2007 S60: Dirty Front Wheels

I bought a 2007 S60 2.5T demo with about 6,000 miles on it last November. It
now has about 13,000 miles. I love the car but it has one peculiarity that I
find puzzling.

The wheels are the alloy type with five segments and double spokes between.
The front wheels get a gritty black coating and the back wheels don't. This
black film washes off easily but I can't come up with a good reason why the
front wheels get dirty so soon after washing. Since the engine is up front,
it may be something from the engine; turbo blow-by, a rubber belt atomizing,
engine coolant reacting with cosmic rays, whatever. Or it may be that the
front tires stir up the road dirt and it's blown away by the time the rear
tires get there.

Not a real problem, just a puzzlement.

Paul

 

brake dust.......go to your local auto parts store and get some
cleaner
and a brush.....they will look like new...careful w/the wheels...they
can
be damaged if you use the wrong cleaner....

 

You're joking - aren't you?? Seriously, just stirring for a reaction?

 

I use a pressure washer (1300 psi) to clean the wheels. It makes life
about ten times easier. Also use it to make the car wet and rinse
after hand wash with Meguiar car detergent.

If using a pressure washer, make sure you use a low psi, like 1300.
Otherwise, you could be removing the paint from your car.

P.S. Never use a chamois to dry it up. You'll only be dragging tiny
particles over the paint and scratch it. I use old bath cloth.

 

yea, i have heard some of the high pressure washers can not only
remove paint...but blast a hole in your skin....be careful w/them...

 

Not at 1300 psi. It is so gentle you can easily put your hand right
in front of it. Mags used to be a pain to clean, but with a gentle
p.w. it is a piece of cake. I actually look forwards to cleaning the
Volvo.

This is the one I use,

http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/...Ntx=mode+matchall&recN=0&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber

Btw, it is NOT for major work, like its name implies, "The Weekender"
is perfect for cars and LIGHT cleaning. It will do "ok" for cleaning
the deck, but it gonna take you a LONG time. I've been using it for a
few years and LOVE to clean the mags. Doesn't consume a lot of water.

 

I would return the car!

 

I wonder if the obvious has truly gone by him or maybe he's just
trolling? Just in case he really doesn't know, the wheels get dirty from
material worn off the brake pads. The front brakes do approximately 80%
of the braking effort so the pads wear much more quickly.

 

I have cut my hand with the jet from a pressure washer. It is very
slow to heal.

blurp

 

Yeah I saw where some one suggested using a high pressure hose to clean the
radiator out through the fins ,sure just once and see the radiator
disintergrate .

 

it dosen't take much pressure to bend a fin....

 

That's disc pad dust. It's a problem for any car with front wheel
disc brakes, which by my estimation would be almost any modern car on
the road by now.

 

You can see where I accidently hit the fins of the radiator washing the
blades of the plastic fan with a normal high pressure hose ,its rather
embarrassing actually .

 

Like I said, use a LOW pressure washer. 1300 psi is safe enough. The
one I mentionned is a gentle one. It is for this reason I bought the
weakest p.w. I could find. Prevents me from doing damages. And it is
great for cleaning the mags!