Home News Models Alternatives
 
Smart Car of America - America's Largest Smart Fortwo Enthusiast Community   Smart Fortwo, smart car, smartcar
HOME FORUMS GALLERY

Go Back   Smart Car of America Forums > Smart Car Technical > Smart Car Operation and Maintenance

Notices

» Supporting Partner
» Recent Threads
Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-12-2009, 11:06 AM   #1 (permalink)
 
Location: Ontario
Why do my front rims get so oily?

Every time I wash my Smart I have to do the front rims last because they get coated in an oily material.The rear rims accumulate this film at a much slower rate.

Is there something in the workings of the front brakes that spins off lubricant 10x faster than the rear wheels?

Or should I be worrying about a pathological condition in the front wheels that gives this result?

KingstonSmart is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2009, 11:12 AM   #2 (permalink)
Gobble Gobble
SCOA Club
 
forestacademy's Avatar
 
Location: South Central WI
Drive: Versa - the smarts my wife
My SCOA Gallery
Brake dust from the front Disck brakes is your problem.

Drum brakes in the rear don't have that problem. I never clean the back ones and always clean the front. The backs always look better

forestacademy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2009, 11:19 AM   #3 (permalink)
SCOA Club
 
John_H's Avatar
 
Location: Orlando, FL
Drive: Merlot Red Cabriolet
My SCOA Gallery
There are alternative pads (possibly combined with different rotors) as well as dust shields which some have recommended and others have warned about.

Brake dust is a mess but a necessary evil. Without brake dust, brakes either wouldn't work or would make extreme noise. Some situations produce more dust, some less. Stock pads on front smart rotors produce more.

Some on this board also recommend waxing the rims as a way to reduce the amount of maintenance.

John_H is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2009, 11:19 AM   #4 (permalink)
SCOA Club
 
mvaldes's Avatar
 
Location: maplewood, nj
You could install Kleen Wheels brake dust shields. They made a big difference in mine, the fronts stay clean much longer even with the OEM pads.

mvaldes is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2009, 11:26 AM   #5 (permalink)
 
Location: Ontario
So this is not an oil film?
I don't need soapy water to clean the rims?
Any quick clean ideas in between full washes?

KingstonSmart is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2009, 11:34 AM   #6 (permalink)
Gobble Gobble
SCOA Club
 
forestacademy's Avatar
 
Location: South Central WI
Drive: Versa - the smarts my wife
My SCOA Gallery
Like John said, A good coat of Wax will help with clean up.

Other option is to get a set of Mat Black wheels so you don't notice it as much

I use the two Bucket method of washing my car (one soapy and one fresh)
When I'm done washing everything else I move to the front wheels. I switch from the sponge to a Microfiber towel in the soapy water. This way I can reach all around the standard wheels and get the backs of the spokes as ell. No scrubbing needed once waxed. You just need to rub all areas of the wheel to loosen the dirt. When I'm done I splash whats left of my clean water on the wheels to rinse.
You can make yourself nuts with them. Once I drive a few Miles anything that didn't rinse off will be splattered all over the wheels. Life is to short to care that much

Last edited by forestacademy; 10-12-2009 at 11:39 AM..

forestacademy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2009, 12:45 PM   #7 (permalink)
7,000 miles of smiles
SCOA Club
 
mdfortwoguy's Avatar
 
Location: North Bethesda, Maryland (DC)
Drive: '02 VUE, '08 Passion Coupe
My SCOA Gallery
One thing - you need to keep up with the cleaning of the brake dust from your front wheels. It is caustic and will eventually burn itself into the wheels and damage the finish. A simple wipe with a rag and something like Meguiar's Quick Detailer will help between washes, but take care of it at least once a week to keep the wheels looking pristine.

Waxing the wheels definitely helps the brake dust come off when it comes time to wash, and it keeps the wheels shining nicely.

My smart gets a bath every Sunday - I drive about 150 miles a week right now - depending on whether I have been screaming down the highway or doing a lot of in-city driving, my wheels are either greyish black, or they damn near match the tires... gotta love the German automotive industry's brake performance and environmental requirements.

mdfortwoguy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2009, 01:37 PM   #8 (permalink)
 
belkin666's Avatar
 
Location: Los Angeles
Drive: 2005 Passion fortwo
rejex

I use RejeX on the wheels - works really well to reduce/slow the build up of brake dust and dust cleans off easier.

belkin666 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-13-2009, 02:53 AM   #9 (permalink)
 
Location: Ontario
Thanks for the info everybody.
I never knew there was such a thing as brake dust before!
The winter tires will be going on soon so it will be a great time to clean and wax these rims...

KingstonSmart is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-13-2009, 03:17 AM   #10 (permalink)
SCOA Club
 
jimvw57's Avatar
 
Location: southern Minnesota
Drive: Pure
My SCOA Gallery
I have used some wheel cleaner which has a slight acidic property to it on the aluminum rims on my other vehicle. it does a good job of cleaning and doesn't harm the finish on the rims. Been using it for over 5 years now just about weekly. It still takes some scrubbing to get it off. A nylon bottle brush works pretty good and doesn't scratch anything.

I did switch to ceramic pads and the dust buildup was much less.

jimvw57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Today
 


This ad will not be shown if you are logged in.

Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Wanted: Stock Rims front and back (4) w/tires or w/out tires smartcarballer Smart Car Parts Marketplace 1 09-23-2009 10:06 AM
New Pics of Our Front Solid Aluminum Front Bumper BreathlessPerformance Interior & Exterior Styling 42 07-08-2009 06:37 PM
CanAm Spyder Rims 14" Rims smartacus Interior & Exterior 4 04-07-2009 04:44 PM
Front Spring Spacers to raise the front end to safe height after installing Lowering BreathlessPerformance Performance & Handling 4 02-26-2009 07:30 AM
Wanted: 1rear and front tire with OEM rims craig current Florida Chapter 1 09-17-2008 05:45 PM

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.0.1

All times are GMT -7. The time now is 02:17 PM.


Smart Cars of America, LLC is not affiliated with, authorized by, associated with or have any connection with G&K, Zap, Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Benz AMG, Mercedes-Benz McLaren Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, smart Canada Division, DaimlerChrysler, Chrysler LLC, DaimlerChrysler AG, Maybach, smart gmbh, a division of Mercedes Benz LLC, the manufacturer of SMART automobiles, smart USA Distributor, LLC, a division of Penske Automotive Group, Inc, the exclusive authorized U.S. importer and distributor of the smart vehicle or any of their official dealerships


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.2
Copyright ©2000 - 2009, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.3.0
Ad Management by RedTyger