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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 F10 Technical Topics DIY Guides & Discussions F10 Cleaning Wheels, Tires and Wheel Wells
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      08-07-2010, 12:25 AM   #1
gatoman39
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F10 Cleaning Wheels, Tires and Wheel Wells

F10 Cleaning Wheels Tires and Wheel Wells.
Use gloves, eye protection, knee pads, and proceed at your own risk. The wheels are heavy, so use caution.

While car is on ground loosen bolts , just crack them using a breaker bar & 17mm socket.
1. Jack 1 side of car place jack stands under car for back up, and remove bolts, pull tire off of hub, set aside.
2. Meguiars Wheel Brightener for rim and Meguiars APC (All Purpose Cleaner 4:1 solution) for tires.
3. Dry Wheel using blower or compressed air. Wipe down excess with microfiber towels.
4. Apply Meguiars Last Touch to get off residual brake dust, with MF towel.
5. Apply Meguiars Paint Cleaner to both side of rim, using MF applicator or applicator sponge, remove immediately.
6. Apply Wheel Wax to both sides of rims with MF applicator or applicator sponge. Allow to dry 20mins.
7. Remove wax with MF towel and buff to a high shine.
8. Use Meguiars APC 10:1 to wipe down wheel wells. Check for anything leaking or looking askew.
9. Lift wheel back to hub. Screw bolts back into place using a star pattern, tighten just enough to keep the hub in contact with the rim.
10. Remove jack stands, place car back to earth. Following the same star pattern torque each wheel bolt 103 ft-lbs.
11. Apply Meguiars High Endurance Gloss to tires using tire swipes. (or skip for matte look)
12. Repeat other side of car.
13. Bask in you own glory with an adult beverage.

Before:



AFTER





** What I learned:
-Rims are made in Hungary.
-There are air channels in front of car to direct airflow to cool brakes.
-The front discs are the size of Jupiter.
-There are so many electronics and wires doing god knows what to the suspension, that I'm afraid of anything that breaks.

Last edited by gatoman39; 04-05-2011 at 09:01 PM..
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      08-08-2010, 08:42 PM   #2
blulite
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So how often are you planning to do this?
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      08-08-2010, 09:07 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blulite View Post
So how often are you planning to do this?
Good question. I'm hoping that the wheel wax will mitigate some of the brake dust, but after a 150 mile trip yesterday, they're already looking pretty dirty. I spoke to someone last night about the issue.
1. He said he thinks something in German laws whether it's environmental or pedestrian related, or what ever is the reason for such heinous brake dust on German cars.
2. On his Mercedes, he swapped out the pads for ceramic pads and says the brake dust problem is much better with after market ceramics pads.

Any thoughts?
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      08-08-2010, 10:18 PM   #4
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Wow that's very clean but way to much work. You take great care of your car based off the threads you've posted so far. I buy any of your used cars
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      08-09-2010, 12:05 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by LACSTER View Post
Wow that's very clean but way to much work. You take great care of your car based off the threads you've posted so far. I buy any of your used cars
In some ways it's easier to clean the wheel off the car, then on the car. If you have the right tools it's kind of a push.
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      08-11-2010, 07:40 AM   #6
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Awesome!

I thought I was the only one that cleaned and WAXED my wheels off the car. Co workers think I'm nuts..........maybe I am.

Only trick I would add is to use a slight amount of Anti-Sieze compound to the wheel surface that mates to the iron rotor. My dealer was doing this years ago and got me hooked on the idea. It not only prevents galvanic action between the aluminum and iron, it keep the aluminum from coroding on that surface and makes for easier wheel removal. Can't for the life of me remember the brand name right now, but it is gray in color and come in a gray plastic bottle. A little goes a long way so use sparingly!

Question.....Can you identify the cooling radiator that resides behind the plastic grate on the front wheel well? Could this be the Oil cooler perhaps. Great pics by the way........am dying to get my car and look all underneath and at the new suspension setup.
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      08-11-2010, 07:52 AM   #7
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BMW brake dust is simply the price you pay for how superior their cars brake in comparison to most others in the automotive world. Yes, you can put on other brands and types of pads, but in most cases, something will be lost, such as brake feel or performance. BMW uses a fairly agrressive pad (at least from my e36 and e39 experience) that not only degrades the pad but also the rotor.....a lot more than most cars. I know some have also put on the brake dust sheilds but tend to think that these don't allow the heat to disipate and therefore are not good to use. (Plus they are a PITA to get on with the wheel. Personally I can deal with the dust as I usually wash my car weekly. Worse for me is the fact that the tiny microscopic pieces of brake dust Iron particles get imbedded in the paint on the back end of the car and rust. That's one reason I always clay the car before waxing. This procedure picks this up. (I have a white car, so these specks are a lot easier to see.)
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      08-11-2010, 11:01 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ghueser View Post
Question.....Can you identify the cooling radiator that resides behind the plastic grate on the front wheel well? Could this be the Oil cooler perhaps. Great pics by the way........am dying to get my car and look all underneath and at the new suspension setup.
I don't think it's an oil cooler, but I will have to check it out again. I will let you know. If you click on my profile, I have a bunch of suspension pictures you can take a look at.
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      08-11-2010, 01:57 PM   #9
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gatoman39 - Thanks, I looked at the pictures and they should satisfy me until I take delivery in October. Like you, I still have an e39 and hated the e60 (although it grew on me as well)........waiting for the new car to come out. As usual, these are works of art underneath the car. Once again, great pictures.
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      08-11-2010, 02:48 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ghueser View Post
gatoman39 - Thanks, I looked at the pictures and they should satisfy me until I take delivery in October. Like you, I still have an e39 and hated the e60 (although it grew on me as well)........waiting for the new car to come out. As usual, these are works of art underneath the car. Once again, great pictures.
BTW, those pics are all of the rear. There is so much going on back there it scares the cr*p out of me. I'm not a mechanic, but I have some basic understanding of what does what, but the maelstrom of technology built into the chassis, made my brain hurt. I'll say this. If something goes wrong back there, taking it to Midas, ain't an option.
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      08-17-2010, 07:36 AM   #11
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Gatoman39 - RealOEM now has the F10 on it's list. I looked at the cooling system and the best I can make out is that the picture of the cooler inside the front wheelwells are of two auxilliary mini-radiators. One on each side. Either by design or cooling capacity, BMW evidently could not make do with one main radiator. As you will see on the pictoral of the system, there are an unbelievable amount of hoses and tubes for the system..........yikes.
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      08-17-2010, 08:56 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ghueser View Post
Gatoman39 - RealOEM now has the F10 on it's list. I looked at the cooling system and the best I can make out is that the picture of the cooler inside the front wheelwells are of two auxilliary mini-radiators. One on each side. Either by design or cooling capacity, BMW evidently could not make do with one main radiator. As you will see on the pictoral of the system, there are an unbelievable amount of hoses and tubes for the system..........yikes.
Cool, thanks for the heads up!
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      08-18-2010, 06:56 AM   #13
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Nice job. Some people swear by Rejex for wheels and such to protect and make it easier to clean. I personally have never tried it.

Every time you tighten a bolt, you stretch it just a little bit. That's what helps it to "bite" and lock the threads, keeping it tight. If you were to remove the wheels every time you wash the car, you would eventually need to replace your wheel bolts. Food for thought.

I usually wash the wheels every time I wash the car, but I never clean the inside unless I've got the wheel off to bleed brakes or change pads.

BMW OE pads dust horribly yes, but any pad that dusts less likely will not perform as well, as noted earlier in the thread. Brakes, like everything else in life, are a trade-off.
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      08-21-2010, 12:56 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LuvMyE92 View Post
Nice job. Some people swear by Rejex for wheels and such to protect and make it easier to clean. I personally have never tried it.

Every time you tighten a bolt, you stretch it just a little bit. That's what helps it to "bite" and lock the threads, keeping it tight. If you were to remove the wheels every time you wash the car, you would eventually need to replace your wheel bolts. Food for thought.

I usually wash the wheels every time I wash the car, but I never clean the inside unless I've got the wheel off to bleed brakes or change pads.

BMW OE pads dust horribly yes, but any pad that dusts less likely will not perform as well, as noted earlier in the thread. Brakes, like everything else in life, are a trade-off.
It's true that it's a trade off. Axxis/PBR Deluxe Plus give very close to stock feel (perhaps a loss of 5% - 10% max bite) with ZERO dust. Having done track days with the AXXIS pads and the stock pads on my 330ci sport, I felt the small loss was not significant enough to matter. I could still get the wheels to lock up with the AXXIS pads easily if I wasn't threshold braking.

If felt it was worth a small perceived compromise in braking in exchange for a huge/dramatic difference in the amount of brake dust. This will be the first upgrade I do on my F10 when that happens and when the pads become available.
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      08-21-2010, 04:01 AM   #15
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How did you learn about the rims are made from Hungary? Do you know if all BMW OEM rims are made in Hungary? Planning to get the BMW 356 rims for my F10 and just wanna know. Thanks.
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      08-21-2010, 10:41 AM   #16
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How did you learn about the rims are made from Hungary? Do you know if all BMW OEM rims are made in Hungary? Planning to get the BMW 356 rims for my F10 and just wanna know. Thanks.
Because it says, Hungary on the inside of the rims. Not sure where all the rims are made.

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      02-14-2012, 09:06 AM   #17
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The M sport rims (351M) are made in Italy.

BTW, my wife would like to thank you for the new Jack! I have been cleaning only the outside of rims for years, never would have thought to clean the whole thing off the car. It is a giant pain, but worth it when you are done. I think this is a couple times a year thing at best. Thanks for the tip.
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      02-14-2012, 09:27 AM   #18
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Originally Posted by gunship guy View Post
The M sport rims (351M) are made in Italy.

BTW, my wife would like to thank you for the new Jack! I have been cleaning only the outside of rims for years, never would have thought to clean the whole thing off the car. It is a giant pain, but worth it when you are done. I think this is a couple times a year thing at best. Thanks for the tip.
sure anytime! I found that a lug bolt guide tool helps to put these rims back on and a jack pad if you don't already have one. I bot them here:
http://www.reverselogic.us/ReverseLo...ited/Home.html
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      02-14-2012, 10:46 AM   #19
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I see this is quite an old thread but could you tell me how you jack the car up and also use axle stands for protection? I can only see the one jacking point at each wheel but once the jack is raising the car using that point, where does the axle stand go?
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      02-16-2012, 01:16 AM   #20
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The jack stand is placed by the rocker panel, but I used the jack to hold the car up and the jack stand as a back up. I am aware this is not the ideal procedure, and there looks to be a jack point under the front of the car, but I wasn't sure and am not going to be the test dummy for the jacking point.
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      02-16-2012, 08:36 AM   #21
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good work man. thanks for sharing
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