Brake pad choices? Stock + BBS wheels = Cleaning nightmare

[Mccarlin]

i HATE brake dust, especially owning a silver car
I spend 30+ minutes just wiping down the ACR (BBS) wheels and i can drive around the block and they will have a coating of brake dust on them already. The rims are a PITA to clean already but the brake dust isnt helping the matter

What are my choices for some better brake pads? something that wont leave my car and wheels coated. I dont need any road race pads or anything crazy.

thanks

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

EBC Green pads give off the least brake dust, but from what Ive read on here (I have no personal experience), dont stop as well as stock pads

 

[thebigsnake]

Choice # 1 park car in show room and don't drive it.
Choice # 2 stop staring at your wheels and wash car weekly.

 

[Mccarlin]

Choice # 1 park car in show room and don't drive it.
Choice # 2 stop staring at your wheels and wash car weekly.

#1 will never happen, i drive my car
#2 will never happen cause i take CARE of my cars i hate driving a dirty car.

 

[418viper]

Have the same issue with my wifes Merc. It's been my experience the EBC didn't stop as well as the stock pads, however they did reduce dust. You should probably go to the local autoparts store and pick up a ceramic type pad which should reduce the dust.

 

[PhoenixGTS]

Porterfield R4S (has to be the "S" which is a "street" version of their R4 race pad). Silent and unbelievably clean. I have them on my SRT-8 Cherokee and will be putting them on the Viper next week.

Link To Porterfield Pad Descriptions

 

[Saint_Spinner]

Are the stopping distances a huge noticeable difference? From what I've heard, the non-ABS Gen I & II aren't too stellar in the braking category.

I just might go Green if the changes aren't too great. How are the prices compared to OEM?

 

[Steve-Indy]

Mccarlin, we have the same ACR...and are very happy with the EBC Greenstuff pads( actually, we have them on 3 other Vipers as well)...noting that they are NOT a track pad, in my opinion.

I REALLY dislike cleaning BBS wheels !!!!

 

[2001 GTS]

EBC greens here....takes a good bit more driving to get the wheels dirty. Braking is still good though.

 

[Mccarlin]

Mccarlin, we have the same ACR...and are very happy with the EBC Greenstuff pads( actually, we have them on 3 other Vipers as well)...noting that they are NOT a track pad, in my opinion.

I REALLY dislike cleaning BBS wheels !!!!

i HATE cleaning the BBS wheels too, almost makes me want to get new wheels.


Thanks everyone! i will give the EBC green pads a shot.

 

[Schulmann]

I have tried a lot of pads and the best compromise is still Brembo ...

 

[onerareviper]

One word.


Chrome.

 

[Detlef]

Get some chrome wheels and just send your BBS wheels my way. I'll be sure to clean them regularly

 

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

The stock brakes provide goos stopping power for the street. As with most if not all performance brake pads dust is product of stopping power.

The BBS wheels(have 3 sets) take a little more time to clean. I use a cone shaped wheel cleaning brush which takes 2 or 3 minutes to clean.

I like the BBS wheels and find cleaning them just part of ownership.

 

[ROCKET62]

There hasn't been a lot of discussion about the Hawk HPS pads - which I have just put on my Gen 1 in addition to EBC rotors and Tom's rear caliper upgrade. I hope to put more miles on before starting a post, but my initial reaction is very positive.

I was somewhat concerned from some of the posts about trading braking power for less dust with the EBC greens - so I thought that I would give the Hawk pads a try. Definitely less dust than stock pads and stopping power seems to be very, very good - although this may be due to the fact that I changed rotors and did the rear caliper upgrade which also contributes to strong braking.

Initial reaction to Tom's rear caliper upgrade is that my Viper seems to "squat" when I get on the brakes instead of nose diving.

 

[onerareviper]

Get some chrome wheels and just send your BBS wheels my way. I'll be sure to clean them regularly

I meant chrome the ACR rims.

 

[95Viper]

The comments about the stopping distance and EBC's are so overrated. You were pretty specific about your intended use and they will work great. Just ensure you scuff the rotors with the 3m brake resurfacing kit or similar and brake them in properly and bleed lines. Otherwise you'll be back complaining about squealing. Also, paint the EBC's with black VHT1500.

 

[SNAKE BITE]

Just ensure you scuff the rotors with the 3m brake resurfacing kit or similar and brake them in properly and bleed lines. Otherwise you'll be back complaining about squealing.

Another option is to take them to a local shop and have the rotors turned, but just a fine cut on them. Cost me $10 per rotor.

 

[Brian GTS]

IMO, don't go with EBC Greens. I've been dissappointed with the last 2 sets of EBCs I have purchased. Somewhat less dust than stock, but nothing compared to the EBCs of a couple years ago. I e-mailed EBC and they told me the compound of the pad was changed from the original "no dust" compound. Just ordered Porterfield RS-4 pads and will be installing next week. Raybestos pads are suppose to be VERY good, but I couldn't find their QS line for a Viper.

 

[onerareviper]

The best low dust pad I have used on a everyday street car is the Akebono. I would see what they offer for the Viper. They are a true ceramic pad. No noise, very little dust. They stop great on my everyday car, but never tried them on the Viper. Might be worth a try, especially since they are very affordable.

http://www.akebonobrakes.com/

 

[Randy]

IMO, don't go with EBC Greens. I've been dissappointed with the last 2 sets of EBCs I have purchased. Somewhat less dust than stock, but nothing compared to the EBCs of a couple years ago.

They changed them??? I've been an active proponent of EBC Greens, but all of my EBC green pads were bought 6-7 years ago - I bought about four sets back in the '99-'00 time frame after having such great experiences with them both on the street and on the autocross course (I use other pads for the track), and am down to my last set, I believe. Did EBC Greens get worse in the last couple of years? Is that one remaining set I have better than what I can get if I bought them now?

 

[jk]

I have heard Axxis brake pads mentioned with high regard on several other sites (other than Vipers), but I have not seen them talked about here. Anybody use these as an alternative pad? I have heard they have both a low-dust pad and a good track pad.

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

I have a set of the EBC greens for the rear, for sale. pm me if interested.

Brakes with less dust will mean less braking power. The cure may be worse than the desease.




2005 Silver SRT/10
2000 Steel Gray GTS (sold)

 

[Ratech]

I have been using Satisfied Pro Perform OEM pads from Tire Rack for street use only and they are almost dust free. With my old original pads I got about 50 miles between cleaning. With the new pads I only have a slight residue on the rims every 200 miles and it is only a white/grey color not black like the stock pads.

 

[Mccarlin]

I have been using Satisfied Pro Perform OEM pads from Tire Rack for street use only and they are almost dust free. With my old original pads I got about 50 miles between cleaning. With the new pads I only have a slight residue on the rims every 200 miles and it is only a white/grey color not black like the stock pads.

Hmmm, i may have to look into that. How is the braking compared to the stock pads? I really would like to get something comparable and the word on the EBC greens is that you may lose some braking performance.

 

[Ratech]

They feel the same to me. But I do not have any hard Tech. data. I am satified with the performance and I would purchace them again.

 

[Brian GTS]

Randy,

Yes, they changed them as confirmed by EBC. I bought my first greens back in 2002 and installed them on my 01 GTS. To this day, still next to "no dust". Installed them on two other Vipers in 2005 and they are both completely the opposite.

You will notice that they changed their description of the greens on the website from "almost no dust" and now claim that there is "no such thing as a dustless pad". They told me they had to change the compound because 1 in 10 customers complained about a shimmying.