Hi all,

Recently I've noticed that after washing my car and letting it stand for at least 5 hours, when i drive it and get home there's a ring of rust (I think) around the inner circumference of the rear wheels. If I get a wet cloth it rubs off. This doesn't happen on the front.

Any idea what it could be from??

 

just normal oxidation. some rotors will form surface rust faster than others i'm sure as metallurgy caries slightly. but in general, the OEM rotors do this very quickly/easily. one tip is to consider painting the non friction surface(inner ring) of the rotors whenever you go to paint your calipers

 

I have the calipers painted already. This only started happening about 2 months after I painted them. It's a pain because the whole car including the wheels are spotless except for this big dirty brown ring around the inside of the rear wheels!!!

 

this is very common on our cars, my OEM rotors would do it after every wash.
when the 8 first came out, some dealerships would paint the rotor hub for the customers if they complained enough but it's realy not worth they trouble of trying to convince them to do it.

if you've got some spare time, just buy some black caliper paint and you can knock it out in about an hour or so.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. Glad to know I'm not alone

What part of the brake system is this rust coming from? I have both the calipers and hubs painted so I was thinking it's coming from the venting section or the outter lip. I know that when the discs get wet, they get rusty but they are never rusty enough to produce the stuff I'm talking about.

Thanks again.

 

not sure that you're really following. the material used for the face of the rotors oxidizes quickly so this isn't rust coming from anywhere - it's the rotor interacting with the water and air it has been exposed to. i'm not sure if this has been going on previously and you just noticed or if it's b/c of other factors but it's nothing to worry about.

 

An Irishman unaccustomed to automotive rust???

It's just flash rust. It wears off the rotor-pad mating surface with the first tbrake application after standing still but the non-contact ring retains a thin layer. As cited, clean and caliper-paint it if you wish, but again nothing to worry about.

 

That is what i did to my wife's LY, Mine has aftermarket powdercoated hubs...

 

It is an annoying recurring issue that is normal
like everyone said try some high temp. paint and see what happens down the road.
There are ways around the rusting problem with aftermarket plated rotors that are treated to prevent rusting oxidation

Brake upgrade??

Good Luck

 

painting the hubs did nothing for me because the majority of the rust forms on the actual contact portion of the rotor, the fresh metal. it sucks for mine because my wheels are black and my car is like 80% blacked out.

 

5 hours.. mine rust over in about 5 minutes!

Like everyone says it's normal.

 

For clarity, the OP is talking about the face of the rotor that rusts up and then drops the rust on to the wheel inner ring behind the spokes. It makes the wheels look like crap when both front and back sides are clean and there is a brown ring from the rust.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I know what it's about when it comes to the contact portion of the disc becoming rusty. Would it be at all possible that the ventilation area is rusty and this is where the ring of gunk is coming from after washing?

 

wow, you're really not following are you? the rust isn't coming from anywhere, it is occurring when the face of the rotor gets wet. there's nothing to do and nothing to worry about unless you change to a rotor with a different material composite.

 

I have to say that this whole discussion sounds like a debate on whether or not to polish the bottoms of the soles of your shoes.

 

I don't like to polish the soles of my leather shoes as it causes me to lose traction on hills.

 

Here's my 2 c worth. I think I know what you're referring to...hopefully...Some may think this a little detail not worth bothering with, but then they're not **** about car cleanliness! I think the ring is normal, it's just the collection of all the rust, brake pad dust, road dirt, and whatever else that get spewed and collects there after washing and naturally gets spun via centrifugal force against the wheel inner circumference. never thought about where it come from, likely inside the rotor vanes.

So it getting there is a no brainer you're not going to stop. Getting it out regularly is the trick. I do it all the time when I wash:



It's similar to a refrigerator coil brush...you know to clean the dust under there, but they sell them probably everywhere as a skinny brush. The key thing as I use it is for it be long enough to clean the whole width of inner wheel by sticking between the spokes easily, and that it fit between the tight space of the front caliper and the wheel so you can clean all the wheel without moving the car.




I hose down and clean as much as possible with plain water first to get what I can, then spray some wheel cleaner in there, then brush around and wiggle and back and forth with the brush to get all the dirt loose (I'd liken this to using a flossing brush on you teeth!). Then a hose down and check all is clean and if not a bit more cleaner and the brush again.

After 6 yrs my wheel insides are virtually as clean as new. Occasionally when they;'re off, if use brake cleaner solvent on some nasty spots that are impervious to water based solvents and that's that! No rings! Good luck.

 

CT - There's absolutely no need to be an ******* about it.

Spin - Thanks for that. At least someone is on the right page! What works for me is a wet cloth. The crap comes off with a bit of elbow grease but it's important to do it asap.

I'll try brake cleaner next time. Hopefully it might help somewhat.

Cheers again.

 

This is what I use to get the tight spots. Very flexible (pipe cleaner effect) and will not scratch.

cost around 30 bucks

 

The first time I noticed this crap on my wheels, I used a toothbrush and wheel clean haha it did the job though! Nice 8 Pico, 40th ann. edition?

 

^ Yes Sir
Thanks bud

 

She's a beaut! Yeah, if I looked at the text on that pic I might have noticed 40th Anniversary on the bottom but I was too engrossed in the beauty and shine of the car!

 

What rear brake pad are you using?

 

They are the OEM pads...

 

didnt really wnat to start another thread, butwhat are some good upgrades for the OEM brakes?? i'm starting to hear slight squeals from them.