I was wondering if any of you guys know of a good way to keep my wheels clear of danger with the mag chloride they use to salt the roads. That stuff cakes onto anything and everything and ruins it. My dad's wheels are pitted and junked up just from two days here in Colorado, and I don't want my new wheels to suffer the same fate (seeing as how my last wheels were only 4 years old and looked like himself made sure to oxidize, pit, and rust them).

So what do you guys do? Do you put a thin layer of wax and not buff it off, do you just have to wipe them down everytime you drive on salted roads?

In case it matters, they are american racing AR-23's, I believe they are completely aluminum, and I think it has a clearcoat on it, but of that I am not sure. Thanks!

 

Just keep them clean. If they have a clear coat, put a nice coat of wax on them. You'll have to continuously keep them clean if you don't want them marred.
MagChloride is nastier on your electrical system. I keep a couple cans of CRC Lectra-Motive electric parts cleaner and CRC QD parts cleaner. I use the Lectra-Motive on the alternator, starter, and major electrical systems. I thoroughly flush them. Then I use the QD (quick dry) on sensors.

 

Where do you get the eletrical cleaners? Need that stuff for when I come back from skiing as well!

 

Pep Boys carries the CRC stuff. I think Checkers does, too. Hell-Mart at SW Plaza sells a different brand cheaper.

 

On my aftermarket wheels for my S2K i wax them. I read somewhere that said you should treat the finish of your wheel just like the paint.

 

Thanks for the info. Is there any specific brand I should consider using, or is carnuba wax good enough?

 

Hey guys, I've got a trick for you all!

I wanted to clean all the stuff that had caked onto my wheels from the last two snow storms (never really got the wheels as clean as I wanted to with the first one). The only thing is, I wanted pressurized water, and didn't want to freeze the pipes in my house.

So, I went to target and got me a spray bottle. It was in the aisle with the plungers. Its a rubbermaid 32ml bottle with a wierd nozzle where when you pull the trigger it moves the head down.

I poured a little meguiars car wash soap in, filled it with water, swished it around and went to my wheels. BAM! That dirt just came washing down. The spritzer has really good pressure and all I did was spray the wheel about 10 times in different spots and wiped away the water and dirt excess with a rag. 10 min later and all 4 wheels are nice and shiny. Definately worth the $2 I spent on the bottle.