[deepblue]

I just ordered a chili red/white roof cooper S yesterday.
I odered the car w/ silver 17" wheels.
After searching through the forum, the
majority of opinions seemed to be, white roof car look better w/ white wheels.
My question is how hard is it to keep the white wheels clean. I don't want to wash the wheels everyday to keep it looking good. And someone also said it might turn yellow as it aged. Anyone who owned white wheels before could share their thoughts would be higly appreciated.
thanks

[Deuce Coop]

Where did you order from? As there are no DFW dealers yet I have played the waiting game about as long as I care to and am looking into either OKC or Baton Rouge. However there was a hint that MINI will reveal the Texas dealers within the week!!

IMO the white wheels look too good to pass up. I asked one of my employees about his white rims on his Civic, and he said they are just as easy (or hard) to keep clean and after 2 1/2 years show no sign of fading or discoloration.

[deepblue]

I ordered my car from brian harris bmw in baton rouge. Hopefully by the time i get my car there would be new dealer closer to north texas. Thanks for the info on the wheels.

[AndyW]

As luck would have it, I bought a set of second-hand wheels & tyres from my dealer to use as spares for my racing MINI - but he only had some silver ones in. As they were cheap, I bought them anyway, so I might be the only person here who has seen his car on both on a regular basis!

I thought they wouldn't look as good as the original white ones, but to be honest, they look just as good as the white ones, so I shouldn't worry. As far as cleaning goes, both sets are too new to tell, they both come up pristine.

[jeffers]

silver wheels look good on this one, though R90s which are nice on any motor

[GadgetGav]

I think it depends on the car colo(u)r and the wheel style. Ours is Chili Red / White roof and I think the 5 spoke 16" wheels we've got are the right look for the car. They do show brake dust, but they're not hard to clean. I put wax on them to help shed the dust and maybe help protect them from yellowing. I doubt the white will yellow - they must be designed to cope with heat and brake dust - but you never know I suppose.

[GaryM]

Sorry for all you guys with other colour combintions but I think Red and White just looks great! Mine has White wheels, roof and mirrors.

While the wheels do get dirty, by the by the time they look bad it is time to lavish some TLC to the whole car and give it a wash. Like one of the other posts I polish the wheels as well. The dust just washes off with a sponge fine without the use of any harsher wheel cleaners. So I don't find it a problem at all.

Never tried them myself but you can get some covers that go between the inside of the wheel and in front of the brake disc and caliper. They help keep the dust down but I'm like the seeing the disc and I'm not sure on the effects of cooling.

[Lorien]

I have a BRG with white roof + wheels. looks incredible! i am very happy i chose this colour combo . BUT: it gets dirty VERY fast. i normaly wash them twice a week .. its about 15-20 min work a time to get it all shiny. GET THEM! really adds style to the car

[jim]

White wheels look GREAT with the white roof and mirrors. They are a PAIN to keep clean, but what a pain to have eh?

[OhioCowboy]

I have EB with white wheels. I don't think there will be much difference between silver and white showing the dirt. With the OEM brake pads I'm sure both will get dirty with the OEM pads. Anyone found aftermarket pads and dust shields for the MINI yet?

[OhioCowboy]

Here's EB with white on an S. Roof/mirrors/wheels all white seems to be a good combo.

[noahe]

They are a pain to keep spotlessly clean, but fairly simple to keep looking white.

I found a product by Rain-X that you spray on perfectly cleaned, dried wheels. Contains teflon. After applying it, you can get the wheels really nearly spotlessly clean with just a hose, and no soap. Expensive at 12 bucks for a little squirt bottle, but so far, 6000 km, and I haven't had to re-apply it.

Wax also works, but you should buy a wheel wax, which is less prone to yellowing with heat, and repels hot brake dust. A soft carnuba wax will deteriorate in the heat of the wheel, and actually capture dust and yellow with time.

They are definately more work than the bog standard silver wheels on our other car. But BMW's in general make a lot of dust, and so far, the white wheels feel worth it. I really love them!