Black Soot

[BBoarders]

Hey all!

I have a CW Type R that I keep clean. Every wash though I see quite a bit of soot washing off of the rear bumper when I wet the car. Is this brake dust? I don’t drive it very hard and I think I’m pretty light on the brakes.

I switched to Akebono pads on my Mercedes with light alloy wheels and it’s made keeping the wheels clean much easier. I am grateful for the Type R’s black wheels.

Anyone else notice this? I’m in Texas and although it’s dusty, this stuff looks black.

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[TypeRD]

Yes. Brake dust. These brakes produce A LOT of it, even if you’re light on the brake pedal. Tis the nature of high performance brakes / brake pads.

 

[Noize]

Probably just crap from the road and dirt/dust settling on your bumper. Especially if it rained. The shape of a hatchback is notable for letting dirt collect back there.

Are your outer exhaust tips dirty, or do you have any mods? If so, soot on the rear bumper directly above the exhaust is a by-product of the combustion process.

Brake dust is typically going to be on your wheels, not your back bumper.

Regardless, it’s easy to notice on white, and I wouldn’t worry about it at all. It’s the first spot that gets dirty on my car, too.

 

[TypeRD]

Yes, the dust collecting on the back bumper (by the lift gate) is normal. I don’t know the correct terminology off the top of the dome, but it has to do with aerodynamics and air pressure. Basically, dust collects there because there’s no air flow to blow it away.

 

[BBoarders]

Thanks for the info. I figured there’s some sort of low pressure eddy back there. If I had to choose, I think I’d hope for the brake dust and not oil burning! The exhaustt tips are clean and everything is stock.

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