I've Had It!! (brake dust covers)

TundrastruckDave · #1 (**permalink**) 07-21-2004, 01:54 PM

The brake dust from the front wheel rotors of my Tacoma are "ruining" the stock aluminum wheels!

Granted... the truck is a '95 model and I have to expect some wear-n-tear... but still... these trucks are BUILT to last... especially "if" you're as anal as I am about taking care of one!

But... in the same breath... I'm "b!tchin"... about the s#$%ty material the center caps are made out of, as well as, the paint used on them!

The problems is... once the paint starts "chipping" or (lets just say) mysteriously seems to start coming off of these center caps, the acidic materials in the brake dust LITERALLY... DISCOLORS... the plastic, which the center caps are made out of!

The set of center caps that came on my truck were a dark color (black or dark gray) and once the paint began to come off, it REALLY looked like s*%#! All that aluminum with huge black spots in the center which "mutate" into almost a solid black cap over time!!

So, I bought another set off e-bay and in the process... got screwed rather "royally"... since these caps ALSO had chipping paint! Only difference was... these caps were made from a very light colored plastic... and with a little "lighting" by the seller... you couldn't see that the paint was already chipping!!

Anyway, once I got them on my truck, they SURE looked MUCH better than my originals, since (as I said) the originals were made from a darker plastic. HOWEVER... after my first "regular brake dust cleaning" I began to notice that the brake dust, was LITERALLY discoloring the (light colored) plastic which the center caps were made of!!

Now three months later... these are JUST as bad as my originals are! Far as I'm concerned... it WOULDN'T do one damn bit of good to "repaint" these things...simply because... in NO time flat... the paint would be chipping... yet AGAIN!

With all my "complaining" out of the way, I'll get to the point of this post.

I've been looking into these brake dust covers made by Kleen Wheels and I've heard both... the pros and the cons (related to heat and that they warp the rotors)... but I've never really consider these things until I began to accept the fact, that I was fighting a NO WIN scenario!!! I (just recently) had a $300 front brake job done, which included new rotors and now... the friggin' brake dust is WORSE than ever! I guess I should have considered those "dustless" brake pads... but I was already in a pickle for $300 worth of pads and rotor replacement, at a time when I LEAST could afford to do so... but... I didn't have much choice!

Anyway... I'd like to ask the TS body... what "your" take/opinion is... on these Kleen Wheels brake dust covers? ARE THEY WORTH IT?! And MORE important... do you believe, they'll warp rotors!

The following is a quote from Kleen Wheels website:
DO THEY EFFECT THE BRAKES?
Customers often question whether Kleen Wheels have an effect upon the braking system.

Consider a Mercedes-Benz as factory delivered in Germany, usually delivered with a steel wheel and a stainless steel hubcap as standard equipment. Does this wheel/hubcap design allow for any passage of air through the wheel? If an American customer were to buy the same vehicle in the United States, where we usually find the vehicles come standard loaded with alloy wheels, and the customer installs a pair of Kleen Wheels (an inside hubcap) into the alloy wheels - would there be any more or less air circulating through the wheels than the vehicle was originally designed for with a steel wheel and an outside hubcap? The same amount, of course.

Your thoughts, opinions and other inexpensive ideas (i.e. not having to buy chrome wheels or new brake pads) would be greatly appreciated...

Dave

KLS · #2 (**permalink**) 07-21-2004, 01:58 PM

Buy low-dust brake pads. Huge difference. Keep a coating of wax on the wheels.

Ken

TundrastruckDave · #3 (**permalink**) 07-21-2004, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KLS

Buy low-dust brake pads. Huge difference. Keep a coating of wax on the wheels.

Ken

Ken,

Unfortunately, that's just really not a viable option at this point.

Like I said... I've JUST replaced the brake pads AND the rotors less than 3 month ago! I'd be... just simply... "buring money" to go out and buy MORE new brake pads at this point!

Dave

Desertnate · #4 (**permalink**) 07-21-2004, 02:36 PM

Compared to my German built sedan, our Sequoia doesn't put out 1/10 of the dust the German pads do (I have since gone to low dust pads), I asume my truck and yours have similar dust output. The problem is the acidic nature of the dust and as is the case of my car, the dust acutally ate away the paint and created tiny black pits in the finish.

The only real solution I have found was to put a good coat of a durable wax on the wheels and wash frequently. I have often done a "quicky" wash of the wheels and nothing else in order to keep the damage to the wheels at a minimum.

I truly dislike Cleanwheels do to heat dispisation probems they can cause. Before installing them, you may want to see if they will void your warranty, as is the case with several auto makers.

GaryFisher · #5 (**permalink**) 07-22-2004, 08:13 PM

why not get a new set of wheels? Those wheels are almost 10 years old granted they shouldnt be doing what you say they are doing but still nothing wrong with a few presents to thyself.

TundrastruckDave · #6 (**permalink**) 07-26-2004, 02:14 PM

Thanks to all who've given their input thus far.

But... so far... all I've read is either new dustless shoes or aftermarket wheels. As I said in the first post... "neither" of these are viable options at this time! I've JUST put new shoes AND rotors on (at $300) just about 3 months ago now! And... since this is my daily comuter, I don't want to plunk a small fortune down on a new set of "nice-n-shinny" new wheels, which I'll never recover the cost justification in "if" I ever do decide to sell or trade this truck.

Only one person (thus far) has given me their opinion of the "Kleen Wheels" brake dust covers, for which I started this post to get other TS members opinions' on.

Hopefully others will offer their 2¢ worth...

Thanks

peid · #7 (**permalink**) 07-26-2004, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TundrastruckDave

Hopefully others will offer their 2¢ worth..

My $0.02 is to wax the wheels and wash the truck atleast twice per week.

Sure you'll still have brake dust, but it shouldn't eat your wheels away.

Desertnate · #8 (**permalink**) 07-26-2004, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peid

My $0.02 is to wax the wheels and wash the truck atleast twice per week.

Sure you'll still have brake dust, but it shouldn't eat your wheels away.

This is the best advice here...

As I mentioned before, I don't trust the Clean Wheels shields. The only real option is to use a durable wax or a product like Klasse or Zaino on the wheels to reduce the ammount or time spent washing the wheels. While I don't think twice a week would be needed (maybe I am not anal enough

), a quick washing is going to be the best defence from dusty looking wheels and the caustic effects the brake dust.

Of course I may be a little less sensitive to this than most. My other car is a BMW and gobs of nasty brake dust are a way of life. Each week I grumble, wash the wheels and press on.

KenRice · #9 (**permalink**) 08-25-2004, 06:18 PM

I haven't been on this board for a long time and I just read your post. I used the kleen wheels on my Supra with good results during the mid 90s. I did not feel I had any problems due to heat buildup. The only problem I had was getting the kleen wheel disc to sit "correctly" in the wheel. I had some rattling that was fixed by removing the wheel and re-positioning the kleen wheel disc. Let me know if you have any other questions.

zebra1550 · #10 (**permalink**) 08-29-2004, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TundrastruckDave

Since this is my daily comuter, I don't want to plunk a small fortune down on a new set of "nice-n-shinny" new wheels....

You hit the nail on the head...the truck is your daily commuter. I wouldn't put the energy into keeping the truck super nice when you have a 2004 tundra sitting in the garage. I've got a 1995 T100 that I bought to replace my 2003 tundra. The thing I love the most is that I don't sweat any minor scratches, dents, brake dust, ect..(on top of the fact that I don't have a car payment anymore) I do still keep the truck as clean as possible, but it's no where near the time I put into the Tundra when that was my daily driver. In a year or two I'll get another new truck, but the T100 will continue top be my daily, I dont' care what happens to it, driver. On a side note, I put a set of black steel wheels on the T100. You can't see dust, damage or discoloration on them. For $35 a wheel, you might want to invest in a set.