(Burble: A throaty popping exhaust sound occurring when backing off the accelerator suddenly)

Dedicated to sharing tech tips and driving related observations

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This month I would like to share what I have found to be a couple efficient ways for cleaning your Porsche Platinum Satin Carrera Style wheels. 

•  You should periodically remove your wheels for a thorough cleaning. Brake dust, tar, salts and other road debris will deteriorate the finish on these spendy wheels.
• Before removing the 1st wheel lay down a piece of thin plywood and then cover with some old towels. This provides a soft/non abrasive surface so you can lay down the outer side of your wheels for washing without damaging them. 
• Thoroughly wash your wheels with hot soapy water and dry.
• The friendliest chemical I have found for removing road tar and other road grime is "mineral spirits" which can be found in any local hardware store's paint department. Soak a small clean soft cloth or a "non" Scotch Brite Sponge with mineral spirits and wipe down your wheel thoroughly. This should remove all of the collected road tar and grime with very little scrubbing necessary.
• Rewash the wheel to remove the mineral spirits residue and re-dry.
• For the last step Porsche recommends applying a light coat of Petroleum Jelly (aka Vaseline) to your Platinum Satin Carrera Style wheels! Even after removing all of the excess Vaseline residue I find this step creates the ultimate brake dust magnet! As an alternative, try using a product I have been using for years on the Face Shields of my Helmets (both clear or tinted). This product is easy to apply and will add luster back to your wheels without being a dust magnet. The product is.. wait for it... Lemon Pledge! You can either spray Pledge directly on your wheels or saturate a small microfiber cloth and apply that way. After application wait a few minutes then buff with another clean microfiber cloth. Typical Car waxes can leave a chalky white residue if you don't get it all wiped off properly. This final step will also help when it comes to the next wash and the removal of brake dust.

Interim Cleaning - wheels on

For the interim cleaning, between wheel removals, there's a product I've been using for years on my motorcycles which is very effective. This product is made in Germany (always a good start) and is used to thoroughly clean all parts of a motorcycle as it can be sprayed on aluminum engines, chrome, other alloys, rubber, neoprene and directly on paint or clear coat. The Product is "S100 Total Cycle Cleaner" and can be found at your local motorcycle shop or on Amazon in 5 liter jugs.

Rather than using a small spray bottle for applying S100, I have found that a 1 gallon size garden pump sprayer (chemically rated) is the best way to both store and apply S100 to cool dry wheels, tires and brake calipers. Pour the S100 into your 1 gallon garden sprayer, pump it up and adjust the wand spray head pattern to resemble that of a properly working fuel injector (you will use less product that way). With the spray wand you'll be able to get into hard to reach areas such as the inner part of your wheels and wheel wells. I also spray the bug laden front end of my Cayman with S100 just before washing. Let the S100 work for a couple of minutes before using the highest pressure setting on your garden hose or a pressure washer to rinse off the S100 and voila'!

You will be surprised at how well it cleans both your wheels and "your tires" thus avoiding the need for tire dressing!