Who designed these wheels?

[Maestro]

The BMW designer of these X3 wheels should be sentenced to designer purgatory. Then be required to spend their life detailing these wheels as lesson never to do this again. I’m assuming this person never spent a sec cleaning car let alone wheels,

I’m not sure what this person was thinking when they put a slot behind each wheel spoke that you can not clean without removing the wheels. If you clean these wheels before the brake dust has any chance to build up you may have some hope of not spending an hour on each wheel trying to clean them. I have yet to figure a way to easily clean these wheels.

[shimmy23]

i know the feeling. my e90 m3 had 359s with a similar slot behind the spokes. what a PITA!

[Housekeeping]

A wheel brush perhaps

[c1pher]

I have given up on trying to clean the barrels on my cars unless the wheels have to come off for some other reason. Just too much chance of scratching something and it’s near impossible to get them perfect without spending all day on them. I have better things to do. It’s not like I’m entering my car into concours events.

[GOLFFRR]

have you tried some of those wheel sprays where you just spray it on let it sit and then rinse? I have not used any of them in years but the theory still seems like it would be ideal for these types of situations

[overcoil]

for the area the original poster complained about some easy cleaning methods other than SONAX and similar spray's are...

CARPRO IronX PASTE spot applied and left to stand for 5-6 minutes.
Trying to apply and rubbing with a cheap nitrate glove will wear a hole in the finger area so be gentle and use an applicator.

Surprisingly P21 wheel cleaner can stand for up to two hours, then agitate with brush and rinse with strong water spray and the results are very good.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

My friend you just need better/more detailing tools

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

no miracle spray is going to help you remove that..

here is the reality.

soap and water and armor all are just as effective as any other brake dust cleaner....

the secret lies in your brush.

Get he EZ detail brush. now for what you post, you would need a paintbrush and small bursts of water....also water will pool there making that spot dust and build up rather quickly. its just a part of it for life. Idc anymore enough. as long as the face is clean I'm good

[nunzo]

If you're talking about that recessed area behind the spokes where they connect to the barrel, that's called an undercut. It's a means of reducing weight. Otherwise, with a heavy spoke design like that, the wheel could be 1.5-2lbs heavier.

[Maestro]

I will tell you I have used wheel cleaner and it does a pretty good job of losing the brake dust, and a wheel brush does not work on the undercut behind the spoke since you and not get it fully in the groove, I have tried and have different detailing brushes. As said it turning into an hour for each wheel if I do not remove them which I try to avoid on quick weekly clean.

I also have wash mitt that I use it allows me to get my hand through the space in the spoke to clean the barrel but you still cannot get the slot. The only affective way to clean them is to remove the wheels. When I do tire rotation I will do a thorough wheel cleaning.

The problem with brake dust, it usually cleans off pretty easily as long as you get to it before driving in the rain, then with the heat of the brakes it turns to crust on the wheels. Its been raining most every weekend around here, no weekend time to do go detail on the car.

I still have the stock BMW pads, on the first brake replacement I will be switching to ceramic pads, they produce little to no dust and little reduction in braking performance. I run ceramic pads on all my vehicles.

[Tejas1836]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

My friend you just need better/more detailing tools

This. I have at least 2-3 easy ways to clean that

[shimmy23]

for those back areas i've had good luck with a mini wheel mitt. something like OGs lambs wool wheel mitt, chemical guys stranger mitt or speed master wheel mitt works. lots of wheel mitt options

[NickyC]

Lips behind spokes are from the devil. Spokes that wide however with a lip behind? Wow.

[BMWCCA1]

Different brake pads once you get the wheels clean?

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by Maestro

I will tell you I have used wheel cleaner and it does a pretty good job of losing the brake dust, and a wheel brush does not work on the undercut behind the spoke since you and not get it fully in the groove, I have tried and have different detailing brushes. As said it turning into an hour for each wheel if I do not remove them which I try to avoid on quick weekly clean.

I also have wash mitt that I use it allows me to get my hand through the space in the spoke to clean the barrel but you still cannot get the slot. The only affective way to clean them is to remove the wheels. When I do tire rotation I will do a thorough wheel cleaning.

The problem with brake dust, it usually cleans off pretty easily as long as you get to it before driving in the rain, then with the heat of the brakes it turns to crust on the wheels. Its been raining most every weekend around here, no weekend time to do go detail on the car.

I still have the stock BMW pads, on the first brake replacement I will be switching to ceramic pads, they produce little to no dust and little reduction in braking performance. I run ceramic pads on all my vehicles.

Do you have those brushes that bend? I can easily clean that area with those type of brushes and it completely fits. If the brake dust is to stubborn I'll use some Iron X or usually I like to try my APC first as well (I use Optimum power clean).

But yeah BMW brake dust is no joke either I can't wait to try out Akebono ceramics.

[Chihuahua]

I use a 2 inch paint brush with painters tape wrapped around the metal part of the brush. Works like a champ. I'll also echo the sentiments of a couple of other posters, I just use regular car wash - no need for caustic wheel cleaners if you clean your wheels every time you wash the car.

[AD51YYY]

I know exactly what you mean. Look at mine, same slot on the inside rim plus mine are a satin matte type finish which makes the brake dust cling in that area.

The difficulty with this design is getting the bit behind the spoke clean and uniform, it takes a while. I've tried different wheel brushes and sponges on a stick etc but your best bet is probably a soft 99 small exterior detail brush.

Few weeks ago I took them off and cleaned the barrels properly and coated the inside rim with wheel sealant. Then used gyeon wetcoat (the spray and rinse wax someone mentioned prior) and now they're looking a lot better and feel easier to clean.

[chris719]

Just use a small mitt / wheel mitt and soap or agitate a good wheel cleaner. You can easily grab behind the spokes with that design. None of these wheels are as bad to clean as 788M so be thankful you don't have those plus the 10x brake dust the 6 pots make.

[P1]

Same issue on my BMW wheels. Honestly, I just use my finger.

[tranquility]

Lmao, stop complaining, I should start a thread then, these have like 20 spokes, I didn't care too much about the wheels that came w my car back then lol.

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by P1

Same issue on my BMW wheels. Honestly, I just use my finger.

[NikMN]

Change your brake pads and clean your rims(both sides)when you rotate them

akebono brake pads is a popular option