FSI_Power

There isn't any.

I recently traded in my 2009 A4 (B8) for a 2014 A4 (also B8) and I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised at the lack of brake dust.

My '09 A4's rims were almost instantly black again after a wash. Whereas with the '14 model I have yet to see significant deposits of brake dust after 6 weeks of ownership. Yet stopping power does not appear to be diminished.

Does anyone have any idea, what is going on?

Moviela

Just goes to show you, as you age the eyesight is the second thing to go.



The friction compound has been changed to minimize dust. There were some papers published with the SAE dealing with catalyst's in the wheel coating that make the dust slide right off. I am not sure the process is in production. The papers were from Akzo Nobel, a major paint supplier to VW.

gunsmoker

The brake pad compound was changed for MY2011.

jagtoes

Most upscale mfg's are going to ceramic pads which are very dust free and the material that does come off is lighter in color.

johnc_22

I went from a 2007 335i to 2013 A4 and the difference is night and day.

gunsmoker

The luxury car manufactures started switching to the ceramic compound in 2010.

Motor Head

Then why does my 2012 Audi Q5 still has a lot of break dust on the wheels?

gunsmoker

I don't know about the SUVs. Maybe they still need the high-performance pads because of the weight. As far as sedans, I have also 2007 IS250 and that used to make a lot of dust too. I recently changed the pads with OEM ones of the new type. Looking at suppliers, there were two choices - MY 2006 - 2009 and MY 2006-2013.
I got the latter and there was no more dust. A4 switched to the new formula with MY 2011. You can see also the BMW, Volvo, MB sedans they all switched. Porsche is sticking with the performance pads, but they offer a wheel color that doesn't show the dust - looks like crap IMHO.

FSI_Power

Gunsmoker, are you suggesting that the pads with the low dust compound perform at a lower level than the old "dusty" brakepads?

gunsmoker

It depends. The low-dust OEM pads for MY2011 are probably as good or very close in terms of braking performance to the OEM pads for MY2009. Otherwise Audi would not have changed them just for the dust alone. The new compound must be better than the old one overall. The old type was semi-metallic and the new one is ceramic. The feel is different. Semi-metalic has a very strong initial bite, whereas the ceramic does not. Hit the brakes firmly and you won't notice the difference between these OEM pads.
That said, if you look at comparison charts of different types of pads from the same manufacturer (e.g. Hawk), you will see that the more sportier the application the more the dust and shorter the longevity.

My experience has been with my wife's IS250. The duty pads definitely had a strong bite, but when I mashed the pedal I could not tell if the ceramic ones did worse. Getting rid of the dust is definitely a huge improvement. I don't track my cars although I drive spiritedly and I'd buy the low dust formula any day of the week.