How the #$%& do you clean these sidewinder wheels thoroughly? Hardest I've owned..

[Lemur]

I would love some tips on how to clean these things. I am really struggling to get into all the corners. I even bought a wheel brush but it's too large to really be effective.

[swexlin]

Honestly, I gave up! Serious. Give it a lick and a promise with some soap and water and quick detailer with a microfiber, and call it day.

[bluesrt]

the hard way, time time , only the hard way, It can be done, I do it, thin wash towel and point finger or skinny dowel rod in thin wash towel

[Lemur]

Soft Toothbrush?

[FrgMstr]

You clean your wheels? I bought black ones and put an end to that shit.

[Vprbite]

You clean your wheels? I bought black ones and put an end to that shit.

Bingo. Some call it lazy. I call it beating the system.

[ViperPete]

Remove them.

Only way i can clean the barrel part of my wheels. Its a PITA

[J TNT]

That's why I opted for six spoke. Quick to clean.

[Vipes]

Spray with wheel cleaner then pressure wash off, done.

[sparkrn]

Really!!!!! Try to clean some Gen2 ACR wheels if you think your having a tough time, but Vipes has the best method. Mothers works pretty good and the pressure washer is a must. Then take them off once a year to really clean them.

[ACRucrazy]

I removed them once or twice a year for 3 years.
I sold them and picked up a set of Gen V ACR wheel, much easier to clean! Bigger wheels, less spokes, easier to get inbetween.

[Lemur]

I have my car in a parking garage so its hard to use a hose, but I guess I could take it to a self wash with some wheel cleaner... all the self washes are in shitty neighborhoods where the car will draw a crowd of crackheads though...

Sounds like I will give in and just wash them less..

[ViperPete]

Once you clean them really good, apply some wheel wax to them. When you wash them next use a mixture of simple green and water. Spray them liberally then use a pressure washer to get in between the spokes. Also try and spray a lot of simple green into the barrel of the wheel.

Otherwise they are a pain. Even my Venom wheels are a pain and they are a lot less complex than yours. I can't get inside the barrel at all to clean them properly because the brakes are so big. I took them off recently to clean them properly and now they do look amazing, but for how long you know? I recently did a wheels-off detail because i was so annoyed with the dirty inside wheels.

Before:



After:

[LmeaViper]

I tried waxing mine, but to be honest never noticed any benefit from doing it.

[Junkman2008]

I tried waxing mine, but to be honest never noticed any benefit from doing it.

You gotta use some good wax.

Here's the deal. There are products out there that will get them clean but at the same time, are NOT safe for continued, long term use. There's a wheel cleaner out there by Eagle 1 that will get the dirtiest of wheels clean and it is almost a spray on, spray off cleaner. That's how BRUTAL it is. They make it in "different flavors." Now here comes the disclaimer and don't say you wasn't warned. You CANNOT continually use this stuff if you have chrome wheels. It WILL eventually eat the chrome off the wheel. Chrome is NOT something that you make stuff out of. Chrome has to be applied to another material. If it has been applied, then it can be removed. In the case of this stuff, it will eventually get under the chrome and start causing the chrome to bubble and flake off.

7030000_eg1_836604_pri_larg.jpg

If you have non-clear coated MAG wheels, take a wheel off and test a small area behind the wheel. This stuff can permanently stain your MAG wheels. Now the good news is that MAG wheels THAT ARE NOT CLEAR COATED can be more easily polished out. So if this stuff stains your non-CC MAG wheels, you are going to spend a lot of time fixing that wheel but at least it can be polished out. It is BEST to only test ONE WHEEL in the beginning to see what happens and DO NOT saturate a wheel without testing a small area first. The same goes for clear coated wheels. Test a small area BEHIND the wheel first and see what happens. I WOULD NOT use this stuff on a polished aluminum wheel. IT CAN STAIN THEM. They can be polished out again but man, what a headache if you have to do that.

This stuff is so effective (or brutal) that I use it to clean iron engine blocks and intake manifolds and it works like gangbusters. Sometimes, it will cause the item to whiten slightly in color. But hey, we are talking about an old car that no one is really worried about something like that as long as the engine is clean. But whatever you do, don't get it on a gasket because it will eat the gasket up.

IF YOUR WHEELS HAVE PAINT ON THEM, don't even think about it. They WILL stain the paint. Nothing to discuss there, just don't do it.

So if you want to get the dirtiest of wheels clean, that stuff will do it but if you use it long term on the wrong type of wheel, BEWARE. Another thing, DO NOT spray it on a hot wheel! The fumes will gag the living hell out of you. Make sure that your wheels are COLD before using this stuff. Even on a cold wheel, the stuff will gag you so use it outdoors.

Now once you get your wheels spotless, use a generous coat of carnuba paste wax on them. I prefer No. 915 Marque D'Elegance Carnuba Paste Wax. Wipe it on, wait about 4 minutes and wipe it off. If you leave this stuff on too long, it WILL take an act of congress to get it off. The same is true for your paint. That stuff is damn good but if you have trouble wiping it off, you have left it on too long. DO NOT use it in direct sunlight and if you use it on your paint, DO NOT GOOP IT ON. Use it sparingly.

There are THREE things that I do to help keep from having this issue. First, I NEVER wait until God knows when to clean my wheels. They get cleaned 2-3 times a week. This way, NO BRAKE DUST BUILDUP becomes an issue. If you allow that crap to sit on your wheels day in and day out with the blazing hot sun baking that stuff onto your wheels (not to mention the wheels being hot from driving), then you deserve the headache you cause. The second thing I do is wax them as I've said before. The third thing I did was buy some Wagner Thermo Quiet ceramic brake pads. These things emit about ZERO brake dust and have made cleaning my wheels with a garden hose as easy as pie. I will never use another brake pad. I drive like a bat outta hell and have NO problem stopping. At the same time, I'm not going 80 to 15 every 5 seconds.

brakejob12.jpg

Now let's talk about these brake pads. If you use your car for track purposes only, then these pads are not for you. But let's face it, a lot of you guys treat your cars like garage queens. Nothing wrong with that as they ain't 1995 Corolla's. So in reality, you don't need a racing type brake pad as ANY brake pad is going to stop your car. So if you want a damn near ZERO dust brake pad, I just named one for you. You want the pads made out of ceramic compounds as they run cleaner. The metallic pads are the ones that dust a lot and are what you want if you track your car all the time.

So there's my 2 cents from what I have experienced over the years.

The Junkman

[Lemur]

Have you compared the Eagle one wheel cleaner to Sonax? After using the Sonax I feel like nothing else comes close - but it's expensive as hell.

[cpinfdp]

Have you compared the Eagle one wheel cleaner to Sonax? After using the Sonax I feel like nothing else comes close - but it's expensive as hell.

I found Sonax to work really well as well. It's pretty much spray on and wash off. If there is anything stubborn, I've used varying sizes of wheel woolies which seem to work well for the nooks, I just worry about scratching the finish, even with two buckets.

I haven't really waxed or polished wheels, but I think it's probably worth a shot.

[Junkman2008]

Have you compared the Eagle one wheel cleaner to Sonax? After using the Sonax I feel like nothing else comes close - but it's expensive as hell.

I have some Sonax products but have not used them to date and yes, they are VERY proud of their products when you look at what they charge. With that said, I would stroll over to Auto Zone or Wally World a thousand times to get that Eagle 1 product for a quick fix and them properly maintain my tires from that point forward.

[cubican]

Côte your wheels with cqwartz, after that just hose them off works great.

[LmeaViper]

Ok some good tips in here.

[jns681186]

I also take them off, but once i see the brake dust, and dirt starting to pile up inside, I take them off and take the time to do it, but I agree they are not easy wheels to clean.

[Junkman2008]

Preventive maintenance is worth a pound of cure.

[ViperPete]

Thanks for the post Junkman. I was looking for some low dust pads and i think you solved my problem.

[Junkman2008]

Them puppies are really LOW dust.

[ViperPete]

Them puppies are really LOW dust.

That's what i have been looking for. I wont track this car so super grippy pads don't matter to me. A clean car matters more. Where did you buy them from?