Former USMC

Greetings,

My Shark Gray Z51 is about a year old and thought it was time to renew the wheels. The Z51 has approximately 10,000 miles and has been a dream to drive.

In preparation for "renewing" the wheels, I might suggest the following items.

1. Jack, jacking pucks, and jack stands.
2. Socket set with torque wrench.
3. Bucket with brushes and microfiber towels.
4. Rubber cleaner, wheel cleaner and Dawn dishwashing soap.
4. Clay with speed shine or other lubricant.
5. Wax, sealant or other favorite...I tried Griot's new Poly Wax. Easy on and easy off.

Start by loosening up lug nuts. Jack up car. Remove lug nuts and wheels. Clean tires with rubber cleaner and wheels using both wheel cleaner and Dawn soap. Rinse. Dry. Clay with speed shine or other lubricant. Wax with favorite wax. Inspect brake pads and clean calipers with Detail Spray (and don't spray Detail Spray on rotors...be careful). Inspect and measure tire depth.

The tires have 4/10's in the front and 6/10's in the rear (somebody is not accelerating fast enough).

I replaced the brake pads with Carbotech's brake pads - yes, a big difference in reducing brake dust.

Semper Fi

Hopper12

Looks great. And thank you for your service!

Bandit1

Scoobydoobydoo

Came out great, thanks for the write up !

Rooster OG

Nicely done!

JDM111er

Looks nice. I was thinking I'm a perfectionist for being clean. And then I saw you were in the military which probably explains your exceptionally clean Vette and garage. I have some work to do in my garage

Woodson

I agree. I wish my garage floor looked like that. Same with the inside of the wheels. Once spring gets here I better get busy.

HAD2HAV2

Great write up. I have some C4 wheels that need painting and will follow your inside cleaning method before I paint.

dbaker

I'm sure you have one,but I use a long wheel brush everytime I wash the tires/wheels.

\db2

Former USMC

^^^^ Greetings,

Yes...I have a few...some bought...some homemade. All work fairly well. Sometimes a long (covered) stick with a microfiber towel works just as well.

Semper Fi

dvilin

Nice job and writeup. Just a bit too much work for my lazy azz. lol.

Steve Garrett

I wish I had that much time to do that thorough of a job......

Foosh

Perfect guidance . . . well done.

HPT

I have a set of $14K wheels on my Porsche and have never cared to clean them to this degree. Hat's off to you.

nmvettec7

You may want to consider a ceramic coating for the wheels.

I use this product on all of my sports cars.

Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Wheel Coating.

http://www.autogeek.net/pinnacle-wheel-coating.html

Makes future cleaning so easy.

Also consider using a polymer wash mitt, vs the clay bar.

https://www.amazon.com/Eagle-One-850...ords=eagle+one

https://www.amazon.com/Nanoskin-AS-0...4A6HMS0B5ZMWRH

These are great additional items for the "serious" auto detailer.

I would not be without them.

..

Foosh

Agreed, I used CQuartz Finest on my OEM PSS set, and nothing sticks. I just waxed my 2nd set of wheels for the PS AS3+ tires, and it takes more effort to clean them.

Today's ceramic coatings really do make a difference.

Former USMC

Greetings,

Thanks for the tip...for some reason, I kept reading your message over and over again...not sure why? : )

Semper Fi

snow

They look brand new! excellent job.

str8six

maybe just one more thing. While you have those chrome lug nuts off, change them out to black? JMHO, that's what i'm going to do once I get this black diamond wheel coating product applied.
Good thread. Thanks for the info.
Len

Former USMC

Good tip...like the idea of black lug nuts.

Semper Fi