black soot on the rear of the car

[jmir018]

94SVT Coupe <--where did you buy your bumper inserts? they seem to fit perfectly.
thanks

 

[03DOHC]

Originally posted by RingTheory
03DOHC, perhaps if you would drive it every now and then Nice pic in your sig BTW. :thumbsup:

Thanks.:thumbsup:

 

[2003 Cobra]

I've noticed the black soot originating from the rear wheels, extending to the bottom of the rear wheel wells and ending up all around the rear bumper and valance panel. I think the factory rear brake pads must have some carbon material which is unloading this unsightly black dust. Next week I am going to change the rear brake pads out to see if this black soot will go away.

 

[03cobra#116]

No black soot here except brake dust on the wheels, but being lazy I did pick a color based on whether it would show dirt or not.

 

[Hunter]

No soot on my car. Thankfully.:coolman:

 

[dvarapala]

I never had this problem with my Mineral Grey '01 (at least it didn't show). But the black dust really stands out against the Zinc Yellow.

 

[ronreid03]

I have this problem on my Zinc Yellow car. It seems that the tires throw up anything onto the rear bumper shelf. Sand and dust appear almost immediatley after washing. I had the same problem on my 99 green Cobra. Perhaps we need some sort of "mudflap" if there's anything out there that is functional and unobtrusive.

Ron Reid
03 Yellow Convertible

 

[silvercoffin]

hmmm

im not sure its brake dust. I had my car in a car show and it accumulated as my car sat all day hmmmmm.

I think it comes from under the deck lid and figured it would evetually stop happening. I thought maybe it was because of the way something was consturcted or put together....

I guess it could be brake dust and it falls off the top iside of the deck lid even when the cars not moving.


Doesnt come off that easy if you let it sit there for a while which is easy to do cause it accumulates so quickly.

 

[Friendchicken]

car panels naturally attract dust particles. waxing the car will help, but your car is always going to act like a dust magnet

 

[Cobra'03]

Yes, that's right - the body gets charged from air static and rolling static, and dust is charged the opposite, so they meet and hook up, hence the dirt.

BTW, the composition of the tires can also affect this - Honda had a huge problem with the Energy MX4 tires they sourced from Michelin, which did not conduct static to groud as well as other tires, and the static caused a shock to many owners, they had plenty of gripes.

 

[f4sfed]

You all might want to check your rear alignment as well.

My toe left rear was toed in .92 degrees! It was scrubbing the tire rubber off. My rear left rear tire was showing belts on the outer edge at 4800 miles!

 

[RHEACER]

Usually, it is brake dust from the soft rear pads and road grime on the fenders. The area between the rear spoiler and lower valence is usually subject to aerodynamic turbulence which pulls dirt and debris up off the road and from the air and deposits it onto the back of the car. I have this problem with my '03 also. I had the same situation with my '97 Cobra convertible with a Saleen S351 spoiler. The area between the spoiler and valence required constant cleaning.

 

[03cobra#116]

Another reason to delete the spoiler when you order an '03.

 

[Happy 03]

No soot here either.

 

[DaveSVT03]

This black dust (rear brakes I assume) is the only good thing about having a black car ;-)

At least it doesn't show too bad.

 

[2003 Cobra]

If static electricity is causing the buildup of soot, maybe rubber strips attached to the vehicle which hang down to the road are in order. A slightly dropped angle on the exhaust tips at 45* may also help. The spoiler delete would also change the turbulence. All of these mods combined would probably eliminate the soot but would truly make the car look really tacky. In the meantime I am changing out the rear brake pads to see if this helps.

 

[2003 Cobra]

Today I washed my car and installed new rear brake pads. The factory ones are dark black, leading me to believe that the pad material is made with carbon. I put in Raybestos PGD627 brake pads which are lifetime warranty organic pads from Kragen Auto Parts.

If you are changing out the rear pads you need to disconnect the emergency brake bracket from the lower control arm for room so the cable can clear the caliper over the pads. The rear caliper pistons can be retracted with a needle nose plier as there are two indentations in the piston to place the pliers while you twist and push. Lastly the factory shims can be removed from the brake pad with a razor blade, patience, and prying.

The factory pads actually stop the car better than the Raybestos pads. I can feel slightly longer stopping distances but hope the trade off of less or no brake dust occurs.

 

[Ram Rod]

Or it could be like that Cadallac commercial, and my paint is peeling off due to the excessive speeding that I do.

:burnout:


Or maybe it is.......nah the first answer has to be it.:smmon:

 

[CobraBob]

When I had my '94 Callaway Camaro (sold it last year and now have gone Blue Oval!!!!!) I had the same problem. I believe it was more aerodynamics. I used to keep a detailing kit in the trunk for car cruises, shows, etc. I intend to do the same thing with my Shadow Gray '03 Cobra when it shows up (hopefully) in February. The black soot doesn't stand a chance!!