I have a 24 JCW hardtop and the brake dust is just crazy. I know Mini wants the brakes to bite hard when stopping but I can't even go around the block without having brown dust all over both front and rear wheels. I've owned many turbo Porsche, AMG Mercedes and BMW M3's and never seen something like this before. I only have 400 miles on it just hoping it will get a little better? If not has anyone changed their pads? If so which brands did you go with? I know I need to find something ceramic to keep the dust down. Thanks

 

My 2023 JCW's brake dust is not any worse (or better) than my BMW M2 or my BMW 230i, Cooper S, or other cars including 3 Challengers, 3 Porsche cars, and so on.

You have put but 400 miles on the car. Have you "bedded in" the brakes? To be sure after 400 miles they have been used enough to have experienced some bedding in. While I like to do this very soon after taking possession of a new car your car's brakes may benefit from this.

On a suitable stretch of road accelerate up to highway speed and then apply the brakes moderately hard -- but not enough to trigger ABS -- and slow the car to say 45mph. Release the brakes then quickly accelerate up to back up to speed and apply the brakes again. Then do this a 3rd time. (In my experience while the braking feel improves it doesn't improve after the 3rd time.)

Be sure you then drive the car enough to let the brakes cool down.

On a side note every once in a while when I have the car at the local DIY car wash I make it a point to thoroughly "wash" the brake hardware. I do this by using the soap nozzle setting and blasting the wheels/exposes brake hardware with the soap spray then I follow with the rinse setting and end up with the no spot rinse setting. No need to jam the nozzle in close to the brake pad area.

If you start out with just the rinse setting you can see the initial water that runs off the brake/wheel has some considerable black to it. Brake dust. After this washing event I take the car out and drive it long enough, use the brakes enough, to ensure the brake hardware is completely dry. To ensure this I actually engage in a bit of a brake bedding in operation again. But however you do it the brakes want to be dry dry dry before you put the car away for the day.

 

Thanks for the info. I haven't bedded the brakes and never had on any new vehicle I've ever bought new. My brother also has the M2, his is bad but not like mine. I don't wash my vehicles they just get wiped down. I used compressed air to blow the vehicle off and also blow the calipers and I'm shocked how much dust cloud I get. Glad I'm wearing a mask and glasses

I ordered mine with the 18" wheels and trying to get the backside of the wheels clean is a real pain especially the fronts. I've just changed the wheels with a wider spoke so it's much easier to clean them now. I'm sure I'm going to switch to ceramic pads to cut down on the dust. I don't race or track my car so not to concern about having touchy brakes.

 

Yes, most MINIs dust like crazy on stock pads, the brembo stock pads for the JCW Big Brake kits factory do it even more. Its the compound. Most go with a performance pad or akebono to reduce dust.

I use sonax wheel cleaner to keep them clean.

 

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-brembo-p...106889266~brm/ This has helped reduce dust. Braking performance is fine.

 

If you have clear/coated wheels you can try iron removers, they help. Might help to drive the car (dry out brakes) after washing instead of parking after washing like I do. I wash- then garage- so as the rotors turn orange then blow the brake dust into the next county.

 

While I like to bed in brakes on my new cars under more controlled conditions just "normal" driving will bed in the brakes. If you believe they are bedded in at 400 miles from just normal driving I'd not be able to argue otherwise.

I would not use compressed air to blow brake dust off the wheels/brake hardware. Even though pads no longer contain asbestos there is nothing but bad in the brake dust. And any dust that settles on the painted surfaces is just going to scratch the paint as you wipe down the car.

My cars don't get scrubbed as they don't get that dirty. Well, there is the exception. The M2 does tend to collect grime behind the front wheel well openings that last time I had the car in the wash bay I used the brush -- rinsed it first -- to remove that grime so of course it got scrubbed but just in the grime-y areas. That scrubbing was just once in maybe 10 visits to the car wash.

But my cars often get treated to spray down with the wand set to soap then followed by a rinse and ending with a no spot rinse. While both are garaged when not in use they when in use they still collect dust, bugs, and an occasional bird deposit...

And when the car is in the wash bay invariably the wheels/brakes get sprayed to remove brake dust. But the dust is not completely removed from the wheels. Just the other day I picked up some wheel cleaner at the local BMW dealer. Instructions are to spray on. Let sit a few minutes. Rinse. Have not tried the stuff yet. But maybe today. Want to see if it works. Otherwise it will be time to get a bucket of soapy water and "scrub" the wheels to remove all the dust.

I've never been a fan of using aftermarket brake pads for any reason. So switching to I guess ceramic pads -- which are probably just as dusty as regular pads but the dust is less obvious -- is not something I'd do.

 

Thanks for the link... Glad to see they are OEM.

Thanks but as I mentioned I don't use water to wash the car. I've replaced the stock wheels with two tone black/smoke tint wheels



My car is PPF and I only wipe it down after blowing the brakes first and then blow the car a second time before wiping it clean. That doesn't sound right

 

I have a 2023 JCW convertible and the brake dust is minimal. Not sure why yours is doing this.

 

I wouldnt ever wipe a car down. If it is not washed, you will be grinding mad lines into the paint. If you PPF, you really shouldnt do that. This post probably does not make you happy but it's the truth.

 

Thanks... I've been doing this for over 30 years and never have had a problem. You just need to know how to do it the right way.

 

it looks like those pads do not fit my 24 JCW per Mini parts look up.

 

for newer models, I would suggest contacting Brembo directly for a definitive answer for pad options.