tex2670

I know many CL'ers that have had the Brake TSB done say they don't notice much difference in the braking performance. But, I was thinking, I see BMWs, Audi's, Benz's, etc. with plenty of brake dust, and it's been that way for years. There must be a reason Lexus went with these brakes, even though they produce dust. Do European makes offer substitute pads to reduce dust?

Andoskyy

iTrader: (1)

I think most BMW and Audi drivers buy their cars for performance/handling reasons, thus they are willing to deal with a little brake dust if it means they'll stop a foot shorter.

lexus=luxury, and I guess people expect brakes not to give off a lot of dust??

Doesn't bother me at all. I love cleaning my car, and am more than happy to take the time to wash the rims

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

They won't stop a foot shorter, and SAE noted this is a chief complaint area for European car buyers in the US. Their service advisors are better at forcing their customers to accept a lot of dust as normal. Anyone who actually knows anything about brake pads chucks the OEM pads for Hawk HPS, Carbotech, or Porterfield brake pads with less dust and equal performance. Lexus was just nice to us and decided they would take care of it instead of forcing us to use aftermarket parts.

FiveOhNine

Equal? I am about to switch mine and was hoping for better performance out of those you mentioned, otherwise I'll just do the TSIB.

Evitzee

That brings up the next question.....Why do US drivers of performance cars (European or Japanese) complain about the brake dust when European drivers accept it? Is it because Europeans drive their cars harder in more challenging situations and appreciate the brake performance more? And US drivers are more into the look of the car rather than the performance? Just wondering why the markets react differently.

Are pads with less brake dust more expensive? If they are similarly priced and offer comparable performance I wonder why manufacturers just don't go to the pads with less dust. But maybe the Europeans would then complain that the braking isn't as good since they are not seeing dust. There just would seem to be some fundamental reason why manufacturers seem to choose pads that make dust as OEM. Is it price or performance driving the selection?

ewelty

Before the IS350, my last 3 cars were BMWs, 2 3-series and a Z4. The brake dust is just part of living with them. Say what you will, but it only took one emergency stop where I missed another car by about 2 inches that I stopped griping about dust and learned to live with the braking system. I guess those cars trained me to live the IS350 and the constantly dirty rims.

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

^^^^^ Agree in other brands of cars.

But dont forget about the LEXUS Slogan:

The Passionate Pursuit of Perfection

When you see the car with clean rear wheels vs. dirty front wheels covered with brake dust will not be considered as "PERFECT".......

That's the dilemma?!

sirkfc

I just live with my dust. I don't drive hard enough to hopefully ever need their full potential, but I'd hate to throw away a perfectly good set of parts I paid for that's in working condition.

I know some members here are obsessed enough with their cars to be washing it once every 1 or 2 weeks, so hopefully those aren't the same members complaining about the dust since they wash weekly anyway...

nighthawk

i got the TSIB done and love not having dust anymore. The breaking performance is the same...well almost...maybe a little worse but its still very good. I had them do the TSIB last wed. and its been a week now and the front wheels are still just as clean as the back ones!!! I like driving around a clean car and the performance price isn't really effected to much. If I noticed a substantial differance I would have taken it back and told them to put the old type back on.

My .02 is to just get it done and live with a clean car.

fdelement

iTrader: (1)

IMO hating brake dust is like hating CO2 that comes out of your car, its normal! All aggressive brake pads produce brake dust.

IS_NIICE

iTrader: (1)

question: i wanna keep the current pads. so when i take my car in for new brake pads. do they put the new ones or keep the current ones.?

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

I, for one, will not keep OEM brake pads if they were too dusty.

I'm happy Lexus had an alternative brake pad for the IS. I hope others provide the option as well.

And that's all that it is: an option. Lexus has it. Hopefully, the competitors can provide some as well...

VF84

i've only had less than 100 miles on it and the rims are already dusty.. seems kinda excessive compared to my other cars.

kindred6ul

I have had the TSIB done for almost 2 months now. Argue all you want breaking is just as good and it actually saved me multiples of times without having to look at caked up rims.