Is it just my car or do all the XF's have what seems to me to be very excessive brake dust accumulation? I can't believe how quickly and how dirty my wheels get .

 

I agree!!

I took mine out and only drove about 30 miles over the weekend -- mostly on the highway. Looks like I was at the track all day.

One of the folks that was looking at it even told me I needed to clean my wheels!

 

Jaguars are notorious for brake dust. I had the same problem on all three I've had. When it comes time to change brake pads you may want to try Akebono pads. They seem to produce a lot less brake dust.

 

Same problem with my XJ8 and XKR.

Tim

 

Well at least I am not alone!
Misery loves company!
I guess its a good thing I did not get the Caravela wheels with twice the number of spokes!
Thanks for the replacement tip, I wonder how long the brake pads will last putting off that much dust?
Paul

 

You guys need to get over to the Wheels and Tires section. There has been a lot of positive reaction there to the new wheel coat product from Armor All. It is not a 100% fix to brake dust but it sure beats a brake pad replacement approach. See what you think.

 

If its any consolation, everyone has the same problem unless they don't drive the car. It is inherent with performance brake pads. The bright side is that they are performance pads and they do last a while. I had the same problem with an escalade (thought not quite as bad) and my 300C SRT8 (really bad) and I did end up replacing the pads with something that was recommended on the 300c forum, worked well and didn't sacrifice performance (though I didn't run it through complete testing at the track which would have generated much more heat at the rotor).
With as many spokes as this XF has, I will probably be replacing mine sometime soon if someone comes up with a definite alternative.

 

I have just completed 4,200 miles on the odo and the brake dust has deminished substantially compared to the first 1,000 miles. It may have to do with the burnishing of the pad material to the rotors.
Also I waxed my Cygnus wheels and now any dust just comes off with a hose spray.

 

I will check out the Armor all product, Thanks!

I don't buy the performance brake pad arguement as I also own a late model Corvette with the Performance package (stock brake pads) and I don't have even 20% of the brake dust that my XF has. I will probably change the brake pads when needed but definitely go with something else than stock.

 

Simple choice: do you want to stop or do you want pretty wheels?

There are brake pads that produce less dust but they are inferior to the factory product.

Brake pads are a compromise among many factors. Most European manufacturers put brake dust very low on their list. You can fit so called "dustless pads" but you will not be able to stop as quickly, quietly and repeatedly. Just wash the car often, or, better yet, drive so as to minimize brake use as it is also good for fuel economy.

 

You could finesse the whole issue by getting graphite colored wheels

 

I am sure as evidenced by my car that Jaguar puts it low on it's list.
Both are quite possible today. I currently own one (Corvette) and I traded a Infiniti G35 which braked quite well and also had significantly less dust.

 

How much brake dust appears on your wheels depends on several factors:
(a) - the material used for the pads (they ALL erode, some faster than others)
(b) - how hard you are on your brakes (and Jags are heavy cars)
(c) - the aerodynamics of the car and its wheels.

It's (c) that is usually forgotten; the dust only gets on the wheels if the airstream through the wheel carries it there (there would be none if the wheels were solid). The brakes are completely shrouded by the wheels and how much air passes through the wheel, and in which direction, is very much a function of the car's aerodynamics. Are Jaguars different from most other cars? Seems unlikely - maybe the body and wheels are actually designed to extract air to the outside for better ventilation of the brakes at speed, but I suspect not.

On my old X-Type I tried the harder version of Ford's Mondeo pads for a while and the dust was just as bad as when using Green Stuff pads - i.e. only a bit better than the Jaguar originals. I put it down to the aerodynamics of the car and was happy that there was obviously a good air flow keeping the brakes cool.

 

I have yet to own any car, Jag; MB; Audi; Infiniti; etc, that does not produce brake dust.

It is my understanding that some manufacturers use softer brake pads (that create more dust) instead of other harder compounds (no brake dust) because of the noise form metallic pads. A trade off I suppose.

Waxing the wheels does help a great deal, but that is a pain.

 

This is quite common with euro cars. All 3 of my XJ6's have excessive brake dust, but they were nothing compared to my Saab's. I actually found that using a wheel polish (Maguires Mag and Alloy Polish) worked the best. Because its waxing your wheels. So in the same way that wax repels water off your car this does the same for brake dust.

 

Good wheel design draws air from under the car and expels it through the wheel to the outside, cooling the brakes on the way. To get the air to flow the other way would be very poor design practice for many reasons.

 

My Dad had a Benz E55, which produced a ton of brake dust. He let my brother talk him into getting those brake dust covers. The covers did cut the dust down to nexts to nothing but he also wore out the brakes faster. I think the cover cut air flow which cut down the life of the pads. Personally, I didn't like the way the covers looked behind the wheels. I rather just wash them, which starts another problem with wifey... She things I love the car to much because I always got the hose out. I hate the dust...

 

I have to agree with the general comments here. The brake dust I get on my XF is, in fact, slightly less than that observed on previously owned BMWs. What can make it seem worse is the design of the wheels. My last BMW 5 series had a wheel design that seemed to show and/or collect dust more readily than the design of the wheels on my XF. As pointed out here, airflow affects where the dust is deposited and I suspect that some wheel designs are more susceptible than others. I have noticed that in bad weather road conditions e.g. rain these more susceptible wheels seem collect more dirt in general.

Bottom line is that higher performance cars tend to require more brake effort (we usually drive them faster, or leave braking until later because they will brake faster) and hence, even if they have a harder composition material on the pad, they will produce more dust. So I wash them more often!!

 

Darker coloured wheels are getting popular, connection? The latest fad is black wheels, same colour as brake dust.

Modern brakes are designed to wear out the rotors as well as the pads. Generally you replace the rotors every second pad change or even every pad change.

Harder pads will wear out the rotors faster. Rotors are cheap compared to the best pads.