JUST about every time you jam on your brakes, you generate brake dust.
The dust can include carbon fibers and small metal shavings which can attach to your tires and the undercarriage of your car.
The best way to counteract the corrosive effect of brake dust is simple, according to Brian Wilson of Integra Tires.
"Make sure you wash (the rims) once a week," he said. "That's the smartest thing you can do."
As the owner of Integra Tire on 3rd Street West in North Vancouver, Wilson has been advising customers to use mild soap and water on their rims for 27 years.
Using harsh chemicals and cleaning products to wipe down the rims can be expensive, ineffective, and in certain cases can also void the warranty.
"Get the road grime and the brake dust off of them and just keep 'em clean. It's real simple," Wilson says.
The front wheels take the brunt of the damage from brake dust since they do most of the braking.
"But most people don't wash their wheels," Wilson says. "That's why you see a lot of them running around with absolutely filthy black wheels on the front and semi-filthy on the back."
While some rims are more resilient to brake dust than others, Wilson says even the best products can be broken down by brake dust.
"Even a painted finish, which is the most durable as opposed to chrome or clearcoat or polished, even a painted wheel will become pitted from the brake dust eating into the finish," he says.
Keeping the brake dust off his customer's tires is a priority at Integra, says Wilson.
"I see it every day because we're very fastidious with how we service our customers and they all get car washes, and even if they're coming in for some tire work we try to at least have the wheels cleaned for when the customer picks it up."
Wilson advises drivers to hand-wash their rims once every week or two weeks, depending on the weather.
"(It's) the best form of protection," he says. "Just keep that filth and that caustic brake dust off of them.
