Afternoon!
Spent way too long at the jet wash yesterday (and burnt my arm, but that's another story) getting the brake dust off my alloys.
As Polo needs new brake pads anyway, I toddled along to Halfords to see if they had any of the Green Stuff ones I've read about that don't make your wheels dirty. Halfords monkey proceeded to explain to me that "dirty wheels mean your brakes are good, as it's softer pads that work better. Those Green Stuff ones are no good because they're too hard."
Is he right?
Are Green Stuff (if I've got the right name) any good? If so, who sells them?
Thanks!
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Well, he was half right.
Softer pads do stop you as quick as possible - at low speeds.
Greenstuff are much "better" for 2 reasons -
they do not fade after repeated high speed application
(are you really going to be doing that on the road - I hope not)
and they produce much less dust.
However, they will be about twice the price of "normal".
They have a website.
Probably more cost-effective in your case to spray the front wheels with "brake dust barrier" (or whatever its called).
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Greenstuff are made by EBC, there website address being www.ebcbrakes.com
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Next time you polish/wax the car try doing the wheels as well. It's a bit of a pain but I find the brake dust comes off much easier now.
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& MER now do a 'wheel polish' rather than using their ordinary product. Smells a bit like Windolene.
I've not tried it 'cos I'm now a convert to Meguires,(spelling) now.
As for the pads themselves, I'd stick to standard, recognised makes & just wash the wheels when you do the rest of the car & do take care with those jet washers - they can strip your skin to the bone.NOT NICE!!
VB
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Next time you polish/wax the car
I don't understand. Next time I wax a car will be the first for 20 years.
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Halfords monkey proceeded to explain to me that "dirty wheels mean your brakes are good,
I think what he actually meant was; if you see brake dust on your wheels it means the pads are wearing, rather than the discs. Pads these days are very hard (now they no longer contain asbestos) and tend to wear out the discs just as much as the pads.
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UK importer used to be at www.sejoc.com (or co.uk, can't remember, and as I'm on 28.8 dial up I leave you to try!) but last time I tried, the site was down.
GreenStuff are, IMO, good and you certainly don't get any dust. They didn't make GreenStuff for my rears, so they sold me a Kevlar pad, which seems just as clean.
They may cost a bit more, but so far they seem to wear pretty well and I recommend them to anyone who wants to keep their alloys clean.
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It may just be me, but when it comes down to the things which stop you before you hit that wall / car / pedestrian, pretty much at the very bottom of my list of wants is 'doesn't get my alloys dirty'
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Bazza - GreenStuff outperform "normal" brake pads, they are a semi-race pad. Their cleanliness is a useful by-product.
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Thanks Smokie. I know that GreenStuff are supposed to be a premium brake pad in terms of performance also, I was just getting a mite alarmed at how much weight was being put on the cleanliness of pads when this would be the last thing on my mind.
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Pads these days are very hard (now they no longer contain asbestos) and tend to wear out the discs just as much as the pads.
I wonder if this is what I'm seeing on my Yaris. At the last service, I was told the pads were 15% worn. I've certainly not had them changed since I bought it (18 months / 18k ago) so at this rate even if they were changed before I got it, I'm not going to need to have them changed again while I have the car. To contrast this, my mother was told the pads on her H-Reg Saab 900 could need changing as often as every 6 months and certainly she's doing them roughly annually with a far lower mileage.
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Yes I agree ! Polish the allows regularly but put a slit in a carrier bag and feed this over the disc. The polich off dust can contaminate the disc and pads so a little car is required. Polo Gril Be carefull with the pressure washer as a high pressure one 160 Bar plus can force water into the tyre bead and cause even damage the tyre. Also bewrae of any stick on balancing weights as this can be blown off by the jet wash. Regards Peter
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Yes I agree ! Polish the allows regularly but put a slit in a carrier bag and feed this over the disc. The polich off dust can contaminate the disc and pads so a little car is required. Polo Gril Be carefull with the pressure washer as a high pressure one 160 Bar plus can force water into the tyre bead and cause even damage the tyre. Also bewrae of any stick on balancing weights as this can be blown off by the jet wash. Regards Peter
Typing that on the train were we Peter?
;o)
ND
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I've seen plastic brake dust guards advertised - a thin plastic disk with that fits between the wheel and the hub. Are these any good? Or do they interfere with brake cooling by blocking the holes through the wheels?
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>> Pads these days are very hard (now they >> no longer contain asbestos) and tend to wear out the discs >> just as much as the pads. I wonder if this is what I'm seeing on my Yaris. At the last service, I was told the pads were 15% worn. I've certainly not had them changed since I bought it (18 months / 18k ago) so at this rate even if they were changed before I got it, I'm not going to need to have them changed again while I have the car. To contrast this, my mother was told the pads on her H-Reg Saab 900 could need changing as often as every 6 months and certainly she's doing them roughly annually with a far lower mileage.
Not sure this would be right. Pad manufacturers are not allowed to use asbestos in ANY pad, not just pads for new cars, so your mothers SAAB will also have non-asbestos pads on it. Maybe it's a combination of a heavier car and she drives like a demon? ;)
I suppose it's not worth checking that the mechanic in question isn't changing them unnecessarily to bump up the service price?
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Thanks all... I think I will give the greenstuff a try.
Polo does get a regular waxing, and as the Passat Driver is the original Autoglym boy, he has every type of wheel protector going, but that doesn't stop the dirt actually getting on to the wheel in the first place. It just makes it easier to get the dirt off, which I hate doing! As I've recently had my alloys reconditioned (ahem, not through choice), I want to make the most of them.
Of course it's more important for the car to stop than look pretty (I drive a Polo so I know all about rubbish brakes!), but looking pretty is good. :)
One thing, they had a rack of specially marked 'Asbestos Free' pads in Halfords - does that mean that all the others have it in?
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One thing, they had a rack of specially marked 'Asbestos Free' pads in Halfords - does that mean that all the others have it in?
That is strange, as I understood it, they all HAD to be asbestos free - by law.
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To echo BazzaBear, I also thought they couldn't contain asbestos. If this is true, does anyone know roughly when this law was introduced?
CHeers
Adam
--
No Signature at Imagos' Request
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Close No Dosh. I was on a plane and when I transfered it I didn't read it before I sent it. Could have been dangerous. Thanks No Dosh. Regards Peter
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Thanks all... I think I will give the greenstuff a try.
If you want to try them thats fine but please bear in mind the following...
i) You will *need* to warm the breaks up when you 1st drive, particularly in the mornings.
ii) They will not be as effective when cold
iii) They will wear your standard discs very quickly compared to normal pads. EBC pads are often fitted in conjunction with hardened discs.
JaB
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Oh I don't knoooow! Too much choice - it's just taken me 20 minutes to decide which top to wear today!
I just want a car that stops, and clean wheels.
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If you want to try them thats fine but please bear in mind the following... i) You will *need* to warm the breaks up when you 1st drive, particularly in the mornings. ii) They will not be as effective when cold iii) They will wear your standard discs very quickly compared to normal pads. EBC pads are often fitted in conjunction with hardened discs.
and
iv) It may affect your insurance premium.
I asked my insurer about GreenStuff pads using the "clean wheels" argument and was told my premium would increase by 7 quid pa.
TrevorH
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i) You will *need* to warm the breaks up when you1st drive, particularly in the mornings. ii) They will not be as effective when cold iii) They will wear your standard discs very quickly compared to normal pads. EBC pads are often fitted in conjunction with hardened discs.
Hang on, they aren't ceramic race brakes! I'm no tech expert but haven't noticed any difference when cold and my discs are no more worn than I'd expect them to be. Maybe you are confusing them with RedStuff which are a true track day/semi race pad?
EBC do sell their own discs too, vented and patterned etc etc. But they seem expensive compared to my standard ones so I decided not to go with them.
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