Is wheel wax/protection really worth it?
- Thread starter OCD
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nissenc1337
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- Dec 21, 2012
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The 2 best things I ever did for my BMW:
1. Re-powder coated the wheels in brilliant silver, then Opticoated them right when they they came back from the powder coating place. OC is amazing on wheels. The dirt just hoses off.
2. Changed to no dust ceramic brake pads at all 4 wheels. Yes no-dust. I say "no-dust" because I haven't seen a sign of brake dust since I changed them. The car literally went from having the worse BMW M brake dust wheels to clean, to the easiest wheels to clean overnight.
My car is an "M" model, so I was concerned the new brakes wouldn't stop well. But they are fine. These are what I used:
- the wheels went from always being filthy to being just as clean as the paint.
Here is pic of my wheels now from my garage. This is how clean they stay (I don't drive this car in rain)
The biggest waste of time:
1. Trying to keep the wheels clean with the factory pads. A few laps around the block and the brake dust was back. It was so frustrating.
So, OC does help a lot in the cleaning process, but it won't necessarily keep the wheels looking any more "dust free" between washes. I tried wheel wax and thought it was a waste if time. The reason why was I takes a whole lot of time to properly wax wheels if your an OCDetailer, and no wax holds up long enough to be worth it from the cleaning with wheel cleaning agents.
So, unless you need special race car brakes for high speed trips to someplace, the best investment for your own personal car I believe you can make is to change the brake pads if your struggling with brake dust. It's a night and day difference. OC the wheels will make any road dirt pretty much just blast off with a pressure washer.
After doing those to things, you can maintain your wheels easily with a very mild wheel cleaner, even car wash soap if you choose.
This is the real solution. Ceramic brake pads. Improve performance AND reduce the cleaning frequency of wheels of high performance cars. My brembo's last about 3 days before they need to be cleaned.
+1. Very true and it works!
OCD
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- Feb 21, 2013
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- Thread starter
- #45
The 2 best things I ever did for my BMW:
1. Re-powder coated the wheels in brilliant silver, then Opticoated them right when they they came back from the powder coating place. OC is amazing on wheels. The dirt just hoses off.
2. Changed to no dust ceramic brake pads at all 4 wheels. Yes no-dust. I say "no-dust" because I haven't seen a sign of brake dust since I changed them. The car literally went from having the worse BMW M brake dust wheels to clean, to the easiest wheels to clean overnight.
My car is an "M" model, so I was concerned the new brakes wouldn't stop well. But they are fine. These are what I used:
Isn't it crazy how far technology has come! They do help a lot.
- the wheels went from always being filthy to being just as clean as the paint.
Here is pic of my wheels now from my garage. This is how clean they stay (I don't drive this car in rain)
The biggest waste of time:
1. Trying to keep the wheels clean with the factory pads. A few laps around the block and the brake dust was back. It was so frustrating.
So, OC does help a lot in the cleaning process, but it won't necessarily keep the wheels looking any more "dust free" between washes. I tried wheel wax and thought it was a waste if time. The reason why was I takes a whole lot of time to properly wax wheels if your an OCDetailer, and no wax holds up long enough to be worth it from the cleaning with wheel cleaning agents.
So, unless you need special race car brakes for high speed trips to someplace, the best investment for your own personal car I believe you can make is to change the brake pads if your struggling with brake dust. It's a night and day difference. OC the wheels will make any road dirt pretty much just blast off with a pressure washer.
After doing those to things, you can maintain your wheels easily with a very mild wheel cleaner, even car wash soap if you choose.
Isn't it crazy how far technology has come! They do help a lot. Thank you for the advice.
swanicyouth
New member
- Mar 3, 2011
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Static? May play a minor role. The major issue is pad composition and the size (amount of friction material) of the pads required to stop the vehicle:
1. Semi metallic: contain "metal"(s). The metal is a large part of the "dust". That's why some new wheel cleaner products are targeted at iron (new 1Z, Wolfs, Griots HD, Sonax) Bad for brake dust. Hard on rotors, but last a long time. Work best when warmed up.
2. Organic: made if fibers. Also make a lot of dust. But they are softer, so they are quieter. They wear more than the rotor. Not used too much today.
3. Low metallic organics: have some metal, also a decent amount of dust. Often noisy.
4. Ceramic; made of ceramic type fibers. More expensive. Less noise, low dust, good braking. Easy on rotors. The best type out there IMO, they stop well. May not have the initial "bite" of semi- metallics, but still stop well. Really only caveat is the increase cost that I know of. Ceramic brakes can also contain a small amount of metal.
* Won't "neuter the performance" of high performance brakes, in fact they work just as well as semi-metallic in my opinion for the street if not better. But, not everybody agrees on this for some reason.
OCD
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- Feb 21, 2013
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- #48
Thank you for the break down (no pun intended). This makes a lot of sense. I think i might switch my cars over to a ceramic pad instead of semi. Maybe do one first and see how it is then do the second.
Outside the obvious of offering a protectant as an add on for customers how would you guys go about "marketing" it as an importance? How would you guys show them the importance of it? Or is it really that important (from the sound of it, wheel protection is very important imo)?
Deep Gloss Auto Salon
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- Jun 16, 2007
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swanicyouth
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- Mar 3, 2011
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You could show them pictures of BMW wheels with clear coat failure. There are enough out there. Metal gets embedded in the wheel clear coat, eventual if there is enough of it, with heat it can start to degrade the clear coat. That's what happened to me. "Protect your expensive German wheels, brake dust baked on over time can contribute to ruining the finish, coating them can make less dust stick to the wheel and makes them much easier to clean"
Or, you can show them a video of someone hosing dirty wheel with no coating (just hose) and compare it to someone hosing a wheel with OptiCoat. The Opticoat will will come out much cleaner just from a hose down. Maybe beneficial if they sometimes wash their own cars.
OCD
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- Feb 21, 2013
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- #51
I kind of figure but wasn't 100% sure. I can see how companies can play into the whole static thing as we all learn about it in grade school. I figure heat is more of a factor. Correct me if i am wrong please.
Thank you for the info! It helps a lot!
I'm not a fan of painted wheels, especially black painted wheels but that's what I have on my truck as of today.
These wheels are brand new, cost over $400.00 a piece and in these before shots they're looking a little dull...
I washed my truck using the foam gun and Detailer's Extreme Foam Formula Auto Shampoo and a Boar's Hair Brush.
At the extreme makeover, I believe Robert used Optimum G-P-S by hand and the difference is remarkable...
1987 Chevy 4x4 Monster Truck "Before & After" Pictures
nice truck Mike. I love black wheels.
Andr3wilson
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- May 16, 2012
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C5 is amazing stuff!! My friend had it on his lambo for 3 years. Multiple trips to the race track (rims got so hot that you could cook steak on them), 200mph passes on runways, lots of miles, strong cleaners, the coating was still on there strong. It is impressive stuff, great value!
Sent from my SGH-I317M using AG Online
Sent from my SGH-I317M using AG Online