What to use on alloy wheels?

In message , Steven Campbell writes

I have no experience of this but it was recommended on another group I look at.

Most alloy wheel cleaners are (or where) phosphoric acid based. Halfords do a pretty good range, including the Autoglym products which are used by pro valeters.

Specific tar & glue remover - again Autoglym from Halfords.

In message , Bill writes

As MD stated, most of the wheel cleaners you come across in Halfords etc. are acid based which is fine for occasional use but should be avoided for regular use as over time they tend to attach the coating on the wheels. I also noticed on my last car that with repeated use they also rusted the hubs and damaged the plastic wheel centres/ badges. Wonder Wheels is one of the best if you must use an acid based one. I have now switched to a none acid based cleaner and it works fine for regular use with none of the above symptoms. I use an Autoglym one from Halfords - Custom wheel cleaner I think although they also make an acid based one so check the back of the bottle. Once clean you can apply some hard wax car polish or one of the wheel protection products available from the likes of Halfords. These will reduce the amount of cleaning you need to do in future.

Sorry, Meant to say ATTACK the coating on the wheel (not attach).

What makes them difficult to clean is brake dust from the pads - it's hot and etches into the paint. Stock BMW pads are notorious for this. Changing to a different make can help.

Which is why I offered the above link, duh ...

Geoff, I don't know what your problem is but I was only giving additional information to the OP. It would be a pretty dull forum if only one person responded to each question. Also he might prefer to get something in Halfords or the like rather than a specialist internet company particularly when the link you offered takes him to an acid based cleaner which I was recommending against.

Thanks folks for the many suggestions.I hadn't washed the car for about 6 months, as I was getting the car washers to do it but since I have a tiny crack in my bumper where paint is coming away every time they use the power washers on the car, I decided to wash it by hand yesterday. Interestingly the alloy wheels cleaned up lovely with only soapy water. I reckon whatever magic spray the car washers used, it left a kind of coating on the wheels that has made it a lot easier to clean.

Thanks again.

Steven.

A bit late I know, but I use Bilberry wheel cleaner, excellent product. Not acidic and used by professional valeters.

Bilberries aren't acidic?

Or change to a hybrid in which magnets stop the car.

More drivel from dribble. And I thought he claimed to have a Prius. Obviously doesn't know what a disc brake looks like even although you can see them through the wheel.

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

Are you sure ?

I thought that you could stop one with a fridge magnet

Well there is that, of course

What sports car did he also claim to own, until someone actually took him to task on it ?

Steven.

And some modern BMWs use regenerative braking via the alternator. So you don't even need a hybrid for that...

DB7, IIRC. When he was the IMOM. On different medication, obviously.

What do they do with the energy? The battery should be charged by the alternator within a few seconds of starting the engine so I doubt if it could store the energy generated. Its probably just some marketing man telling porkies.

They use a bigger battery which operates at round about 80% charge to give the headroom you are talking about. There is a control system which only clutches in the alternator when the engine is in overrun or during braking.

More info here:

"dennis@home" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

They run the alternator light under computer control to help save a weensy drip of fuel. (Same with the oil pump, ffs... If that isn't a recipe for disaster, what is?)

Then there's the stop-start of the engine in traffic, so greater battery consumption due to more regular starting.