Black dust?

[Dougman]

I have an arctic white 2.5 sport (#1425). I have noticed that after driving a short distance, a light black dust starts to build up on the rear of the car (and to a lesser extent behind the front wheels). If you drag your finger along the rear fender after driving 20 miles, it will come up black. If I use detailing spray every few days the towels turn black.

I am assuming that this is the tires wearing away?? Have any of the rest of you seen this, and does it go away? I have the Yoko Advan 07's. It really builds up heavily under the rear clamshell on top of the PEM and Battery.

Thanks for the continuing advice to a new owner.

 

[Nvbob]

We have the same thing occurring here in Tahoe. I believe that it's just road dust (I could be wrong). We take care of it by using a "California Duster" to wipe down the car every day when we get home. We have a buddy with a black corvette who tells me the same thing happens to his car.
btw - we have a silver 2011 2.5 #1256 (and are loving it!)

 

[augkuo]

Same here - I guess white cars just show the road dust more. My arctic white Roadster and Honda Civic have the same problem.

I have an arctic white 2.5 sport (#1425). I have noticed that after driving a short distance, a light black dust starts to build up on the rear of the car (and to a lesser extent behind the front wheels). If you drag your finger along the rear fender after driving 20 miles, it will come up black. If I use detailing spray every few days the towels turn black.

I am assuming that this is the tires wearing away?? Have any of the rest of you seen this, and does it go away? I have the Yoko Advan 07's. It really builds up heavily under the rear clamshell on top of the PEM and Battery.

Thanks for the continuing advice to a new owner.

 

[W.Petefish]

Short distance... more like 2 blocks for me. I think this may have something to do with electrostatic charges building up on the CF body. The current remedy is to wash regularly.

 

[NigelM]

It happens on blue Roadsters also. When it gets noticeable I prefer a quick spray with the garden hose to wiping the dust/dirt with a cloth (avoids scratching the paint).

 

[Jaff]

Arctic White 2.5 2010 here...running the Yoko AD07's...don't have this problem at all...maybe you're not driving fast enough? :biggrin::wink:

I wash my car weekly, but do not get the black dust build up on my microfiber cloths that you're describing...I get some, but it's very little...

 

[chuckn]

Tires?

I've had a few cars with sport tires, and they often had a film of what appeared to be micro particles of tire. It's softer and less gritty than road dust.

 

[Dougman]

I've had a few cars with sport tires, and they often had a film of what appeared to be micro particles of tire. It's softer and less gritty than road dust.

Yeah, that seems like it's what's going on. It's incredibly fine. I don't recall having seen this on any of my other cars--although this is the only white one I own... ;-)

 

[mpt]

I get the same… I just put it down to the Roadster being the first car that I really wash and wax! I assume it to be road dirt; dust & rubber bound together with oil however I like W.Petefish's theory.

 

[hcsharp]

You guys are lucky you don't have dirt roads.

 

[Doug_G]

Or live in an area where they're constantly building new roads and buildings...

 

[vfx]

Anyone here work in a lab?

Tire dust?
Brake dust?
Road dust?

 

[Rotarypower]

Any updated theories on this? This also happens with my 2011 Roadster Sport, Very Orange. The black particles really show against the beautiful orange body. Very annoying. I also get the coating all under the clamshell on top of the PEM and battery. Luckily, the storage area seems nice and clean.

So my theory is that the blowers are just sucking in the fine tire particles and blowing them into this area when cooling the PEM. I also have the Yoko Advance AD07s, could it be the tire compound contributing to this? But, @Jaff didn’t have the issue running same tires? Would changing to different tires help? My car is dirty on the backside also after 20 + miles. This thread is pretty old so hopefully the great roadster community has come up with a solution?

 

[Rotarypower]

This brings up another long standing question that I have had but allot of conflicting info over the years on the forum. Is there a definitive source for a detailed explanation of the airflow on the back of the car? Like a diagram showing air inlet, outlet, into PEM, around the motor, etc. are the back inlets behind the doors actually used at all? Once air goes into the PEM, where is the outlet? All this road debris getting into the PEM has been a big topic over the years but in all the lengthy threads it isn’t clear on the exact airflow design of these different systems.