@Paul_M_Novak Paul . . .
You and I share virtually identical 1990 XJ-S convertibles in signal red. Given your experience in concours preparation and judging, I’m asking your advice (of course, anyone can chip in - all ideas welcome).
I have just spent about 3/4 of an hour on my knees, toothbrush and spray bottle of Simple Green in hand, cleaning the lattice wheels on my car. Is there a better, faster way of getting those wheels clean? They look fabulous once they’re clean, but I ain’t gettin’ any younger and it’s becoming a bit of a chore.
Best . . . Ron McLeod
There are a slew of reasonably effective contact wheel cleaners out there. Spray on…wait…hose off type things. I’ve never met one that worked 100% but plenty work 90%. Here is one
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014V9GFJU/
To get 100% I have to do some brushing. I would not resort to a toothbrush to make it 100%. The surface area is just too small. I have one of these kits and use it on the alloy wheels on my cars. Much faster and easier on the hands. Five minutes per wheel generally.
11 minutes per wheel? You work fast!
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Unless it was to be 3-4 hrs
Ron,
When I have the wheels/tires off any of our Jaguars (brake job, tire rotation, ?) I will take the time to clean the wheels while they are off the car. I put each wheel/tire on a large tall round plastic tub one by one, and wash them multiple times each with an assortment of brushes to get them clean. The tub helps avoid much bending over. Then I will treat the rubber on the tires before I remount them. It will take me hours to do a complete set of five wheels/tires. I will do this while listening to my favorite music and with plenty of adult beverages on hand.
For a quick cleanup right before a concours I put the car up on my four post lift and clean them at a convenient height that eliminates bending over and gives me a good close look at the wheels.
Other than that I have no magic solution.
Paul
how about a wheel brush
That is why I removed the lattice wheels and went to something easier to clean.
I had the lattice wheels on my 94 4.0 coupe. I had the dealer installed kleen wheel plates installed and they kept the wheels looking very clean for quite a long time. Highly recommended!
Gordon
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Gordon,
I agree. I picked up two of those Kleen Wheels along the way and installed them on the front lattice wheels of my wife’s 1990 XJ-S convertible. They really make a big difference in keeping the wheels free of brake dust. I tried to fit them on the Kent Alloy wheels on my 1984 XJ6 Vanden Plas and the Pepperpot wheels of my 1990 V12 Vanden Plas and they were too large to fit even though all three models have 15" wheels and tires.
Paul
I’ve had good luck with a cleaner named “Flash brown Royal”, available from Amazon or from the maker:
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Take wheel off, wet it well with a hose. Spray on ‘Muc Off’ (from a cycle shop). Leave a few mins then using a small brush work all the holes in the wheel. Wash off with a hose.
Not acidic and lifts the grime well.
Do the dust shields prohibit air flow and thus less cooling of the brakes ?
What dust shields are we talking about? Doesn’t matter, the answer is no.
Does any one know clear dates of what tyres were OE on XJS and what year they changed. including brand and tread pattern would be really useful
Longstone,
The Jaguar Clubs of North America (JCNA) 2019 Concours d’Elegance Rule Book has a comprehensive listing of tires and wheels for SS and Jaguar cars from 1931 to 2019. This information is in Appendix B and is based on decades of research into Jaguar factory records. I can’t imagine a more complete document to use for researching any Jaguar automobile wheel or tire question.
The Concours Rule Book can be downloaded for free from the JCNA website: www.jcna.com
Paul