Am I the only one with dirty wheels?

[Hail22]

Yes, genuine ATE, only in ceramic form. Hopefully one they all new vag cars will be fitted with the ceramic pads. The reason why you want to do it on a new car asap is, that you will not have to replace the brake discs at 50k km with your brake pads, I expect at least 100k km from the pads and at least 200k km from the brake discs. You shouldn't be fitting the ceramic pads on the brake discs that had previously std pads fitted and have some wear on them.

Where did you get your ceramic plates from Transporter? GSLRally?

How much did it set you back in total again (short on time in filtering through posts).

[Dizzydumb]

In every photo I see here of a Polo the wheels (and everything else) is immaculate. Now I am honestly a gentle braker but I find that even after a couple of hundred kms, my wheels are badly stained by brake dust. Infact, I would be wanting to clean them twice a week to keep them presentable. I could understand if I rode the brakes or applied them heavily, but I am a pretty sedate driver both in acceleration and de-acceleration.

Is this sort of caking in brake dust normal? I love the feel of the VW brakes and they are definitely the best feeling brakes I have had on any car I have owned (though this is my first car with discs at the back lol).

Anyway, I just wanted to know if there might be something wrong somewhere or whether VW use "dusty" pads but this contributes to the nice feel of the pedal? I thought the brake dust might reduce as the brakes bed in, but they produce just as much dust as when the car was new.

Pretty normal I might say. This is my 3rd european car in a row, and they're pretty much the same lol. Whenever I get picky over dirty wheels, I just wash em twice a week. Once midweek just the wheels, and another one on the weekend with the whole car.

I squirt on decent wheel cleaners, have a ciggie, hose them off, and finish the remaining with a sponge. Prior to drying it, I spray one of those 'wax as u dry' sprays and I feel it really helps with the next wash (ease of removing dust upon hosing down).

I believe the OEM soft and 'lots of feel' pads do contribute to extra dust. I once swapped to harder compound pads and found that the light-touch response was poor, although shedding lesser dust. But I'd rather have softer pads that wear out quicker than harder pads which will wear out the discs quicker. Hope this helps?

[Transporter]

Where did you get your ceramic plates from Transporter? GSLRally?

How much did it set you back in total again (short on time in filtering through posts).

From my supplier HSY imports. I don't buy retail, so you most likely get different price.

[JonP01]

Yes, genuine ATE, only in ceramic form. Hopefully one they all new vag cars will be fitted with the ceramic pads. The reason why you want to do it on a new car asap is, that you will not have to replace the brake discs at 50k km with your brake pads, I expect at least 100k km from the pads and at least 200k km from the brake discs. You shouldn't be fitting the ceramic pads on the brake discs that had previously std pads fitted and have some wear on them.

Oh, that is a bummer but thanks for letting me know this. I have had to make several unrelated largish purchases this last couple of months and dont have the funds at the moment to have the pads changed to ceramic ones unfortunately. That is also more bad news about pad and disc life. Ive never had to replace pads or discs on any car I have previously owned and that includes my 1996 Laser which travelled 120,000 kms before I traded it in (pads and discs were inspected and found to be in excellent condition with plenty of wear left). But as I say, brake feel means a lot to me and if they only go less than half the life of my previous cars, the quality of the feel and performance is still worth it.

[Ryan_R]

Yep, always more likely to be rear ended in the golf rather than hitting someone else.

[brad]

Oh, that is a bummer but thanks for letting me know this. I have had to make several unrelated largish purchases this last couple of months and dont have the funds at the moment to have the pads changed to ceramic ones unfortunately. That is also more bad news about pad and disc life. Ive never had to replace pads or discs on any car I have previously owned and that includes my 1996 Laser which travelled 120,000 kms before I traded it in (pads and discs were inspected and found to be in excellent condition with plenty of wear left). But as I say, brake feel means a lot to me and if they only go less than half the life of my previous cars, the quality of the feel and performance is still worth it.

Not sure why you are so eager to go to ceramic. Just run what you have & wax / clean the wheels regularly. 15 minutes twice a week for immaculate wheels.

Pad wear varies with driving style. I have 105,000km on my Octavia (same brakes as a base model Golf) and they are 8mm front & 5mm rear remaining pad thickness (rear come on first in these cars). Rotors have <1mm lip on them. I expect to get 150,000km from the rears & 200,000km from the fronts. That's in Sydney traffic (mainly motorway) - yes, I tend to look a long way up the road & anticipate what the traffic is doing.

[Transporter]

Not sure why you are so eager to go to ceramic. Just run what you have & wax / clean the wheels regularly. 15 minutes twice a week for immaculate wheels.

Pad wear varies with driving style. I have 105,000km on my Octavia (same brakes as a base model Golf) and they are 8mm front & 5mm rear remaining pad thickness (rear come on first in these cars). Rotors have <1mm lip on them. I expect to get 150,000km from the rears & 200,000km from the fronts. That's in Sydney traffic (mainly motorway) - yes, I tend to look a long way up the road & anticipate what the traffic is doing.

Expect 2x life of the pads and 3x life of the brake discs. In your case brad, you wouldn't need brakes for more than 200,000km at least. I've fitted the ceramics to customer's Octavia TDI wagon and he has now done 45,000km on them, there is no lip at the top of the disc and I can't measure any pad wear.

ATE guarantee minimum 50,000km life from the pads and the brake discs for 100,000km, that's across the range, so some cars will probably never need the brake pads.

[brad]

Expect 2x life of the pads and 3x life of the brake discs. In your case brad, you wouldn't need brakes for more than 200,000km at least. I've fitted the ceramics to customer's Octavia TDI wagon and he has now done 45,000km on them, there is no lip at the top of the disc and I can't measure any pad wear.

ATE guarantee minimum 50,000km life from the pads and the brake discs for 100,000km, that's across the range, so some cars will probably never need the brake pads.

I'm not saying don't do it. Just can't see the rush if the only concern is a bit of brake dust. If the pads were worn, ineffectual or had no feel or bite then I'd understand the motivation.

I'm the first to admit that I get exceptional brake life on all my vehicles. Skoda ownership coincides with a ridiculously benign 90km daily commute. I also get great tyre life - 50,000km on the Michelin Primacy now & 5mm remaining) and great fuel consumption (6.7L/100km average for 105,000km with half of that on a "corrected" odometer (would be 6.5L/100km otherwise). Can't drive fast on the M5 so may as well try & drive for maximum economy.

[noone]

From what I've read Ceramic pads eat rotors faster. I went ceramic for less brake noise (my setup can squeal). No issues, less dust, similar feel.