C5 X7 ambient lighting (and some other bits and pieces)

[GiveMeABreak]

So, I've managed to obtain two Sonax products: the before mentioned Sonax Extreme Alloy Cleaner Full Effect, and the Sonax Air Con Cleaner ... having great expectation about the first one (if my rims, at least, won't turn pink after spraying them, the product isn't worth s**t ... ), the second one was bought more out of curiosity ...

[GiveMeABreak]

Well, if all else fails, you can always try it on the oven!

[Stickyfinger]

Take them off and scrub them with a brush, it is easy to do, just set the suspension to high and.....on wait

[vborovic]

I know about scrubbing, I just want to take the opportunity to test what the nuclear physicists over at such companies developed over the years ... ... regarding the suspension, I can easily remove 2 wheels on the same side by raising the car in one point so, I don't miss the hydractive for that ...

[Stickyfinger]

.....

I do not really think there is anything that can "remove" the worst of it. The particles are stuck by high speed impact to the surface, Oils and grease etc are best cleaned by detergents scrubbed on with warm water base. I do wonder (have tried a few) if they really are all snake oil

[GiveMeABreak]

So ... gave the Sonax Xtreme Full Effect Alloy Cleaner a go today ... very satisfied with the end results ...

how the front alloy looked like within 30 seconds after applying the spray

Of course, cleaned all 4 wheels ... for testing purposes, I did a spray-rinse-spray-rinse on the front left wheel, compared to the spray-scrub-rinse on the front right wheel ... very close ... only the really heavy baked parts couldn't be removed just by the spray alone ... the grease or whatever it was released the alloys voluntarily (literally melted) ...

how the front alloy looks like after the cleaning

Conclusion: the spray works even better than I hoped it would ... the price (not a discount) was 5 GBP for a 0.75 liter bottle ... the downside: you need to spray it a lot if thew wheels weren't maintained for a long time, like mine weren't ... spent 2/3 of the bottle, double spraying on the front wheels ... and I've managed to clean the outside of the wheel, and the inside, roughly half of the alloy width ... even cleaned the calipers and the brake discs (even though they weren't the target, they were caught in the crossfire ... ) ... willingly allowed the spray to drip on the stone tiles as seen on the first picture, and yes, it can easily be cleaned with water (though I didn't leave it for too long, a few minutes maybe).

[GiveMeABreak]

Aren't you glad you don't have these babies to clean

Pipe cleaners at the ready for these, Wonder Wheels or no Wonder Wheels!

[vborovic]

My dad has these ones on his C5 ...

[Stickyfinger]

Lets see if it works after 3 months in the summer

They do look very smart however

My dad has these ones on his C5 ...

If only they fitted a Xantia....I have always liked that design

[vborovic]

Lets see if it works after 3 months in the summer

No reason not to work ... today was 8°C while I was cleaning them ... in the warmer weather it should be even easier for the chemicals to do their magic .. also, these wheels were definitely out of action for some time, maybe up to a year ... without been cleaned ... and it all came off

[Stickyfinger]

A long term test will be great to see.....they cut through the cra6 (hehehe) talked by the advertising

[vborovic]

Btw, I don't know if any of you noticed, I put a chrome cap on one of the wheel bolts ... it looks as expected, meaning, I'll be getting the other 19 as well ... ... price 1,5 GBP per piece (genuine, from the Service) ... I'll try to pick up a set of 20 off ebay for some 18 GBP (with shipping) ... there are some cheaper sets as well, but they don't look like they're high-quality made

[Stickyfinger]

Do yours fit on the locking bolt heads....my (Citroen) ones don't , they stick out then fall off

[vborovic]

No locking bolts currently, but I doubt they would be in place for long (if at all) ... the only "solution" I found for the locking bolts and caps is this (obviously, far from perfect, in size and color of the locking caps):

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/20x-Whee ... 41259.html

[Hell Razor5543]

Lets see if it works after 3 months in the summer

They do look very smart however

My dad has these ones on his C5 ...

If only they fitted a Xantia....I have always liked that design

My C5 estate has these on it. I had to get 3 hub covers though, as 1 was missing, and the other 2 were broken.