Automated car wash R8 coupe
Discussion
I have been through a phase of carefully washing my cars
Then an even longer phase of never washing them
Now I am considering going to my local Esso station & just driving through the car wash there. Doing their top level wash with the pre-foam
I had a look at the brushes and they are a sort of plastic that is not like hard bristles or a soft material that could retain dirt
Is this a really terrible idea? I just want the car clean every now & again & can't be bothered to do it myself or pay enough to have someone do it properly
I'm not going to do it that much just a few times a year
The car is black and that is particularly bad for swirl marks but my other cars have ended up covered in swirl marks from my own crappy technique anyway
Then an even longer phase of never washing them
Now I am considering going to my local Esso station & just driving through the car wash there. Doing their top level wash with the pre-foam
I had a look at the brushes and they are a sort of plastic that is not like hard bristles or a soft material that could retain dirt
Is this a really terrible idea? I just want the car clean every now & again & can't be bothered to do it myself or pay enough to have someone do it properly
I'm not going to do it that much just a few times a year
The car is black and that is particularly bad for swirl marks but my other cars have ended up covered in swirl marks from my own crappy technique anyway
The problem with automated car washes is that everything goes through them. Stuff that is covered in little bits of gravel, or sand, etc. Where do you think this stuff ends up? In the rollers.
On top of that everything is by necessity super high pressure and high speed - because everything has to end up clean on the other end in the space of about 60 seconds.
Add all that up and basically what you're asking is whether it's ok to have someone run a sponge they've dropped on the ground several times over your car, really quickly and putting a lot of pressure so they can get the layer of dirt off in one sweep. Is that something you'd be happy for someone to do if they proposed it to you?
I wouldn't put any car I remotely cared about through an automated car wash, much less an R8. I don't care how busy you are - your own Karcher + snow foam will do a decent enough job in about 5 minutes if you can't be bothered with the two bucket method. If you get your car detailed (which on a lovely car like that - you should) it would be even less maintenance.
On top of that everything is by necessity super high pressure and high speed - because everything has to end up clean on the other end in the space of about 60 seconds.
Add all that up and basically what you're asking is whether it's ok to have someone run a sponge they've dropped on the ground several times over your car, really quickly and putting a lot of pressure so they can get the layer of dirt off in one sweep. Is that something you'd be happy for someone to do if they proposed it to you?
I wouldn't put any car I remotely cared about through an automated car wash, much less an R8. I don't care how busy you are - your own Karcher + snow foam will do a decent enough job in about 5 minutes if you can't be bothered with the two bucket method. If you get your car detailed (which on a lovely car like that - you should) it would be even less maintenance.
The other thing to bear in mind is that these systems use a track to move the car, often with these types of cars the tyre is no of sufficient profile and therefore it is the wheel not the tyre that scrapes the side of the metal track.
Not something i ever thought about until i lined up to go in and helpfully one of the attendants warned me.
Not something i ever thought about until i lined up to go in and helpfully one of the attendants warned me.
Trev450 said:
You should be made to walk through the car wash yourself for even suggesting it. 
This ^^^^Noooooooo dont put it through the car wash, how long will it take to wash and polish it?
If you dont want to do if yourself, at least use a prof detailing guy and do the job well, poor R8!
Andy
I wouldn't suggest that a pro detailer is absolutely necessary to clean a car each time.
However, even if this was a £5k daily, I would suggest taking it to the local hand car wash rather than an automated jobbie.
My local one does it for £5 and is perfectly fine. They too may add swirls, but there's nothing like the risk of an automated wash.
However, even if this was a £5k daily, I would suggest taking it to the local hand car wash rather than an automated jobbie.
My local one does it for £5 and is perfectly fine. They too may add swirls, but there's nothing like the risk of an automated wash.
Muzzer79 said:
I wouldn't suggest that a pro detailer is absolutely necessary to clean a car each time.
However, even if this was a £5k daily, I would suggest taking it to the local hand car wash rather than an automated jobbie.
My local one does it for £5 and is perfectly fine. They too may add swirls, but there's nothing like the risk of an automated wash.
Having a detailer wash the car every time definitely would be overkill, though I wonder if there are some out there that do that. But having a car detailed will make it easier to wash, perhaps not quicker, but the results would be impressive even after a basic wash.However, even if this was a £5k daily, I would suggest taking it to the local hand car wash rather than an automated jobbie.
My local one does it for £5 and is perfectly fine. They too may add swirls, but there's nothing like the risk of an automated wash.
OP - while weather is pretty cold, I cannot blame you wanting someone else to do it... However I would not even take my cheapest car to one of those auto washes, as they will ruin your black paintwork and fill it with tiny scratches.. The car deserves better 
Surely you can find a local hand wash who can maybe do a better job..?
G
Surely you can find a local hand wash who can maybe do a better job..?G
Durzel said:
But having a car detailed will make it easier to wash, perhaps not quicker, but the results would be impressive even after a basic wash.
Agreed. Had my new purchase detailed/GTechniq when I first got it a year ago. Water beads off it, its been very easy and quick to wash ever since and looks pretty much as spectacular as it did on day 1. Except for the inevitable annoying little stonechip.cayman-black said:
thecook101 said:
Well I take my black 911 though the IMO car wash in Amersham weekly and it’s fine. They fitted a new system about a year ago so maybe it’s that but I haven’t picked up any problems.
Well of course it is, all depends on your OCD levels.garyhun said:
cayman-black said:
thecook101 said:
Well I take my black 911 though the IMO car wash in Amersham weekly and it’s fine. They fitted a new system about a year ago so maybe it’s that but I haven’t picked up any problems.
Well of course it is, all depends on your OCD levels.garyhun said:
cayman-black said:
thecook101 said:
Well I take my black 911 though the IMO car wash in Amersham weekly and it’s fine. They fitted a new system about a year ago so maybe it’s that but I haven’t picked up any problems.
Well of course it is, all depends on your OCD levels.Gassing Station | Supercar General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff