to clean them?

Just curious. I was tempted by the white rims but settled for silver since that hides the break dust a little better. I am still tempted to get a set of white rims to match the mirrors and roof but wanted some opinions on if I could damage the wheels by excessive removal or not.

 

Yes, i have white

 

It won't hurt them a bit. I take mine off to clean them about once a month or so. (I have white S-Lites) If you do this fairly often, you'll know that the lugs are properly torqued, and you'll know that the wheels haven't seized to the hubs. Both are good side effects to cleaner wheels.

Rawhyde

 

So what is the best way to clean them without scratching or creating a mess on the driveway?

 

Creating a mess on the driveway? I have white wheels on my '03 MC and I think they look great. There are lots of wheel cleaner products that make it easy to just rinse the dust off with little effort. Also, it helps keep it from building up so fast. My current favorite is "No More Dust" which I got at Advance Auto.

 

All I know is when I wash my current cars I get a nice stream of break dust out of the wheels on to the driveway. I was hoping for a method to dry wash or wash with a containable mess. I figure by doing it this way there won't be any mess when I wash the cars.

Thanks for the No More Dust recomendation, I will take a look at it.

 

Do a search for white wheels. You'll find all kinds of advice on waxing your wheels for easier cleaning.

Don't know what to tell you about your driveway. Maybe use lots of water to rinse it down the street? I guess I didn't realize how lucky we were to have a drain at the base of our sloped driveway.

 

You're on the right track with going for white wheels! Nothing looks better with white roof and mirrors. That's one of the things that make MINI's one of a kind.

Anyway, I take them off, by hand, using the stock scissor jack. Very simple, really. One side at a time. Any clear coat safe wash will do. I use an OXO brush to knock loose the road grit:

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/oxo-17007.html

Waxing gets off the rest. Shine the whole wheel and it sticks less & less.

Speaking of sticking...a little anti seize lubricant will keep the wheels from bonding to the axle. Pretty tough to knock 'em loose the first time off!

Plus, let's face it-they look incredible! Nothing compares to a white wheel.

Motor on.

P.S. If you're worried about the driveway...wash them in the street.

 

I wash the car one sponge, and hose off the wheels. Then with another older sponge, I scrub off the wheels. (Web spokes are hard to clean in the corners)

My theory is that using a second sponge keeps the metalic brake dust particals off the paint.

 

I love my white Kosei K-1's. I clean them twice a week usually, but generally don't remove them more than a few times a year (such as when I give them a really good cleaning before storing them). DON'T use rim cleaners on the when they are hot! Wait until they are cool or just use a sponge/soapy water.

And a little grease aroud the hub works well to make removal of the rims easy.

 

I think the lug bolts should be though of as having a certain number of duty cycles in their lifetime. Each time you tighten them up, you take a little bit of strength out of them, shortening their lifespan before they snap. So, if you're re-torquing the lug bolts every week, I'd suggest getting new lug bolts every year.

Of course, I don't follow this advice myself. :D I change wheels maybe 2 or 3 times a month in the summer for autocrosses and track days. Every time I do it, I remind myself that I need to get new lug bolts before one breaks on me.

 

As long as Snid took us down this road.....

If you are going to change them that frequently, I would suggest switching to studs. Then you are not wearing out the threads in the hub, you're wearing them out on the studs (which are easy to replace). Here's a high quality example of wheel studs for the Mini:

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html..._ID=TWH9950B62