Hey everyone. I've got a 2004.5 6mt Coupe and I was wondering how you guys clean the stock wheels. I mean, do you guys take the wheel off during every carwash and clean the inside of the rim as well? I have never done this and when I washed the car recently I noticed a good amount of brake dust that has collected there? Just wondering what everyone does. Thanks!

 

On my 18's I use to be able to reach behind with my wheel wash mitt and clean the backside of the wheel. I recently found a very inexpensive tool at a drugstore that works great for this! It has a plastic handle and very soft sponge ball thing at the other end. The sponge is not abrasive at if fits awesome behind the wheel to clean the calipers and all the hard to reach areas ( I think the sponge thing was made to clean glasses and cups) Look in the kitchewares dept. My advice is that SOAP & WATER is your best bet! If you wanna go crazy - one day take each wheel off and clean the hell out of it, dry it and wax it with a good synthetic wax (Zaino, Rejex, Etc) It will make future cleanings much easier! If you don't want to go too crazy, you can leave the wheel on and just wax the face of it! It will still help! Just be sure you removed all the brake dust before waxing!

 

Someone recently suggested spraying "Simple Green" all-purpose cleaner on the wheels and letting it sit for a few minutes; then, using your sponge with soapy water to clean the wheels. I tried this and the brake dust, grease, and road grime definitely seems to come off much easier. My wheels look much cleaner, and the Simple Green stuff is inexpensive compared to the other special "wheel cleaners" and can be purchased at most supermarkets and Wal Marts, Targets, etc. I would recommend trying it.

 

I use a washmitt to get back there...

 

Thanks for the advice. I will try and find those sponge things...thanks again!

 

Your best bet is to use soap and water , dont spray chemicals on your rims, your rims has clear coat on them like your car and chemicals will hurt the clear, i dont care what they say, also you can take a car wax and put it on your wheels and this will make it much more easy to clean the wheels and alsogive that shine to your rim. Only chemical i use on my car is a degreaser on my tires (like simple green or castral power clean ) and a wire brush, be careful with the wire brush you can slip one time and you got some harsh scratches on your rims. hopes this helps.