ok i just went to autozone and got this stuff called Eagle One All Wheel & Tire Cleaner. now i dont like to swing off some product's nuts and advertise it like a toolbox, but this stuff worked AWESOME. i bought the cleaner, $5, and a scrub brush $3, and sprayed it on, scrubbed it down, and rinsed it off with the hose. it cleaned the tires and completely shined up the rims too. i use to spend like 5-10 minutes per rim trying to get each nook and cranny of the rim, but this just washed the dirt completely away.

thanks everyone for the advice. repped