I have a general wheel cleaning question? One of my other cars has very difficult aluminum wheels to clean and I'm pretty sure they're coated. Is there a product out there that can remove all the brake & road grime without having to get in there with a finger and manually clean them. The problem wheels are on a '91 Merc. 300E if anyone knows what the wheels look like.

Thanks,
Pete

Only the most abrasive/strong cleaner would remove the grime without any rubbing/contact, and that stuff could take the finish off the wheels too...

Thanks Dave,

I was hoping there was some magic cleaner out there that would save me some time and some finger pain.

By the way, that's an impressive quarter-mile time. Must be a blast to drive. I have an old Pontiac that's gone 10.98@124, but it only likes to drive in a straight line.

Pete

I have a '93 Merc 300E..and somehow I could never get the brake dust off of the fronts. Maybe the rims are more prone to it...sorry I can't offer any suggestions

Waxing the wheels with a good hard paste wax (pure wax, no cleaners) will make clean a tad easier, you can just use soap and water when you wash the car if the wheels have a nice coat of wax on them...

Thanks, Pete! Yep, it's a blast and quite the sleeper. I should be forthcoming and tell you it's probably more of a mid 12 second car, but for the track I take all kinds of weight out of it, only mount up the Drag Radials for the track, and launch at 5500 rpm or so, but even in street trim, it's quite the fun little sleeper... :D

What year/model Pontiac are you running 10's in? :buttrock

Great idea with the wax. I'll try it next time I wash it. Thanks

It's a '78 Trans Am, which is a bit of a tank at 3800 lbs.
455 Pontiac
Edelbrock 72cc heads ported, etc. by Gromm racing in San Jose
12.5:1 compression
Solid Roller cam ~260deg@.050", .618/.603 lift
Victor Pontiac manifold also worked by Gromm
950 Holley

It's a street car with no changes from street to track.

I'm using Hoosier Quicktime Pro tires, which work great but aren't as streetable as the Drag Radials.

Pete

Awesome!!! Got any pics? Ever have it at the dyno? What tranny?

Tranny's a TH-350 with manual valve body, heavy duty sprag (sp?) & 10" 3500rpm converter. Built by Len Schneider in Hayward, CA. He does great work. It's the second time he's done work for me and I've never had a problem.

Rear-end's stock 8.5" 10 bolt with c-clip eliminators and 4.10 gears. This is the weak link with it's 28 spline axles.

Never got around to dynoing it unfortunately. I hate estimates, but formula estimates range from 500-600 using 1/4 mile ET and MPH. Based on the motor, Desktop Dyno estimates 575. Who knows?

I'll scan a few pics when I get home.

Hey Dave,

I attached a zip file with a few pics. The scans didn't work very well.

Pete

Silver streak advised you well that the trick is to try not to let the wheels get too dirty and accumultae too much dust.

But he recommended wax. I recommend synthetic

I have one coat of Klasse All-in-one followed by several coats of Klasse Sealant glaze on my wheels. It is important not to use wax/carnauba, but use a synthetic polymer/acrylic.

Waxes don't last or stand up to the heat of the wheels. Polymers do. Waxes can also attract dust. In my experience, waxes don't stand up to harsher cleaners, either.

Point is, my wheels still get a dust (I drive 'em hard ) but it just takes a stream of water to clean brake dust off...

Cool stuff, Pete!!