Weird wheel question

I've got a 2001 S80 with aluminum alloy wheels.

My car is usually kept pretty clean but inevitably 2 or 3 days after a car wash the brake dust begins to build up and becomes noticeable no matter how clean the rest of the car is - but that's perfectly normal and not the point of my question.

Today my wheels are dirty and I happened to see something on three of my four wheels that defies description, and which I've never noticed before: each of the three has at least one mark that looks like somebody has swirled something against the wheel and made a shiny round spot amidst all the dark brake dust. One wheel has two such marks. Two have one each, and the fourth has none. They are not all the same size. They range from about

5/16" diameter to perhaps 7/8". All are near the outer edge of the wheel within an inch or two of the tire.

Does anybody remember an old metal decorating technique known as "engine turning"? Well that's just about what this looks like. The marks look like the result of a deliberate act - but that's impossible.

I certainly didn't do it myself and the car is never parked in an area where it might be vandalized.

I'm stumped. I have no idea what could cause something like this. I took some digital pictures if anybody wants to take a peek and offer some kind of explanation.

Reply to the group.

Pat

Reply to
Pat Durkin
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Send me a picture

Regards,

Boris Mohar

Got Knock? - see: Viatrack Printed Circuit Designs

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void _-void-_ in the obvious place

Reply to
Boris Mohar

send picture to snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com

chuck petterson

73ES
Reply to
spam this

sound like a form of crop circle to me ;) send me the pics m8

Reply to
dave manchester

Don't laugh. I've been thinking the same thing.

Pat

Reply to
Pat Durkin

???????????????????????????????????????

got me m8? it can only be someone messing about

???????????????????????????????????????

Reply to
dave manchester

I've had something similar on my wheels - and in my case it's all the local cats marking my car as their own...

Reply to
KerbKlipper

That's as good a guess as any but go to this link, look at the actual spots and then think a little more...

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listed my name on Brickboard as "crocodile" Pat :-)

Reply to
Pat Durkin

Checked out your pictures at the Brickboard site, Pat - - -

Living in Anaheim, you've got some good institutions of higher learning in the area. In your situation, I'd get on to an entymologist at one of the Cal State campuses and see if there's some insect that lives in your area, likes the color of your car, etc. They love weird things such as this.

bob noble Reno, NV, USA

Reply to
Bob Noble

I looked at the pictures on the Brickboad, and have a question: Are the circles on the surface, or do they have depth?

Reply to
GC

dog pee

Don't taste it...

Dog's _can_ pee.. REALLY!

Dog pee.

Yup... dog pee...

__ __ Randy & \ \/ /alerie's \__/olvo '93 960 Estate

Reply to
Randy G.

To me it looks like one end of a short thread (or similar) was stuck to the wheel, spun around in the wind for a while, then blew off.

Reply to
Mike F

They must have some measureable depth although it is not detectable when I put my fingers on the wheel.

I cleaned the car up this weekend and they vanished when all the brake dust went away.

Pat

Reply to
Pat Durkin

It does, doesn't it?

I cleaned the car up this weekend and it vanished when all the brake dust went away. I was afraid there would be permanent marks but apparently not.

Pat

Reply to
Pat Durkin

Ok Pat! It's *Nothing* like cats! :-)

Heading into pure conjecture to try and whip up a broader set of ideas, how about kids with one of those foam dart guns / rubber ball / Squash ball / bow and arrow? It might just be something deforming/compressing on impact leaving those concentric rings just as well as something spinning. Are there any forms of BB gun that could use rubber beads this size? I like the 'thread in the wind' idea posted elsewhere in this conversation, but can't figure out why a thread would be stuck there in the first place, and what would cause more than one to stick at one end and spin, especially to different wheels.

I'm still thinking...

Reply to
KerbKlipper

Did you get an alignment done when your car was last in the shop? If so I would say they were the marks left behind from the the alignment machine and they only became visible when brake dust was introduced. If they are gone now then good riddance.

Jordan 1999 S70 Loaded!

Reply to
Jordan B

No. The last service work was a brake job 6 weeks ago and the spots just showed up last week.

They are gone now that I've cleaned the car up but the story of how they were created remains a mystery to me. I'm curious about whether they'll re-appear.

Pat

Reply to
Pat Durkin

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