458 Carbon Ceramic Brake & Rotor Cleaning

Hello and welcome

Let's get right to it. Rotors and pads do not need cleaning. The pads are hidden, and unless your rotors are worn out, they should look nice and smooth.
You can wipe them down with 99% isopropy alcohol, but that is usually something you do with new discs to avoid contaminants from fingers.


Here's what you should do.
Get some wheel hangers to avoid damaging your CC rotors when removing the wheels.
Raise the car one side at a time, and remove the wheels. Give the wheels a good clean using Sonax Wheel Cleaner Plus.
Take a bucket of soapy water which should be a good strong mix of what you would normally clean the car with. If the normal ratio is 30:1, use 15:1, you get the idea.

Note, and this is very important. DO NOT USE AN AUTO SHAMPOO THAT CONTAINS ANY KIND OF WAX, SEALANT, SILICONE OR OTHER ADDITIVE!!! Only use a quality auto shampoo that contains only soap. I like Sonax Green Lemon Auto shampoo and Gyeon Bathe.
Wash the caliper thuroughly with a micro fiber sponge. After this you can give the caliper a rub down using a fine clay bar and the soapy water.
As you don't have iron rotors, you don't need harsh chemicals to clean iron deposits.

The normal weekly or bi weekly, or what ever simple cleaning of your wheels and brakes, are done just using the auto shampoo and your high pressure washer. Again, as they are CC brakes, the deposits on your wheels are very similar to what is found on your paint - don't overthink it. Keep it simple as not much is needed.

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The discs may also be "cleaned" with high pressure air from a tyre inflator.
The holes in the discs may also become full after intensive use, so you may need to "mechanically" (but always gently) clean then.

 

When washing the car, you can just hose the rotors and calipers down with water. This will and should clean out the little holes on the rotors of any clog of brake dust. I have a air compressor and I will blow out the brake dust...be sure to roll your windows up and do not breath the dust.

You can use soap on the rotors but just no soap that contains wax, silicone etc....just soap only. I have done this for years to clean out the rotors and calipers on ceramic rotors and calipers/pads. When drying the car it is good to blow out the rotors and calipers with compressed air to dry them.

1 tip- never spray tire shine on the tires as this can get on the ceramic rotors and that is bad for them, if you use tire shine just spray on a sponge away from the car and then apply a light coating to the tires.

 

I often clean my rotors with some 70-0 stops, if you feel the abs, you are braking too hard.

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:ROTFLMAO: Rolling On The Floor Laughing My @ss Off for those unfamiliar with the acronym

I cleaned mine after the first 8,000 miles.

 

5 inch long, 14mm x 1.5 pitch bolts from the hardware store should be about $3 each. Cut the heads off and you have your hangers.

 

Never go to a full stop when doing stops that displaces pad material to the disc. You might end up with uneven distribution. And if you dp it with iron rotors, you warp them.

Why do you say that it is too hard if the abs engages?

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You can make your own or get these. Basic idea is to replace one (I use two) wheel bolt so you don’t drop the wheel on the rotor when taking off the wheel. The reason to avoid any silicone cleaners is it bonds with the ceramic rotor and reduces braking efficiency.

http://www.**********.com/ferrari-m14-x-1-5-wheel-mounting-tool/


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Don't worry about getting soap on the rotors. As long as it's a good soap without additives you're fine.

Get two wheelhangers. Better control and safer. The wheel can still swing into a rotor when one is used.

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To each their own. I prefer spending less than 15 mins a few times a month and have clean cars.
1 min to hose down
1 min for insect remover
2 mins to foam
2 mins to let work
2 mins to rinse
5 mins with an air dryer
2 mins with a cloth
Result: Clean car
Much easier than slaving over layers of grit and grime accumulated over an entire season







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What foam soap do you prefer??

SV


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It depends, but for single stage hands off wash, these two are what I like

Autobrite Magifoam
The Magifoam is what I have found to be the most efficient single stage/pre wash foam. It's very good, but it is also a prewash that can take off a bit of the wax. That is simply the nature of a shampoo that cleans. I don't care what name is on the bottle or what the price is, the prewashers that cleans the best are also the ones that removes wax more quickly than the gentle stuff. This one is good for e.g every six to eight weeks for a deeper clean. If it is used often, waxes and sealants are quickly removed. This makes it perfect for a proper deep clean with following hand wash, clay, sealant, wax and the whole nine yards.

For week to week quick hands off wash, I like Sonax Actifoam. It is mild and doesn't remove wax and sealants. Along with a bit of bug cleaner and tar remover, this can provide a great quick result.

For classic foam wash with a quick hand wash where you foam the car and wash with the same soap in a bucket, I like the two mentioned in my previous post. They are however, not really powerful enough for hands off wash. A prewash style foam is better for that, and for that I like the Magifoam and Actifoam.

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I believe that ABS increases the heat in the brakes. I try not to engage ABS unless it is a panic situation. I think this is probably why you've heard not to go to a full stop when bedding pads. The closer you get to a full stop, the closer you are to engaging ABS and the closer you are to engaging hot pads on a stopped rotor.