Adam's Deep Wheel Cleaner Review - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

CamaroDreams07 · 03-26-2013, 01:45 PM

About a week ago, I got a PM from Nick at Adam's who asked me if I'd like to try their new Deep Wheel Cleaner and see how it stacked up against my favorite, Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner. It was a really generous offer and of course I jumped at it right away. I've been using Sonax for years and know exactly what to expect from it on varying degrees of dirty wheels, so this was going to be a piece of cake comparison. Here is my honest opinion:

Value: 4/5 Adam's is about $30 for 36oz, which comes out to about $.83/oz. Sonax is more expensive at about $.95/oz. That being said, I did use a bit more of the Adam's, so let's call it a wash.

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Ease of Use: 5/5 This stuff is super easy to use. Kind of interesting that they recommend applying it to dry wheels, but that's what I did. Then you let it work for a few seconds before agitating with a damp boar's hair brush. It takes the advantage over Sonax because of the foaming sprayer makes it cling to the wheel a lot better. Like Sonax or Iron-X, it reacts with the iron in brake dust to turn a magenta color as it works. Isn't as noticeable on my car because I have ceramic pads, but you could definitely see it coming off the rotors.

Dirty Wheel
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Letting it dwell
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Starting to get a little red
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Really turning colors after agitation (most of this is from rotors)
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Cleaning Power: 5/5 This left the wheel spotless. Rinsed off very easily and cleanly and nothing was left behind. I really was impressed with it. Certainly as effective as Sonax or anything else I've used.

Perfectly clean wheel
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Scent: 2/5 I know how you Adam's guys love your scented car products, so let's talk about it for a second. The smell is sort of cherry with hint of Iron-X funk. Not nearly as bad, but not pleasant at all. The bottle warns you of this and says it will dissipate quickly. Quickly is obviously subjective, but I could definitely still detect it after I had washed and dried the car. You don't get that nastiness with Sonax.

So as you can see, I loved this product. I got around 3 wheels thinking only of all the good things I would say about it. Then I noticed this and documented a before and after for the last one:

Before cleaning fourth wheel:
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What all four sets of balancing weights look like now:
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Not okay. Not at all. I've never had a wheel cleaner react like that. It's not like this is some foreign object on my wheel, it's a pretty common thing. I was able to scrub about 1/2 of the color off, but now I'm gonna have to take a lot more time to get rid of my new lime green wheel weights. I highly doubt I have some special kind of weights on there, so I'm not sure how this wasn't detected during development. The wheels were absolutely cool, the car had been driven about 20 feet since last night.

I really don't want to bash this product, especially after Adam's was kind enough to send me a free bottle. I wanted to love it, and I did until I saw this. However, I can't in good conscience recommend it until I get to the bottom of this and those pictures are not just my opinion. Maybe Dylan or Nick can lend some thoughts on this.

So anyway, Sonax is still the king for me. I'm benching this product until I can get some answers or do some more testing. Adam's DWC is definitely as effective as anything else on there, but Sonax has never stained anything like that and caused me who knows how much time to correct

**Update 4/20/2013** I wanted to come in and give Adam's a fair shake on this again. I have not run into this problem with the weights on any other cars. Mine still discolor each time, but I guess I have some weird wheel weights. I can't explain why, and it IS happening, but I apologize for insinuating Adam's did not do their due diligence in testing this product. I'm having a weird problem that could not have reasonably been foreseen. I believe this is one of the finest wheel cleaners I've ever used, and I'd like to revise my overall rating to a 5/5.

ihaveacamaro · 03-26-2013, 01:55 PM

Great review, I believe Iron X has been noted by people to have the same issue of turning wheel weights green. Some people have the issues and others dont :dunno:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...ght-green.html

ihaveacamaro · 03-26-2013, 01:58 PM

Here's a post of someone saying that sonax did the same http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...tml#post753440

CamaroDreams07 · 03-26-2013, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ihaveacamaro

Here's a post of someone saying that sonax did the same http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...tml#post753440

That's weird. I've used it on mine dozens of times and on other cars dozens more. Never once had an issue. Hmm.

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usranger80 · 03-26-2013, 02:07 PM

Just plastidip your wheel weights...

bigwayne3000 · 03-26-2013, 02:12 PM

Not sure why it even matters. How often do you look at your wheel weights? Did them turning green or yellowish hue unbalance your wheels somehow? If they cleaned your wheels than the stuff did its job. If it somehow cleaned your wheels while corroding your weights than I can understand your frustration.

CamaroDreams07 · 03-26-2013, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by usranger80

Just plastidip your wheel weights...

Lol I don't want to plastidip my wheel weights... Nor should I have to.

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camaro2ssblack · 03-26-2013, 02:16 PM

Learn something new everyday, thanks for the review Matt. I'll be watching for more input on the color change...

WiSSDiver · 03-26-2013, 02:18 PM

I'm thinking of wrapping my wheel weights in vinyl. Then I can get more practice on commenting on the proper care of vinyl. Maybe I'll even become an expert. :0/

CamaroDreams07 · 03-26-2013, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigwayne3000

Not sure why it even matters. How often do you look at your wheel weights? Did them turning green or yellowish hue unbalance your wheels somehow? If they cleaned your wheels than the stuff did its job. If it somehow cleaned your wheels while corroding your weights than I can understand your frustration.

It's very noticeable to anyone with a discerning eye for properly detailed vehicles. If you don't see the issue with this then I'm really not sure why you're even in a detailing section of a forum...

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usranger80 · 03-26-2013, 02:32 PM

I couldn't resist, lol, seems to be a popular answer though. Its hard to see in the picture though...is it just oxidization on the weights, APC should take it right off if it is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CamaroDreams07

Lol I don't want to plastidip my wheel weights... Nor should I have to.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

usranger80 · 03-26-2013, 02:35 PM

But your right you shouldn't have to deal with it. Waiting anxiously from a response from the Adam's guys, cuz I was about to order some of this.

CamaroDreams07 · 03-26-2013, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by usranger80

I couldn't resist, lol, seems to be a popular answer though. Its hard to see in the picture though...is it just oxidization on the weights, APC should take it right off if it is.

I agree, it should come right off. I'll grab a tooth brush and some apc next time I wash the car.

That's really not the point though... I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here how everyone is acting like it's no big deal and is just telling me how easy it is to fix. I guess that's what happens when you have something negative to say about Adams on C5 haha.

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Adam's Polishes · 03-26-2013, 02:50 PM

Very weird... we cleaned probably hundreds of wheels from different makes and models (camaro included) with the stuff before release and never saw it discolor wheel weights.

Are those the factory weights or ones that were put on after another balancing?

Curious why these would react all of a sudden to ours, unless your weights had a very high iron content. Truth be told I've never looked into what materials are used to make wheel weights.

03-26-2013, 01:45 PM	#1
CamaroDreams07 Drives: Slow V6 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: East Lansing, MI Posts: 9,361 View My Garage	Adam's Deep Wheel Cleaner Review About a week ago, I got a PM from Nick at Adam's who asked me if I'd like to try their new Deep Wheel Cleaner and see how it stacked up against my favorite, Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner. It was a really generous offer and of course I jumped at it right away. I've been using Sonax for years and know exactly what to expect from it on varying degrees of dirty wheels, so this was going to be a piece of cake comparison. Here is my honest opinion: Value: 4/5 Adam's is about $30 for 36oz, which comes out to about $.83/oz. Sonax is more expensive at about $.95/oz. That being said, I did use a bit more of the Adam's, so let's call it a wash. Ease of Use: 5/5 This stuff is super easy to use. Kind of interesting that they recommend applying it to dry wheels, but that's what I did. Then you let it work for a few seconds before agitating with a damp boar's hair brush. It takes the advantage over Sonax because of the foaming sprayer makes it cling to the wheel a lot better. Like Sonax or Iron-X, it reacts with the iron in brake dust to turn a magenta color as it works. Isn't as noticeable on my car because I have ceramic pads, but you could definitely see it coming off the rotors. Dirty Wheel Letting it dwell Starting to get a little red Really turning colors after agitation (most of this is from rotors) Cleaning Power: 5/5 This left the wheel spotless. Rinsed off very easily and cleanly and nothing was left behind. I really was impressed with it. Certainly as effective as Sonax or anything else I've used. Perfectly clean wheel Scent: 2/5 I know how you Adam's guys love your scented car products, so let's talk about it for a second. The smell is sort of cherry with hint of Iron-X funk. Not nearly as bad, but not pleasant at all. The bottle warns you of this and says it will dissipate quickly. Quickly is obviously subjective, but I could definitely still detect it after I had washed and dried the car. You don't get that nastiness with Sonax. So as you can see, I loved this product. I got around 3 wheels thinking only of all the good things I would say about it. Then I noticed this and documented a before and after for the last one: Before cleaning fourth wheel: What all four sets of balancing weights look like now: Not okay. Not at all. I've never had a wheel cleaner react like that. It's not like this is some foreign object on my wheel, it's a pretty common thing. I was able to scrub about 1/2 of the color off, but now I'm gonna have to take a lot more time to get rid of my new lime green wheel weights. I highly doubt I have some special kind of weights on there, so I'm not sure how this wasn't detected during development. The wheels were absolutely cool, the car had been driven about 20 feet since last night. I really don't want to bash this product, especially after Adam's was kind enough to send me a free bottle. I wanted to love it, and I did until I saw this. However, I can't in good conscience recommend it until I get to the bottom of this and those pictures are not just my opinion. Maybe Dylan or Nick can lend some thoughts on this. So anyway, Sonax is still the king for me. I'm benching this product until I can get some answers or do some more testing. Adam's DWC is definitely as effective as anything else on there, but Sonax has never stained anything like that and caused me who knows how much time to correct Update 4/20/2013 I wanted to come in and give Adam's a fair shake on this again. I have not run into this problem with the weights on any other cars. Mine still discolor each time, but I guess I have some weird wheel weights. I can't explain why, and it IS happening, but I apologize for insinuating Adam's did not do their due diligence in testing this product. I'm having a weird problem that could not have reasonably been foreseen. I believe this is one of the finest wheel cleaners I've ever used, and I'd like to revise my overall rating to a 5/5. __________________ [B] Last edited by CamaroDreams07; 04-20-2013 at 12:29 PM.

03-26-2013, 01:55 PM	#2
ihaveacamaro I like teeth. Drives: #198 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Posts: 4,817	Great review, I believe Iron X has been noted by people to have the same issue of turning wheel weights green. Some people have the issues and others dont :dunno: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...ght-green.html __________________ . Please check out my youtube detailing channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/roshan517 "When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful."

03-26-2013, 01:58 PM	#3
ihaveacamaro I like teeth. Drives: #198 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Posts: 4,817	Here's a post of someone saying that sonax did the same http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...tml#post753440 __________________ . Please check out my youtube detailing channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/roshan517 "When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful."

03-26-2013, 02:07 PM	#5
usranger80 Drives: 2011 1LT "Bumblebee" Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: San Angelo, TX Posts: 699 View My Garage	Just plastidip your wheel weights... __________________

03-26-2013, 02:16 PM	#8
camaro2ssblack Drives: 2010 Camaro 2SS - Black on Black Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Jackson, TN Posts: 731	Learn something new everyday, thanks for the review Matt. I'll be watching for more input on the color change... __________________

03-26-2013, 02:12 PM	#6
bigwayne3000 Drives: 2011 Camaro LS Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: NJ Posts: 1,917	Not sure why it even matters. How often do you look at your wheel weights? Did them turning green or yellowish hue unbalance your wheels somehow? If they cleaned your wheels than the stuff did its job. If it somehow cleaned your wheels while corroding your weights than I can understand your frustration.

03-26-2013, 02:18 PM	#9
WiSSDiver Drives: 1968 Coupe, 2010 2SS, 2011 2SS/RS Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: WIsconsin Posts: 1,252 View My Garage	I'm thinking of wrapping my wheel weights in vinyl. Then I can get more practice on commenting on the proper care of vinyl. Maybe I'll even become an expert. :0/ __________________

03-26-2013, 02:35 PM	#12
usranger80 Drives: 2011 1LT "Bumblebee" Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: San Angelo, TX Posts: 699 View My Garage	But your right you shouldn't have to deal with it. Waiting anxiously from a response from the Adam's guys, cuz I was about to order some of this. __________________

03-26-2013, 02:50 PM	#14
Adam's Polishes Drives: The shiny ones. Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: In the detail shop! Posts: 5,979	Very weird... we cleaned probably hundreds of wheels from different makes and models (camaro included) with the stuff before release and never saw it discolor wheel weights. Are those the factory weights or ones that were put on after another balancing? Curious why these would react all of a sudden to ours, unless your weights had a very high iron content. Truth be told I've never looked into what materials are used to make wheel weights.