Review of Superior Products "Dark Fury" Wheel and Bug Cleaner

**Lonnie** · 01-03-2024, 12:27 PM

My use of this particular product is an extension of the topic discussion on wheel cleaners.
Reference: Concentrated Wheel Cleaners- What`s your preference?
So rather than post my response about Dark Fury within that topic and have it get lost or buried, I decided to start this review.

It is also an extension of my own started topic about asking if anyone has used Superior Products:
Reference: Anyone Use Superior Products Inc. Car Care Products (Part 2)??

I have to give some background into why I chose to use this particular wheel cleaning product;
1) I was asked to clean/detail a 2010 Taurus for a neighbor`s friend who has borrowed it from her sister to drive after her vehicle was totaled out in an accident.
I was doing this sight-unseen and did not know the full condition of the vehicle or what exactly it needed. The friend just wanted as good wash and interior cleaning so she could return it to her sister in "better shape" than when she started using it. This is not the first vehicle I have detailed for her as I did a Honda of her daughter`s several year back, so she is familiar with my detailing OCD-level standards.
2) I ran out of my usual Megs D143 Non-Acid Wheel and Tire Cleaner RTU (Ready to Use; NOT the dilute-able gallon-size), so down to O`Reilly`s Auto Parts Store to buy this Superior Products Dark Fury in a 32 ounce bottle to try out and test on 2010 Taurus wheels. For $8.99 it was a bargain compared to the $14.99 for the Meg`s 143 RTU.
3) The El Nino effect on Wisconsin winter weather in early December with its far-above average on ambient temperatures (43°F compared to a normal 28°F) gave a decent opportunity to wash and clean a vehicle

I do not think this Taurus has ever been detailed, but it was quite obvious that it had been washed at automatic tunnel washes and the interior vacuumed and wiped out on occasion, so it wasn`t beyond salvaging or cleaning: it just needed some OCD TLC. I did not have a lot of time to get this vehicle cleaned, as she delivered the vehicle at 12:00 Noon on Thursday and by then temps were far above freezing (32°F). I washed the exterior and door and trunk jams and then proceeded to the wheels (tires & rims) and wheel wells.
The wheels (rims) were badly neglected. They had their usual accumulation of brake dust on the barrels and the silver rim surface was a crusty, dark brown/gold. I sprayed Dark Fury full strength on them and let it sit for a minute or two and then using a red Speed Master Wheel Brush to agitate the barrels and with an Auto Spa wheel cleaning mesh/microfiber triangular pad (great cleaning pad!), scrub the wheel face and spokes.
I did this three times on the spoke recesses and while they were better, they did not come completely clean. I used a tire brush on the tires and they did come clean. HOWEVER, one caveat to this car-cleaning product is that it is brown in color, so it was hard to tell how much was tire browning was coming off and what was just product runoff. Same goes for the brake dust from the rim. Usually with other wheel cleaning products, the run-off is dark and black from the brake dust and iron brake disc debris. Again that was disguised/blended in with the dark brown product. It did NOT remove the baked-on inner rim barrel brake dust, so MAYBE this was not the ideal wheel cleaning product for this severe brake dust cleaning application, but now I know. The inner barrel areas I could reach with the wheel pad mesh did come somewhat clean, so with a little more time and effort I MIGHT have gotten them cleaner, but spending more time was a luxury I did not have (it is completely dark outside by 4:40PM in mid-December in the shadows of "The Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field" here in Green Bay,WI! Wait a minute; How can you have shadows when it is completely dark? I digress...). I do have Meg`s D140 (Acid-based) Wheel Brightener, but refused to use something that "strong" on these rims and really wanted to see how well Dark Fury worked on neglected rims by itself.
Conclusion:
1) Good, safe product for cleaning not-so-dirty brake dust from rims
2) Good tire cleaner
3) HATE the brown color which disguises cleaning of tire browning and rim brake dust runoff.
4) Cost effective (AKA, Cheap like me, Captain Obvious) and readily available over-the-counter at O`Reilly`s Auto Parts

Recommendation: Kinda on the fence. It is cost-effective, but the brown product color is a big negative for myself.

One note on the bottle is that it says "Bug and Wheel". Not so sure I would use it as a bug cleaner. Superior Products makes a specific bug cleaner called "Bugz Be Gone". I may have to try and test that product against my usual bug cleaner Poorboy`s World "Bug Squash". But that is another review for another time. Not too many bugs in Wisconsin in December, even with the El Nino warmer weather.

And yeah, I know: A review thread without pictures is kinda useless! Just sayin`....