[miiipilot]

Hey all,
I'm experiencing levels of rage never thought possible washing my car and i need advice before i push my '24 M2 off a cliff.

Besides changing to iSweep2000 or buying new $5000 wheels, how do y'all clean your wheels

Can you post tools (with links) that allow you to clean your wheels thoroughly & quickly. My wheels are graphene coated but brake dust is still maddening. I use P&S wheel cleaner in a IK foam sprayer

I can't get behind the front calipers. I have to use a paint stirrer inside a thin/cheap wash mit. Still bunches. I have wheel woolies but the smallest one isn't long enough for the barrels but the larger ones won't clear the rotors. The spokes I use detail brushes and still can't it all. Behind the spokes too

Any advice would be awesome

[Yuille36]

Okay here we go, first my wheels are ceramic coated, and I have low dust pads but that doesn't eliminate all the dust.
So, I use Sonnax Wheel cleaner with wheel woolies, if I can't get behind the calipers I don't worry about it, because the next time I might.
Then I use a foam cannon with foaming soap to spray then again, before moving on to the car.
I use this foam toilet bowl brush from a dollar store to get into the spokes of my 666M wheels. I really don't find it to be much of a pain anymore.
Besides this is my therapeutic time with my cars. And I really enjoy washing them, and putting on my indoor car cover.
Only to take the cover off another one of my cars.

[BWBike]

I wish that with the technology these days, they could invent a brake pad material that stop well but doesn’t produce any dust (that sticks to the wheels).

I found the best way is at least once a year to remove the wheels and deep clean everything. But that is a lot of work.

[scubajim]

The old saying "a labor of love". I remove them once a year as well to clean and wax the inside. The ceramic pads do reduce the density of the buildup. I used to use Sonax but I found Griots heavy duty wheel cleaner to cost less, and it smells a lot better. The constant question I see here is getting under the caliper. I have some brushes I purchased on amazon that fit but I also have 19" rims and a standard caliper. Get a nice plastic stool, get the music playing and sit your ass in front of the wheel.

[NSXR]

1. If your car is a pure street car get rid of the OE brake pads ASAP and get something like the CarboTech 1521. This will cut your brake dust by 80% and at least double the life of your rotors.

2. Ceramic coat your wheels.

3. Buy the correct wheel cleaning tools to make the job easier.

4. If you can afford a '24 M2 you can afford a $3500 set of much easier to clean (and definitely lighter) wheels.

To do it right you should follow all 4 steps.

[DocL]

Switch to Akebono pads. They have 90% less dust, and makes cleaning my 666 wheels of the devil much easier lol.

[bosstones]

If your wheel style is '666', what did you expect?

[NSXR]

Originally Posted by DocL

Switch to Akebono pads. They have 90% less dust, and makes cleaning my 666 wheels of the devil much easier lol.

Akebono pads aren't available for the G87 because of the size.

Originally Posted by bosstones

If your wheel style is '666', what did you expect?

I believe they're 930M's.

[JerseyM3]

What wheel cleaner does everyone use to remove the brake dust?? I've used a host of stuff from cleaners to iron remover. I'm waiting on my 25 M3CX and I opted for the full painted black rims so I don't want to damage them.

[egparson202]

There’s a lot of good advice already shared. One simple thing I sometimes do, is make no attempt at all to clean the wheel in the caliper interference zone on the first/main pass. Once that’s done, just roll the car 18” and the remaining dirt is usually easily accessible.

[miiipilot]

Originally Posted by scubajim

The old saying "a labor of love". I remove them once a year as well to clean and wax the inside. The ceramic pads do reduce the density of the buildup. I used to use Sonax but I found Griots heavy duty wheel cleaner to cost less, and it smells a lot better. The constant question I see here is getting under the caliper. I have some brushes I purchased on amazon that fit but I also have 19" rims and a standard caliper. Get a nice plastic stool, get the music playing and sit your ass in front of the wheel.

30-45mins a wheel, while wrenching my back getting "west-side" fingers is not it 😢

[NSXR]

Originally Posted by miiipilot

30-45mins a wheel, while wrenching my back getting "west-side" fingers is not it 😢

Mine take about 2 minutes each. The best part is that my hand is small enough to fit between the spokes so I can get the barrel as well.

[miiipilot]

Originally Posted by NSXR

1. If your car is a pure street car get rid of the OE brake pads ASAP and get something like the CarboTech 1521. This will cut your brake dust by 80% and at least double the life of your rotors.

2. Ceramic coat your wheels.

3. Buy the correct wheel cleaning tools to make the job easier.

4. If you can afford a '24 M2 you can afford a $3500 set of much easier to clean (and definitely lighter) wheels.

To do it right you should follow all 4 steps.

Looking to get iSweep2000s

They are graphene coated

Ive got a bunch of tools, but was looking for actual tools others have used to help (that Dollar Gen foam brush looks like it'll work)

Seriously? Not helpful

[miiipilot]

Originally Posted by bosstones

If your wheel style is '666', what did you expect?

2024 M2...930 style i think

[miiipilot]

Originally Posted by JerseyM3

What wheel cleaner does everyone use to remove the brake dust?? I've used a host of stuff from cleaners to iron remover. I'm waiting on my 25 M3CX and I opted for the full painted black rims so I don't want to damage them.

I use P&S wheel cleaner

[Yuille36]

So, I've got these 2NH calipers from an M3 equipped with the Carbon Ceramic Brakes (CCB) setup, and it turns out Akebono doesn't even make pads for them. I'm currently running Dynamic Friction low-dust pads for now, but I've been eyeing Carbotech. I actually called them up this morning, and the lady there gave me the whole rundown on their pads. The pads alone will set me back $563, if they work as advertised it will be worth it, because the 666M wheels take the most time to clean, out of my three vehicles.

[visionaut]

Yeah, those look like a PITA.

Still prolly not as much ‘fun’ as cleaning these old schoolers… (really only doable well once removed.)

[miiipilot]

Originally Posted by visionaut

Yeah, those look like a PITA.

Still prolly not as much ‘fun’ as cleaning these old schoolers… (really only doable well once removed.)

I wouldnt care about the barrels or calipers of those bc even if it's 1/2" thick, you can't see the build up.

[bosstones]

Originally Posted by miiipilot

2024 M2...930 style i think

Ah....yeah, those don't look fun.

Originally Posted by miiipilot

I use P&S wheel cleaner

Is it Brake Buster that you're using? If so, I was underwhelmed by it. It's a light cleaner and, personally, I saw no value in it over using car wash.

Sonax Beast and Griot's Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner work well. The Griot's is a little more economical and doesn't have a sulfer-y smell.

As others have said, ceramic pads should help w/ dust. I run Akebonos on my N55 X1 and the difference from OE is night and day. I do feel the brakes having less initial bite and feel they are a little softer but it is good for what it it. Haven't made the switch on the Moupe or C4S yet as I like the bite w/ steel/composite pads and it gives me something to bitch about.

[miiipilot]

Originally Posted by bosstones

Is it Brake Buster that you're using? If so, I was underwhelmed by it. It's a light cleaner and, personally, I saw no value in it over using car wash.

Sonax Beast and Griot's Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner work well. The Griot's is a little more economical and doesn't have a sulfer-y smell.

As others have said, ceramic pads should help w/ dust. I run Akebonos on my N55 X1 and the difference from OE is night and day. I do feel the brakes having less initial bite and feel they are a little softer but it is good for what it it. Haven't made the switch on the Moupe or C4S yet as I like the bite w/ steel/composite pads and it gives me something to bitch about.

I don't mind having to use a lil elbow grease, so product wasn't the issue. Unless ur recommendations require ZERO agitation. This issue was tools to clean the barrel esp behind the calipers. Also behind and between the spokes.

[Yuille36]

First off, my wheels never get that dirty. My only issue is that there isn't any device that can get behind the front calipers to clean the barrel, as space is very tight, so I have to move the car forward or backwards to get at it. Even my wheel woolie can't fit.

[SteveYem]

Originally Posted by DocL

Switch to Akebono pads. They have 90% less dust, and makes cleaning my 666 wheels of the devil much easier lol.

I have Akebono Euro pads and just swapped my 666M wheels back onto the car last week. I haven't driven the car much and I do see a small amount of brake dust and road dirt starting to accumulate, but in my specific case where I wash the car every couple of weeks any drive maybe only a few hundred miles in between, the relatively light buildup described above ought to come off by just spraying them with Sonax Full Effect (or similar product), letting them sit for 5 minutes, and hitting them with the pressure washer.