Track dudes... a wheel cleaner that really, really works.

[john@johnhudakracing]

I've tried it all over the years. But this stuff blew my mind. I am absolutely amazed at how well this stuff works for cleaning the more aggressive race brake pad dust off of my track wheels.

Easy Off Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner. Safeway, $4.49!!

Simply Spray it on, let it sit for 20 minutes, get in with a brush for a little abrasive action, then hose or even pressure wash it off.

GT Sports? XR2's/Hawk Blues/Brembo/track pads? No problem. Lazy and haven't cleaned since the start of the season? No problem. XR2 Pad deposits just caked on in thick layers and turning your wheel rust brown from wet weathering and neglect? Nothing else working? Think wheels are trashed and bout to give up? It just flakes off in huge layers before your eyes. No problem.

Check it out. I wish I knew about this trick a long time ago.

 

[Maximus_NSX]

Would this damage the rims in any way?

 

[otoro]

Simple green works wheel, but its not clear-coat safe.

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

Would this damage the rims in any way?

Doesn't appear so. I've only tried on rims that were either powder coated or painted. I have come to prefer track wheels that are painted as I can repaint them myself every year when they start looking ratty. This is more an interim solution for me. The brake pads I use leave a dust that when mixed with water equals murder on the wheel finish. Just like a broiler pan after a burnt steak a real mess. It just seems to work its way in and lift it off in huge chunks.

I would say that even if you have a rim that would scratch easy, this is going to be the best bet. If the dust doesn't appear to be budging with a micro-fiber towel and some water, then it seems to me that this is far more gentle; say then trying to use an overly abrasive pad and leaving scratches.

 

[nsxhk]

Wow! Nice find!!

I wonder if it's clear coat friendly.

Henry.

 

[PhiAlpha44]

Wow. Holy Moly. Who woulda thunk it?!? Nice find man.:smile:

 

[mickeylex]

Simple green works wheel, but its not clear-coat safe.

Simple Green is clear coat friendly. You just don't want to use the concentrated version directly on your wheels. It's a good wheel cleaner when it's diluted with water according the instructions on the concentrate bottle. The manufacturer of my wheels (Fikse) told me to use diluted Simple Green. Been using it for years, no clear coat problems.

 

[Holden_Caulfield04]

I would be very concerned about using this product. It is not designed for alloy wheels and may damage painted surfaces.

If you have extremely heavy buildup of gunk and quality wheel cleaner gels will not do the trick, you will need an acid-based wheel cleaner.

 

[stuntman]

John, I would be hesitant to use it on my wheels unless you're sure it wouldn't take off my shiny metallic "Hyper Black" (paint/coating -not sure what 5 Zigen uses) coating on my wheels:

 

[Holden_Caulfield04]

John, I would be hesitant to use it on my wheels unless you're sure it wouldn't take off my shiny metallic "Hyper Black" (paint/coating -not sure what 5 Zigen uses) coating on my wheels:

Normally I would recommend something like P21S Wheel Cleaner Gel for normal use. Since these are track wheels, try Hi-Temp's acid wheel cleaner:

http://www.hitempinc.com/etw_cleaners/

Personally, I have never found a need for an acid-based wheel cleaner. I know some have, though. I get by just fine with Sonax Wheel Cleaner Gel.

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

I tried it on recommendation from others in the paddock.

This wasn't a case for the faint of heart. It was a last ditch effort to save wheels.

I stay on top of shit. But.... I don't know what the deal is. Something in Andie's XR2's (normal application prototypes) reacts to water like nothing I've ever seen. Like little bits of iron from the rotor mixed with something else perhaps... When this brake dust got wet, it turned into super attack killer brake dust. It bonds to everything it touches and just rusts.

Some background...

The car was waxed and perfectly clean. I ran a track day, and left the front pads on for a couple of wet days before getting around to pulling them off and switching back to street pads. I washed everything down... then I noticed...

The entire side of my car was literally now rust brown. Reddish gunk all over everything. The aluminum wheels were caked with enough brake dust that you could barely tell the wheel wasn't supposed to be black. Like I said... it looked like a bad broiler pan. The dust itself was clearly rusting brown. Never seen anything like it.

Ikes.

At risk of sounding like a zymol wax queen here... cleaning up was kind of a shit load of work. Inch by inch, I had to take a micro-fiber towel and bug remover and a clay bar to get the shit off the side of the car... it took me an entire day.

As for the wheels, it was caked on. Bonded like glue. LOL... maybe an extra wheel weight worth. It took three cans of that oven cleaner and a lot of scrubbing before the dust really started to work in and finally lift and flake off in big sections. In the end, I got all of it... the shit works they look new now. I could at least re-prime and spray them now if needed.

Aggressive? Sometimes that's what you need. Do yourself a favor and use the stock brake pads with those HRE's... :tongue:

Suffice to say, this was a case whereas if this didn't work, I would have been breaking out the sand blaster. A few days of that pad + water = this level of clean-up effort.

Who knows. Perhaps this is why the C6R looks like it was pulled out of a ditch and hit everything on track after just two hours.

 

[Holden_Caulfield04]

I tried it on recommendation from others in the paddock.

This wasn't a case for the faint of heart. It was a last ditch effort to save wheels.

I stay on top of shit. But.... I don't know what the deal is. Something in Andie's XR2's (normal application prototypes) reacts to water like nothing I've ever seen. Like little bits of iron from the rotor mixed with something else perhaps... When this brake dust got wet, it turned into super attack killer brake dust. It bonds to everything it touches and just rusts.

Some background...

The car was waxed and perfectly clean. I ran a track day, and left the front pads on for a couple of wet days before getting around to pulling them off and switching back to street pads. I washed everything down... then I noticed...

The entire side of my car was literally now rust brown. Reddish gunk all over everything. The aluminum wheels were caked with enough brake dust that you could barely tell the wheel wasn't supposed to be black. Like I said... it looked like a bad broiler pan. The dust itself was clearly rusting brown. Never seen anything like it.

Ikes.

At risk of sounding like a zymol wax queen here... cleaning up was kind of a shit load of work. Inch by inch, I had to take a micro-fiber towel and bug remover and a clay bar to get the shit off the side of the car... it took me an entire day.

As for the wheels, it was caked on. Bonded like glue. LOL... maybe an extra wheel weight worth. It took three cans of that oven cleaner and a lot of scrubbing before the dust really started to work in and finally lift and flake off in big sections. In the end, I got all of it... the shit works they look new now. I could at least re-prime and spray them now if needed.

Aggressive? Sometimes that's what you need. Do yourself a favor and use the stock brake pads with those HRE's... :tongue:

Suffice to say, this was a case whereas if this didn't work, I would have been breaking out the sand blaster. A few days of that pad + water = this level of clean-up effort.

Who knows. Perhaps this is why the C6R looks like it was pulled out of a ditch and hit everything on track after just two hours.

Do you have pictures of the damage? What do you use for normal clean-up?

 

[Holden_Caulfield04]

When this brake dust got wet, it turned into super attack killer brake dust. It bonds to everything it touches and just rusts.

You should be waxing your wheels, preferably with Klasse AIO (actually a synthetic sealant). It will introduce more slickness and the brake dust won't stick as bad.

Also, you should consider trying different brake pads...

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

Do you have pictures of the damage? What do you use for normal clean-up?

Unfortunately I was too lazy to snap pics for this thread. I will next time around. Normally I use the micro-fiber towel and hot soapy water left from washing my car and most brake dust comes right off as long as you stay on top of it regularly. Street pads dust isn't a problem.

You should be waxing your wheels, preferably with Klasse AIO (actually a synthetic sealant). It will introduce more slickness and the brake dust won't stick as bad.

Also, you should consider trying different brake pads...

My experience is that any of the more aggressive race pads with high torque and huge max fade temps will probably be very bling-bling unfriendly.

I've tried numerous brake pads. At the moment, I still think I like the performance of the Cobalt race pads the best so far as friction material (over Brembo, etc...) for stock application... having gone through thousands of dollars worth of brake pads.

Clean-up is usually not a problem... without the water element. It seems like a regression from the earlier prototype pads I tracked on last year which appeared to be significantly harder than the rotor so it just cleanly shaved the rotor (albeit a little more expensive approach but man did those things know how to stop a car). So I may ping Andie and ask whats up. It could be an additive like manganese who knows.... their is a lot to brake pad mnfg. tech I don't yet know about how these resin bonded pads are formulated.

I've tried heavily waxing, but I suspect when you tear through a rotor that quickly their is only so much you can do. I suspect it is more the iron from the rotor than anything. I even clear coat the inside of the wheels for a smoother surface. While I've heard and tried that wax trick over the auto clear or powdercoat; never had any good results. If anything, it seems to me that if you are getting the wheel hot enough, it then embeds into the wax and is just as difficult to clean-up when you cake it up good. It still doesn't want to lift.

 

[Holden_Caulfield04]

Unfortunately I was too lazy to snap pics for this thread. I will next time around. Normally I use the micro-fiber towel and hot soapy water left from washing my car and most brake dust comes right off as long as you stay on top of it regularly. Street pads dust isn't a problem.




My experience is that any of the more aggressive race pads with high torque and huge max fade temps will probably be very bling-bling unfriendly.

I've tried numerous brake pads. At the moment, I still think I like the performance of the Cobalt race pads the best so far as friction material (over Brembo, etc...) for stock application... having gone through thousands of dollars worth of brake pads.

Clean-up is usually not a problem... without the water element. It seems like a regression from the earlier prototype pads I tracked on last year which appeared to be significantly harder than the rotor so it just cleanly shaved the rotor (albeit a little more expensive approach but man did those things know how to stop a car). So I may ping Andie and ask whats up. It could be an additive like manganese who knows.... their is a lot to brake pad mnfg. tech I don't yet know about how these resin bonded pads are formulated.

I've tried heavily waxing, but I suspect when you tear through a rotor that quickly their is only so much you can do. I suspect it is more the iron from the rotor than anything. I even clear coat the inside of the wheels for a smoother surface. While I've heard and tried that wax trick over the auto clear or powdercoat; never had any good results. If anything, it seems to me that if you are getting the wheel hot enough, it then embeds into the wax and is just as difficult to clean-up when you cake it up good. It still doesn't want to lift.

Order some Klasse AIO & a Lake Country handjobber pad and see if you get the same result. If you are having the same problem with this combo, then use KAIO and KSG (Klasse Sealant Glaze). You may layer KSG as many times as you like but KAIO is unable to layer, so just use one layer of that.

I am not familiar with race pads but there should be a sweet spot for slickness where the brake dust/rotor shavings begin to slide off rather than stick.

When you are cleaning the wheel use something more aggressive than soap. I am not very familiar with OTC products, but I think Eagle One may have the best wheel cleaner from what I have read. If you order Klasse though, you may order P21S at that time.

 

[stuntman]

Normally I would recommend something like P21S Wheel Cleaner Gel for normal use. Since these are track wheels, try Hi-Temp's acid wheel cleaner:

http://www.hitempinc.com/etw_cleaners/

Personally, I have never found a need for an acid-based wheel cleaner. I know some have, though. I get by just fine with Sonax Wheel CleaneGel.

Who said they were track wheels?

-They are my daily driven nice wheels with a nice...paint job? (whateve 5zigen does to their wheels for their Hyper Black version) That I don't want to destroy with acid. They aren't exposed aluminum or steel but a powdercoated or painted surface...

John - Have you tried Performance Friction pads?

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

Who said they were track wheels?

-They are my daily driven nice wheels with a nice...paint job? (whateve 5zigen does to their wheels for their Hyper Black version) That I don't want to destroy with acid. They aren't exposed aluminum or steel but a powdercoated or painted surface...

If in doubt, I would just try it on the inside where you don't care. That is where most of the build up occurs anyway. I've tried it over paint and powdercoat and it seems ok to me. I'm just as anal as anyone. Of course I can re-spray mine anyday I want. I suppose overtime it might begin to look 'flat' as it works into the clear. For street wheels I use street pads and don't have the problem. I will say this. If you let it sit over night it also seems to work excellent for cleaning prior to prime/paint/clear.

John - Have you tried Performance Friction pads?

Not yet. I use what I get cheap. At the moment those are Cobalts. :wink:

 

[nigel]

The aviation industry has been using Easy-Off for years to remove carbon build up on internal engine parts, (turbine wheels, nozzles, and liners) from turbine and jet engines as long as you rinse the parts very well with warm clean H2O. It is very corrosive as it has lye in it. That's why it works so well.
I use Simple Green and Turtle Wax-Zip Wax mixed to wash the exhaust residue from the tailbooms of helicopters. The Zip-Wax buffers the corrosive properties of the Simple-Green but rinse real well. It also leaves a nice shine with no elbow grease. Simple green also makes an aluminun frendily cleaner that's manufacture, (Bell, Cessna, etc, etc...) friendly for aircraft avialable from Aircraft Spruce, Sportys, etc, etc..
Easy-Off WILL remove any and all wax! If left on for any time at all, (5 min) it will eat the clear coat and then the paint! Rinse well, wax or protect after use.
Simple Green and Turtle Wax-Zip Wax mixture is my prefered product, i've been using it for years on helicopters and wheels. Rinse, rinse, rinse. Wax, wax, wax!

Cheers
nigel

 

[latzke]

I tested this oven cleaner trick on a set of 1993 accord rims (230k miles) that I don't think have ever been properly washed (previously I'd never seen them shine) and spend a bit of their life in the midwest (salt = pitting). Worked great. After leaving on there for 20-30 minutes I was able to easily wipe the grime away with my index finger or a terry cloth (no elbow grease, just needed a bit more touching than rinsing with low-pressure water).

Didn't seem to harm the paint/clear coat. This test has made me comfortable enough to use oven cleaner to spot-treat my NSX wheels where needed.

Before and after pics...

It should be noted that before this I'd never seen the paint under where the bulk of the build-up was. Put a lot of elbow grease into it after purchasing the car used several years ago and hadn't tried since (not worth the time - my "junker" knows its place).

 

[KazO]

I don't recall exactly what pad it was (I wanna say XR2 or maybe PFC01) but one of those when mixed with water essentially creates meteorites on the wheels. I've seen friends chisel them off the back of wheels cause they were making em out-of-balance.

I've been running GT Sports on my E46 lately, and even after a track weekend (I'm still fairly novice so I get by on street tires and good street pads), the dust still washes off reasonably well with Griot's wheel cleaner (my favorite). IMO Klasse AIO/SG, which I've been using for years, doesn't make much of a difference at all on wheels. I agree with John that the heat probably makes any wax/sealant product pretty ineffective.

I've seen lightly diluted Simple Green take factory wheel finish off upon contact (see bare metal in the shape of the spray/drip pattern) so I'm a little leery of that.

 

[angus]

It does work extremley well , HOWEVER it will strip anodizing , so if you have a polished lip it will ruin it!!!