Excessive brake dust

[bbbwood]

Has anyone else experienced what they believe is excessive brake pad dust gathering on their rims? Everything is OEM and car has 10K KM. I'm a conservative driver, yet the rims need to be cleaned at least once a week (and sometimes more often) as the rims get almost that brown/black messy look...

Thoughts?

[PEPSIGIXXER]

I GOT A 2010 MZ3 SPORT GT AND THE SAME ON THE FRONT, NOT SO MUCH ON THE BACK.

[Mr Wilson]

Welcome to the joys of owning a Mazda3. I wash my wheels and a day later it looks like I've run the 24 hr of Le Mans. Its one of the reasons why many are happy to run their 3's with aftermarket black wheels (looks good, but also hides the dust). There are some aftermarket pads that reduce the amount of dust, but otherwise yeah.........

[aarnone]

the oem brake pad material is definately the reason, i have to change the brakes soon on my 3 and im definately putting on a set of ceramic pads on the front to reduce the brake dust on the rims.

[adubya]

I've got the same problem, the dealership said there isn't anything that can be done with Stock brake pads and rotors, it's the material being used.

[The Wolf]

I'm running everything OEM and get very little brake dust. One week (and 800km) between my last wash and when I cleaned my wheels today, the dust wasn't visible from more than a couple feet away.

Maybe learn to downshift haha... A wise man once said that it's amazing how many people think that brakes are for slowing your car down ;)

[Iceman_F1]

I'm running everything OEM and get very little brake dust. One week (and 800km) between my last wash and when I cleaned my wheels today, the dust wasn't visible from more than a couple feet away.

Maybe learn to downshift haha... A wise man once said that it's amazing how many people think that brakes are for slowing your car down ;)

It all depends on the driving style for sure. If you are doing more city driving or a lot of stopping from high speeds, yes, likely the brake dust is going to build faster than say someone who is just steady highway for most of their trip.

[maz06]

Is this on all four rims or just the back ? if its just the back could be your hand brake cable being seized but that should be unlikely with only 10k

[Kiyomi]

I'm running everything OEM and get very little brake dust. One week (and 800km) between my last wash and when I cleaned my wheels today, the dust wasn't visible from more than a couple feet away.

Maybe learn to downshift haha... A wise man once said that it's amazing how many people think that brakes are for slowing your car down ;)

yup. but also, some wheels will show the break dust more than others.

[bbbwood]

Its all four wheels with the fronts probably being a little worse. I do a lot of city driving, so I expect some dust, but not as much as I'm seeing. My old '99 Civic didn't have this issue to the degree that I'm seeing it on my Mazda, so that's why I thought I would bring it up here. I suspect its just the quality/type of material used on the pads and I'll have to put up with it. I do downshift occasionally, just not at every stop.

Thx for the feedback everyone.