[Sp123]

Hi folks

Just a quick question!

I usually wash my car regularly, however with two young children under 3 years I don't get much time to wash my car. Hence, with the car being washed once every 4-6 weeks and continued winter driving including Christmas motorway trips to family and general dual carriageway driving with braking regularly during these types of driving, my wheel had gone 'dark' with lots of brake dust settled on. Even after washing a couple of times, speckles of brake dust had embedded into the paint of the alloy.

Is an iron x cleaner able to eradicate thes dark specs of brake dust

Or I had a thought and fancied a change of wheel colour

Has anyone changed their wheel colour?

I was contemplating a gloss black due to it hiding any visible build up of brake dust.

I have seen some x5 m sports in the dealership showroom and they had gloss black wheels as did some m3 and m4 models. They were all alpine white or shades of. My f10 is alpine white hence it got me thinking about gloss black wheels.

Has anyone seen it done any wheel colour changes on the f10. Would be interested to hear your story and view your colour of wheels.

Thanks in advance!

Ps. the wife is adamant in retaining the executive and factory appearance of the car with the original 351M wheel colour.

Regards

Sp

[MrPogle]

If by "washing" you mean shampoo and water, then a proper wheel cleaner will do a much better job. If used regularly it will remove all the black bits and keep the wheels pristine. However the longer you leave the brake dust on, the harder it is to remove. If it is very bad indeed you may indeed need to strip and repaint the wheels. Once the wheels are clean (or repainted) using a wheel-sealant helps stop them getting so dirty next time. I use Sonax Extreme Wheel Cleaner Plus (full effect) and Autoglym Wheel Protector. Both are easy to use and worth a try to start with.

If you can't get them clean, take the car to a detailer who will be able to use much harsher chemicals/techniques and still be way cheaper than a wheel refurbishment.

If the detailer says they are beyond recovery, take them to a refurber who will give you lots of options of colours and finishes. I had a car with quite dark gun-metal wheels which was great at hiding brake dust because no-one is quite sure just how dark they are supposed to be. I'm not sure gloss-black will be an easy colour to keep clean because they will go ungloss very quickly.

If your wife is so keen on the original wheels, why not get her some wheel cleaner and a brush as a birthday present.

[SEF]

Try some Bilt Hamber Auto-Wheel.
Might initially need two applications but is very effective

[Martin2C]

Originally Posted by SEF

Try some Bilt Hamber Auto-Wheel.
Might initially need two applications but is very effective

I second that, it's a fantastic product. I struggled to get my wheels completely clean when I swapped them over and tried everything including a clay bar. Now, a couple of applications of Auto-Wheel, using a brush in the areas that don't normally get cleaned (back of the spokes) and they're like new again.

[Sp123]

Originally Posted by MrPogle

If by "washing" you mean shampoo and water, then a proper wheel cleaner will do a much better job. If used regularly it will remove all the black bits and keep the wheels pristine. However the longer you leave the brake dust on, the harder it is to remove. If it is very bad indeed you may indeed need to strip and repaint the wheels. Once the wheels are clean (or repainted) using a wheel-sealant helps stop them getting so dirty next time. I use Sonax Extreme Wheel Cleaner Plus (full effect) and Autoglym Wheel Protector. Both are easy to use and worth a try to start with.

If you can't get them clean, take the car to a detailer who will be able to use much harsher chemicals/techniques and still be way cheaper than a wheel refurbishment.

If the detailer says they are beyond recovery, take them to a refurber who will give you lots of options of colours and finishes. I had a car with quite dark gun-metal wheels which was great at hiding brake dust because no-one is quite sure just how dark they are supposed to be. I'm not sure gloss-black will be an easy colour to keep clean because they will go ungloss very quickly.

If your wife is so keen on the original wheels, why not get her some wheel cleaner and a brush as a birthday present.

I am using Sonax Wheel Cleaner and Poorboys Wheel Protector but recently just a shampoo and wash as you said due to the time constraints and it has not eradicated the embedded dust. I will look into the extreme.
As for the wife, I've told her if she likes the wheels silver she should help me clean them but that's another story lol. The response from her wasn't in my favour.
Thanks for your help sir.

[Sp123]

Originally Posted by SEF

Try some Bilt Hamber Auto-Wheel.
Might initially need two applications but is very effective

Thanks for your help and reply

I will look into this product as well as Martin2c has had good results with this as well. I have the BMW alloy wheel brush to get right into the Wheels and hopefully this should work well and using the auto clean eradicate the dust embedded.

Thanks again

[Sp123]

Originally Posted by Martin2C

I second that, it's a fantastic product. I struggled to get my wheels completely clean when I swapped them over and tried everything including a clay bar. Now, a couple of applications of Auto-Wheel, using a brush in the areas that don't normally get cleaned (back of the spokes) and they're like new again.

Hi Martin

I used a clay bar also and like yourself had no joy. I will look into this auto wheel clean product and apply with the alloy wheel brush.

I'm glad you managed to get the wheels completely clean so I will definitely look into this product and appreciate your help and advice.

Thanks

Sp

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by Sp123

Hi folks

Just a quick question!

I usually wash my car regularly, however with two young children under 3 years I don't get much time to wash my car. Hence, with the car being washed once every 4-6 weeks and continued winter driving including Christmas motorway trips to family and general dual carriageway driving with braking regularly during these types of driving, my wheel had gone 'dark' with lots of brake dust settled on. Even after washing a couple of times, speckles of brake dust had embedded into the paint of the alloy.

Is an iron x cleaner able to eradicate thes dark specs of brake dust

Or I had a thought and fancied a change of wheel colour

Has anyone changed their wheel colour?

I was contemplating a gloss black due to it hiding any visible build up of brake dust.

I have seen some x5 m sports in the dealership showroom and they had gloss black wheels as did some m3 and m4 models. They were all alpine white or shades of. My f10 is alpine white hence it got me thinking about gloss black wheels.

Has anyone seen it done any wheel colour changes on the f10. Would be interested to hear your story and view your colour of wheels.

Thanks in advance!

Ps. the wife is adamant in retaining the executive and factory appearance of the car with the original 351M wheel colour.

Regards

Sp

I had my wheels painted from new Orbit Grey, they look great.

[Sp123]

WOW!!

They look amazing

Are they powder coated or painted and did you have them done by the dealership?

Thanks

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by Sp123

WOW!!

They look amazing

Are they powder coated or painted and did you have them done by the dealership?

Thanks

ELMS Bedford had them done before I picked the car up, cost me £256:00 from memory, well worth it. IMO.

[Mariusz]

Try one of Ceramic brake pads :
http://www.ate-brakes.com/products/d...ic-brake-pads/

[Martin2C]

Originally Posted by Sp123

Hi Martin

I used a clay bar also and like yourself had no joy. I will look into this auto wheel clean product and apply with the alloy wheel brush.

I'm glad you managed to get the wheels completely clean so I will definitely look into this product and appreciate your help and advice.

Thanks

Sp

You're welcome, I hope it works. Good luck!

[Sp123]

Originally Posted by JOHNBMWM5

ELMS Bedford had them done before I picked the car up, cost me £256:00 from memory, well worth it. IMO.

£256 is a very good price and the finish looks factory spec to be honest. That's a cracking deal!

[Sp123]

Originally Posted by Mariusz

Try one of Ceramic brake pads :
http://www.ate-brakes.com/products/d...ic-brake-pads/

Hi
Thanks for your reply!

This products seems ground breaking! I've heard of ceramic brakes but never pads! Are these available for use on the f10? Are you using these pads because they seem really good in terms of function and performance after viewing the website.

Let me know your thoughts

Thanks

Sp

[Mariusz]

Hi
Yes Im have them on F10 530d used before TEXTAR e-pad (ceramic) and now second set change for ats ceramic (need to replace disk). They are not real ceramic (its some mix ceramic and somthing ) but its giving me on front wheels the same amount of dust like on the rear wheels. Thats mean a lot less than the normal one.

[Sp123]

Originally Posted by Mariusz

Hi
Yes Im have them on F10 530d used before TEXTAR e-pad (ceramic) and now second set change for ats ceramic (need to replace disk). They are not real ceramic (its some mix ceramic and somthing ) but its giving me on front wheels the same amount of dust like on the rear wheels. Thats mean a lot less than the normal one.

Hi

Which discs need to be used when using these pads? And also how do you find the stopping power and durability of the pads. Are they still able to work with the sensors to show the miles left on the idrive. Did you change only the front to ats or all four pads and discs?

Thanks in advance

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by Sp123

£256 is a very good price and the finish looks factory spec to be honest. That's a cracking deal!

Thanks they do look factory TBH, I am glad I checked the wheel torques though they were sooo tight) I took all the wheels off to check and protect them and re-torque.

[Sp123]

Hi John

What is the method to check wheel torques?

I regularly have my winter and summer wheels changed on my car twice a year and wonder if the dealership is using the correct torque settings.

Thanks

[Mariusz]

Originally Posted by Sp123

Hi

Which discs need to be used when using these pads? And also how do you find the stopping power and durability of the pads. Are they still able to work with the sensors to show the miles left on the idrive. Did you change only the front to ats or all four pads and discs?

Thanks in advance

use them with normal disc- they direct replacment for your pads , working with sensors. Didnt notice any difrent in stopping power /durability .Work like normal/bmw one for me.
I put them on front axel only , no need for rear in my opinion ( low dust anyway).

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by Sp123

Hi John

What is the method to check wheel torques?

I regularly have my winter and summer wheels changed on my car twice a year and wonder if the dealership is using the correct torque settings.

Thanks

They are comfortable @ 140Nm, you can jack up the wheel so it just touch's the ground slack them off and re tighten them to 140Nm.

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by Mariusz

use them with normal disc- they direct replacment for your pads , working with sensors. Didnt notice any difrent in stopping power /durability .Work like normal/bmw one for me.
I put them on front axel only , no need for rear in my opinion ( low dust anyway).

Hi, what is the cost of the fronts please, thanks

[JOHNBMWM5]

I added these 100mm Pipes from Flee bay, I like them.