The caliper stays on and all the big bolts don't get touched. A 13 mm bolt and 2 pins to punch out of front and no bolt and 2 pins to punch out in the back. Then the pads just slide out by grabbing the ears with a screwdriver then lifting them out. I posted a detailed article with pictures on the ATS-V section of the other Cadillac ATS-V forum. Couldn't be easier.

 

[DustinEarnhardt]

First thing I did with the ATS-V and the C7Z06 was install ceramic brake pads. Used both Carbotech (expensive) and Powerstop (cheap) and they work wonderfully well knocking out 90% of the pad dust. Ceramic coating the wheels inside and out when changing the pads handles the other 10%. You will not find replacement pads for the 4BW but the ATS-V pads work. They simply don't have the little brake sensor cutout in the pad backing/brake material like the OEM pads have. Just zip tie that wire and sensor out of the way and you are good to go. I used the Powerstop Z26 on the 4BW. BTW, if you have never changed pads on the Brembos on the Camaro, Z06, ATS-V, 4BW try it. It is the easiest pad change you can imagine. The caliper stays on and all the big bolts don't get touched. A 13 mm bolt and 2 pins to punch out of front and no bolt and 2 pins to punch out in the back. Then the pads just slide out by grabbing the ears with a screwdriver then lifting them out. I posted a detailed article with pictures on the ATS-V section of the other Cadillac ATS-V forum. Couldn't be easier.

This is fantastic information!

By chance can you confirm the part numbers for the Powerstop pads you got? Also, are there any side effects (error lights, etc.) by zip tying the sensor out of the way?

I sooooo want to do this.

 

[pkincy]

I used the Z26-1718 and Z26-1405 pads. These are the same part numbers for the ATS-V and the C7Z06, both of which I have had and changed pads on. The Owners manual states that the brake pad sensor will show a % of use of the pads in the Maintenance section of the DIC. But it didn't in mine. I think it only sets a light in that section when the sensor plastic is worn down enough to complete a circuit when it hits the pad backing plate. At any rate there is no code or any displayed info when the sensor is zip tied away from the pad. In fact the sensors are designed to be a one time use and are replaced, you could just pull the sensor and its pigtail. I didn't as somebody might make ceramic pads with the place for the sensor sometime soon. The pads are so easy to change I would again change them if that happens.

 

[DustinEarnhardt]

Spectacular! Thanks @pkincy , Looks like I've got a new weekend project coming up. Good riddance to these stupid dusty pads!

 

[MikeGuy993]

I'm surprized at the ammount of brake dust the 4BW OEM pads generate even with light use. What are you guys using for treat the wheels with to help repel the brake dust? I know some replenets are not good on dark wheels. I had used Armor All brake dust repellent in the past, I'm sure there is better stuff out there now, but I've not kept up on it.

As mentioned before, ceramic coating is the way to go. AMMO makes a specific coating for this (and it is high temp resistant that can be used on other metal components). AMMO Gelee Pro Wheel & Metal Coat

 

[sethsquire]

I used the Z26-1718 and Z26-1405 pads. These are the same part numbers for the ATS-V and the C7Z06, both of which I have had and changed pads on. The Owners manual states that the brake pad sensor will show a % of use of the pads in the Maintenance section of the DIC. But it didn't in mine. I think it only sets a light in that section when the sensor plastic is worn down enough to complete a circuit when it hits the pad backing plate. At any rate there is no code or any displayed info when the sensor is zip tied away from the pad. In fact the sensors are designed to be a one time use and are replaced, you could just pull the sensor and its pigtail. I didn't as somebody might make ceramic pads with the place for the sensor sometime soon. The pads are so easy to change I would again change them if that happens.

FWIW I spoke to a rep at R1 Concepts and they said they anticipated having a compatible pad for the 4BW sometime in 2023, since I was wondering about this same things and it now takes like an hour and 4 different brushes for me to really clean the wheels.