Opinions - Best Wheel Cleaner for BMW`s

jatleson

jatleson

New member
I`m running low on my Griots HD Wheel cleaner. Doing a winter inventory check and taking advantage of the holiday deals going on. Looking for opinions on best wheel cleaner for a BMW. Griots worked ok, but I hear these stories of wheel cleaners that are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Appreciate any suggestions.
 
For the price, you can`t beat Poorboys as Ron listed above.

Before I found Poorboys, I used Blackfire Tire & Wheel cleaner with great results.
 
Honestly, for my own car... soap and water.


On customer cars we tend to use Sonax Wheel Cleaner Plus when they are beyond dirty, otherwise we just use soap and water.

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Agree with the soap and water, that normally works for me. When I wait an extra week or after winter or wife`s car or neighbor`s or ...., I`m looking for a good goto cleaner.
 
Seal or Coat the wheels and you`ll never need anything other than soap and water.

I switched over to Pinnacle Black Diamond Wheel Coating last year. Application is easy, cleanup is even easier. The only thing I use is a little CarPro Iron X for the little bit of brake dust that doesn`t wash right off when I do my seasonal tire change.
 
jatleson said:
I`m running low on my Griots HD Wheel cleaner. Doing a winter inventory check and taking advantage of the holiday deals going on. Looking for opinions on best wheel cleaner for a BMW. Griots worked ok, but I hear these stories of wheel cleaners that are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Appreciate any suggestions.
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Hi, and welcome aboard!

You don`t mention how often you clean your wheels, but may need something truly heavy-duty if it`s only a couple times per year.

If you are cleaning your wheels along with your weekly car washes, look at the new product from Nanoskin. It`s a non-acid wheel cleaner and does a very fine job on cared-for wheels. I bought a gallon a couple weeks ago. I think it was $23 delivered and yields a total of 5 gallons of wheel cleaner. It`s by far the most cost effective wheel cleaner I`ve seen to date. It leaves the wheel bright/shiny, it`s great on cleaning rubber. I think it`s going to be a long-term winner.
 
Sonax Wheel Cleaner Plus for the dirty brake dust coated wheels. If you have not cleaned them in awhile hit the bad spots with IronX Paste and let dwell, then rinse well. Then coat or use Hydro2 every 3 months so you don`t have any problems again.
 
The best wheel cleaner for BMWs is no wheel cleaner. I dunno what BMW you have, but the best solution for most BMWs is a round robin brake job with dustless ceramic pads.

This 1 thing is the best thing any detail enthusiast can do with a BMW with factory pads. Not only will it make cleaning your wheels super easy, but the wheels` finish will not get ruined over time if you neglect to clean them frequently for whatever reason.

Not to mention, you will never need to buy a wheel cleaner again and washing your car will be easier and faster.


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The best I have found is sonax wheel cleaner plus. My brothers Range Rover is a mess brake dust wise and it is the best wheel cleaner I`ve used so far.
 
Another vote for Sonax, I compared a bunch of them, and Sonax (the green one that turns purple) is my favorite. I shouldn`t have held out when the 5gallon was on sale. But I am on a really tight budget this holiday since my raise is TBD right now... which is annoying the heck out of me, and stopping all my plans.

I clayed my wheels after too, but usually after using the sonax product, the clay bar looks clean enough to be used back on the paint of the car. seriously.... although I wouldn`t do it. other wheel cleaners however... best get a separate claybar for them.

edit: I think I have the sonax full effect, I feel the plus might be superior to the amazing full effect... I wish I had some to try tho.
 
I use Sonax full effect on mine but I usually spray with Hydro 2 after a wash. I have m performance brakes and they dust like crazy. Usually after the wash when I pull the car in the garage I see some fresh brake dust. When coated with Hydro 2 I just need a strong stream from the pressure washer and maybe some light agitation with some soap and wheel whoolies and the wheels come out great. Id definitely recommended what others have mentioned, that once you clean the wheels either coat them or regular use of Hydro2 or a similar product.
 
RaydiantDetail- Ever have any issues from the Hydro getting on the rotors? I ask because one time I got a fair amount of IUDJ on mine, ASSuming that it`d be OK- hey, it`s just a leaves-stuff-behind rinseless, right?!?... only to have the braking performance significantly compromised until I`d done a few stops. As in, compromised enough that it was a real eye-opener...
 
Accumulator said:
RaydiantDetail- Ever have any issues from the Hydro getting on the rotors? I ask because one time I got a fair amount of IUDJ on mine, ASSuming that it`d be OK- hey, it`s just a leaves-stuff-behind rinseless, right?!?... only to have the braking performance significantly compromised until I`d done a few stops. As in, compromised enough that it was a real eye-opener...
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Hey Accumulator
To be honest I have not noticed. I usually do 4 spray per wheel, up, down, left and right. I try to avoid the rotors as much as possible. But I`m sure product gets on them regardless.

Next time I wash the car and do the wheels with hydro 2 I`ll have to be more observant after I drive to see if there is reduction in brake performance till the product is stripped off.

Good to think about from a safety perspective though!

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Accumulator said:
RaydiantDetail- Ever have any issues from the Hydro getting on the rotors? I ask because one time I got a fair amount of IUDJ on mine, ASSuming that it`d be OK- hey, it`s just a leaves-stuff-behind rinseless, right?!?... only to have the braking performance significantly compromised until I`d done a few stops. As in, compromised enough that it was a real eye-opener...
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when I do customers wheels with hydro2lite or wet coat I just back it up a little bit and forward and press the brakes slightly and it shaves off the nasty yellowness from the hydro2lite/wet coat

never had anyone complain about any brake fade issues even immediately after when they left my driveway
 
Thanks all. I think I`ll give Sonax a try. I don`t use wheel cleaner every time, just when they are bad. Usually the pressure washer gets the heavy stuff off. I use Hyro2 as a coating. Will be interesting to see how well it holds up over the winter, expecting 6-10 inches of snow on Sunday.
 
jatleson said:
Thanks all. I think I`ll give Sonax a try. I don`t use wheel cleaner every time, just when they are bad. Usually the pressure washer gets the heavy stuff off. I use Hyro2 as a coating. Will be interesting to see how well it holds up over the winter, expecting 6-10 inches of snow on Sunday.
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FWIW, from my experience on my own wheels (on my SRT) which I use hydro2lite and wetcoat on to protect.... if you dilute poorboys spray and rinse wheel cleaner 1:1 it will clean them even when decently dirty and not affect the protection
 
512Detail- OK, thanks for the response. I was pretty surprised at how the IUDJ compromised my braking, and it wasn`t something that a quickie pull out/pull in would`ve fixed by a long shot. NEVER had that happen before (nor since as I now take precautions).

It was serious enough that it deserves a PSA! Not sure if the average untrained driver would`ve dealt with it very well.
 
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