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I love my RS7, but the brake dust problem was making me crazy. It's my daily driver with about 200 miles a week of city traffic. I'm a bit lead-footed and go thru a set of brakes in about 20,000 miles. All that brake pad and disk metal ends up stuck to my wheels! I gave up on the OEM cast wheels and tried some after market glossy-black powder-coated cast wheels. In both cases I tried all sorts of coatings and sealants but the brake dust always won out. 2 or 3 days after cleaning and coating the wheels and they looked like crap. I gave up. I started going to the hand car wash once a week and paid extra for wheel scrubbing. Sadly, the wheels were more often dirty than clean, which really detracted from the fun of driving.
If fancy wheels were going to be such a pita, then they should at least look really good when they're clean. So I replaced the powder-coated wheels (sold HERE) with a set of HRE p101's with brushed clear finish. I tried a protectant one last time and BIG SURPRISE... they stayed clean. Now I'm stupid happy. The car always looks good and I don't have to wash it constantly.
The process is simple. After a complete wash, clean the wheels again (including inside the barrel) with a quik detailer like Meguires. That requires rolling the car a bit to clean all of the barrel on the front wheels. Then spray a liberal amount of Armor-all Wheel Protectant on the barrels of all the wheels. Roll the car again, and finish the barrels of the front wheels. Then spray all the spokes. Wipe the excess that runs on the tires. The idea is to spray as much as possible without getting runs. Definitely let the wheels dry over night.
If you did it right, brake dust won't stick. It just slides off the barrel and blows away. If you got any runs on the barrel when you were spraying, a small amount of dust might collect behind the run. Also some may collect in the outer rim, but that's easily removed with a canned air duster. Every few days I walk around the car and blow the dust off the wheels.
The only problem is you may have to recoat the wheels after each car wash. I've taken to using Quik Detailer on the car to extend the time between car washes. That way I can go 3 or 4 weeks between washes, and the car always looks good. I live in urban SoCal where it never rains and the streets are paved. If you live somewhere that has weather or dirt roads, then this post doesn't apply to you.
I know that HRE wheels are a pretty costly solution to the brake dust problem, but I'm sure there are less expensive wheels that will work. I think the important factor is the smoothness of the wheel's surface. Cast aluminum, cast surfaces, and powdercoat are all porous, which is probably why the Armor-all doesn't work as well. The HRE's are wrought aluminum and all surfaces are machined.
One last problem. In my area Armor-all Wheel Protectant is hard to find. It's no longer stocked by O'Reilly, Pep Boys, or AutoZone. I ordered a case (6) of 15oz cans for $60 from Kleen-Rite Corp. Should last me a couple years.
The car with freshly cleaned and sprayed wheels
Blowing off dust with canned air. The streaks on the barrel are caused by runs of the protectant and also blow away with canned air.
Left: just cleaned and sprayed. Right: 20 days and 600 miles later.
Awesome post, I need to try this with my new wheels as they are very similar yet bronze so the dust really shows quickly and although I love washing my car, doing the inside of the barrels is difficult!
^ Same as the OEM 20" wheels, 9.5" wide and stock offset, which I think was 30mm, but not certain. Huge difference in weight. OEM's are 28 lbs. HRE's are 21 lbs. 6061T6 alloy is about double the strength of cast, so a lot less metal is needed.
^ Same as the OEM 20" wheels, 9.5" wide and stock offset, which I think was 30mm, but not certain. Huge difference in weight. OEM's are 28 lbs. HRE's are 21 lbs. 6061T6 alloy is about double the strength of cast, so a lot less metal is needed.
Thank you. I have a set of HRE from my current car which I want to transfer to my incoming one. That's why I asked. Btw, stock 20s are 20x9 et 35.
^ Well, I was close enough for hand grenades. I'm planning on passing these puppies on to a MY2017 RS7. Depending on the color I get, I might have HRE change the finish. After that the wheels go into my will.
^ Well, I was close enough for hand grenades. I'm planning on passing these puppies on to a MY2017 RS7. Depending on the color I get, I might have HRE change the finish. After that the wheels go into my will.
Getting mine refinished from same as yours to black. Ordered Daytona gray RS7.
10-27-2015, 04:37 PM
HRE and brake dust. FTW!
I'm planning on passing these puppies on to a MY2017 RS7. Depending on the color I get, I might have HRE change the finish. After that the wheels go into my will.