# BMW X5 333M polished alloys



## Steve Burnett (Apr 21, 2009)

Any X5 owners out there that are worried about the state of their alloys?
I’m hopefully getting a brand new set of 20” 333M alloys. These alloys, due to being polished, suffer badly from corrosion around the center caps. BMW replace these in the warranty period but I’d like to keep them top notch from day 1.
What do people/detailers use on the alloys?

For cleaning I have Billberry and Auto Finesse wheel cleaners. Anyone know why these would not be up to the job?
I also have Tardis and Iron x. Would you recommend these to be used at all? I seem to pick up a lot or stubborn iron fall out on my wheels and on previous cars iron x was a must.

For protection, the most important part, I have poorboys wheel wax but I am thinking about something like Gtechnic. Does anyone have thoughts on this?

Thanks for any help.


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## Niall (Nov 22, 2009)

333M's are clear coated but as you say are very prone to corrosion around the centre emblems and spigot holes where the clear coat ends. So over time water seeps underneath it causing the polished finish of the rim to oxidise, the clear coat then looses its bonding and starts to blister and peel off.

Using Tardis & IronX is fine but I would avoid allowing any chemical products to dwell in those sensitive areas. A nano wheel sealant is the best you could do in way of protection, I would apply a few coats of whatever one you choose to the lip where the centre caps mounts in the rim to try and keep the water out of these areas as best as possible.

I would also apply a very thin layer of clear grease or similar to the lugs on the centres caps too before fitting them to reduce the friction of them against the clear coat.

HTH


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## Steve Burnett (Apr 21, 2009)

Anyone got thoughts on the protection front?


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## Pinkpanther (Mar 17, 2014)

*BMW X5 2011 Corroding wheels and running boards*

Hi, I bought a new BMW X5 in March 2011 and I have just had all 4 alloy wheels and caps replaced under warranty. Also running boards on both sides were showing signs of corroding and have been replaced (cost BMW £1000 for new running boards)! Interested to know if corrosion of wheels/running boards is a common problem on BMW cars?
In the past I have owned a VW Golf GTI and a Jaguar X-Type from new and kept both for around 6 years without ever having any corrosion problems, so I'm not very impressed with quality of materials used by BMW.


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## Steve Burnett (Apr 21, 2009)

The 20" polished alloys are bad news.
Mine had never seen road salt and one had started to corrode around the center cap after about 4 months. 1 year on and both front wheels need replacing.
BMW agreed but I've put it on hold for a month or two. Waiting for summer.


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