RU Kidding, Pitted rims with less than 7K
 

Unbelievable. I just fiinished cleaning my factory rims for probably the 4th or 5th time in the 7,000 miles I have put on the car and the front rims are pitted. Badly IMO for a new car.
First time I noticed excessive brake dust was in the first 700 miles or so. Cleaned the rims, then again around 2,000 miles, then again and again. Brake dust has probably been bad for the last 1500 miles, but my wife has had the car and I have been on the run and didn't clean it. I just went out and cleaned the rims and the f,ing rims are pitted. I have owned about 10 cars that had alloy rims (and all had front brakes for that matter!) and have never had such dust issues followed by pitting and a few stains.
Does anyone else think this should be a warranty issue, or is this my fault for not cleaning the thing all the time? Let me know--I need advice before my next service in 2 weeks.
BTW, if any of you happen to have seen my FD and think, his chrome rims for that are pitted, well the reason for that is when I bought the car the rims were already pitted--I took that car out of my equation.
The rims on the 8 are not chrome.

need pics please

I will try. I suck at doing anything on the internet other than posting.

some cleaners are actually to tough for alloy rims are you sure you double checked what chemicals abrassives are in your cleaners you really should

i have about 4k miles on my 8 and have noticed the same thing. i clean the rims pretty frequently but have noticed small pits. not noticeable until you get really close. not a huge issue but annoys me that the quality is so low. oh and the fact that the car is still practically brand new. who knows what it'll look like after 10k miles.

Re: RU Kidding, Pitted rims with less than 7K
 

I cannot imagine what RX-8 wheels would look like if they were not cleaned regularly. I dust mine off everynight (I use the small California Duster, and a damp sponge if needed).

4 or 5 times in 7K miles - those wheels must have been black. For what it is worth, brake dust will destroy the finish on almost every kind of wheel. I have 10 coats of Zaino on my car AND wheels.

Did you ever wax your wheels?

The amount of dust has decreased substantially as I approach the 10K mile mark on the car, but I still dust the whole car off every night - including the wheels, the entire process takes between 12-15 minutes, the car is clean and ready to start the next day looking good.

Sorry about your wheels, when you get them fixed or replaced, wax them and then the clean them more regularly.

What are you using to clean the rims with? If you are using anything than normal carwash soap then the acids in the spray cleaners are causing the pitting.

The dealer may op to not replace under warranty citing the wheels are not being properly cared for as outlined in the owners manual..

I have 5K on mine and they are an good as they were when I bought the car. And I have never used any spray cleaners on them since new.

No abrasives used on my wheels ever. I don't use chemical wheel cleaners (learned that when researching how to clean my Porsche 944 telephone dials). These are clearly pits from brake dust and they are only in areas where the dust was heavy, not on the rear rims at all.

To clarify, I use the soap that I wash the rest of the car with. I have owned 10 cars with aluminum rims, none have needed this much cleaning for brake dust, none of the rims pitted like this. No, I am not going to wash my wheels every night. I take care of my cars, but that ain't happening--weather, business and life do not really permit. I will wax the wheels from now on though. At 5K, my rims were as good as they were new. Less than 2K miles later, they are not.

Just remember the RX-8 wheels are PAINTED, just like the finish on the car.

The list of whiney retarded posts continues to grow.....

Why is this whiney and retarded--I should regard this as normal? What the hell is your problem? I love the car but I say the things that I think are issues. Explain please why you called my legit concerns "whiney and retarded".

BTW, this is not three or four little spots. This looks bad and is noticable and I guarantee it would bother most people on this board. Naviles, I know that the thread came off as a complaint--which it is, but don't you also think it serves as a warning for people to be even more vigilant with brake dust. It was also a question as to what some of you guys might do. Your tone really bothers me, you can say my complaint is invalid in other ways.

My wife's 8 has small number of miles, but each night when she arrives home I take a swiffer duster to the wheels and wisk away the days dust. I also have picked up a container of wheel cleaner wipes that are a light soap impregnated wipe designed for cleaning the brake dust.
Although that isn't much help in your case, but I figure with the numerous scenarios, your probably not going to get very far with the warranty issue. IMO

Senseny, I think your issues are valid. The over zealous contingent attack any views that may sound remotely negative against the "8", sometimes without giving objectors a fair shake. If what you say is true, I think you did a service to post your observations. It basically gives the rest of us a "head-up" and something to avoid. I have close to 13K miles and probably average a wheel cleaning every week and a half with no pitting issues observed.

Brothervoodoo, thanks for some support. Guys, I love my rotaries. For god's sake, I have a 13B rotor displayed prominently in my house. I love the 8. Should I clean my wheels more often, maybe. But hell, I own a small biz, have a house that is being renovated, my wife drives the car and frankly don't have time to clean wheels all the time. For the expense of the rims, they should stand up to brake dust better.

Maybe your complaints are valid.......

I'm just tired of all the retarded whiney posts...

Shit, my car needs a new diff, after only 2700 miles, you don't see me starting a "sky is falling" thread...



Just deal with it.....

I think it is a valid post and can serve as a warning to others. The RX-8 brake dust is an issue, and leaving said dust on the wheels will pit them.

I would suggest rotating the tires so the backs are up front (wash and wax them first). Then see about getting the pitted ones repaired.

I only use Zaino wash on them WHEN I wash the car, but just dusting them off, when cool really helps, and if there is a spot or two that does not come off with dusting, a wet sponge, with water works well, then dry with a soft cloth (I use microfiber).


If you could, please post pictures.

some guys on this board are a holes. If you don't like the post just move on. Some of us don't want or need your negativity. And BTW have a great day.

Sorry to hear your woes Sensy. I picked my 8 up in Sept and have close to 11k on it. The dust is ridiculous, but the stopping power is great. I have fortunatly been able to keep my rims in good shape by cleaning them once a week. I use 2001 wheel cleaner (light mist) to loosen the dust, then scrub the rim with net covered sponge (not a scouring pad). Then rinse. It has worked well for me and the 2001 is cheap. Then I use Mother's wheel wax/polish about once a month (that frequency only because its a pain in the arse). Im sure your not the only one who is going to have this problem. I am also going to look into changing the brake pads to Bendix Titaniums. They are virtually dust free and I have replaced my last two vehicles stock pads with them. Good luck to you.

I guess I am an a-hole....haha

So Naviles, this site should only be to talk about everything that is great about the car (which I often chime in about). Am I supposed to say that every day for the entire time I own the car or would it be more of a service to talk about the problems that are encountered also. Maybe you should post about your differential problem, you might make some people aware of situations they need to look for. Your choice of words, namely "retarded", to describe my thoughts, post and problem is regrettable to say the least. I am really trying to remain civil here, but it is hard when you say things like "just deal with it". I also don't really think I equated this issue with the apocolypse.
Thank you to those with helpful advice. I will take heed of it after repair, replacement or whatever. Honestly pics are going to be tough right now. I will see what I can do.

I think it's ok to go to your dealer and take whatever action you deem nessecary to satisfy you.

I would change out the stock pads ASAP...I had the same problem with the SVT's wheels (silverfrost with clearcoat) and switched over to Bendix Titaniumetallics:

http://www.bendixbrakes.com/products.html

Excellent braking with minimal dust!!

Cheers, Art

Hey Senseny -

That sucks. 7,000 miles and serious brake dust discoloration is ridiculous even if you didn't clean them at all. I only wash my wheels when I wash the car, which is only a couple of times a year by hand so if this is going to happen, it's going to hit me too.

With the above LAX procedure, it was years and tens of thousands of miles before pitting started on my VW GLI or my Maxima.

I agree that the brake dust is heavy on this car as opposed to others, but one of the reasons that we bought these cars was for the killer stopping power and big brakes up front which probably has meant a softer pad than is stock in most cars. The RX 8 was not meant to be a stylin' luxury car purely for appearance. So where performance comes in contact with appearance, performance is going to win out.

That said I think that your concerns are totally valid!! The car is still dead new by any standards, and I have never heard of brake dust chewing through a wheel THAT fast so take it to the dealer and see what they say. I wonder what they painted the wheel with?

One last note, it is always advisable to wash and wax new alloy wheels even before you wash the car, and do it more often. Brake dust is both chemically destructive to the wheel as well as abrasive as all get out. It's good to give the clear lacquer on the wheel as much help as possible.

I'll be interested to check your wheels out the next time I see you since I have no real comparable. My stock wheels were pulled off the car at about 1,100 miles and put in the garage. I'll take a look at my winter wheels, the grey ones, and see if they are having the same trouble, since I have a good 7,000 miles on them without washing. That might help as a comparison? I don't know. Anyway, best of luck, and they can be refinished. Sorry for ya' - H