So how do you guys keep your car clean in the winter? The only options I can think of are either one of those indoor car wash services or the touchless car washes. I know it'll probably get dirty by the time I get home, but I just wanted to get salt deposits off the car to prevent rusting. Obviously this question is for those who are actually still driving their car, and not storing it.

 

when the weather warms to 50, i wash the car wearing those yellow kitchen gloves.
I would never take it to a touchless car wash unless my hose was frozen.
At times, I wish i could go to my dealership and ask to borrow their install bay to wash the car. But so far it hasn't gotten to that point.

just prepare ahead of time. give it a good waxing before the snow/bad weather hits

 

or option c...don't drive it :P

i've heard people like the Touchless stuff, but i'm afraid of the strong chemicals that they may use in order to clean the car without brushing it.

Another option which i've heard good things about is using something called Optimum No Rinse (ONR) and wash it yourself in the garage. Basically take a bucket of warm water and mix it with some of that ONR goodness, and work on one panel at a time (wash & dry). It recommended by quite abit of detailers on autopia.

 

I usually just bring a bucket of water mixed with cleaning solutions and wash it like those hong kong taxi drivers... My appartment dont have a car wash or free hose, but I know some does...

 

Ive never heard of a touchless car wash messing up anyone's ride.. I think you guys are just being **** but I guess thats not a bad thing when owning a Z.
Personally I like the DIY bays, high power hose, simple foam brush then soak it all away.

 

I hear you.... I just go the bays and spray it down.

I don't use the power soap stuff because the last time I found sand on my car. I guess because they use a sand filter to filter the water (similar to a pool) and it had a problem.

Technically, I sand blasted my car....Crappy!!!

 

wash it by hand

 

you're even more **** when your rims have a clearcoat on it. I dont' use rim cleaners on my wheels...car soap only.

 

We are talking about a car right?

 

Yep, volks...............

 

haha, i use better products on my car than on myself. Then again I don't spend days on end naked on the streets and i'm not showing off my body to anyone really hahaha.

 

LOL I'm sure your gf would love to know that.

I’ve used some amazing **** on my old rims on my 240, some harsh **** with tons of acid in it, ate the brake dust off like it was nothing, very strong. But like you said I wouldn’t use that on a nice set of Volks, just more regular washes, don’t let the brake dust build up

 

dont' worry, i wash the car bi-weekly, if not weekly. And the clearcoat on the rims really helps in keeping the rims clean. That and low dusting pads.

 

low dusting pads?? what kind of pads are they? where did you get them

 

I have gone through a few of those touchless washes without any problem. But I do prefer washing it myself

 

Hawk HPS. Not the greatest for performance, but decent for daily driving.

 

He's running Hawk HPS. Ran them for a while... Very impressed with the dust, I wipe the rim once every two weeks, there's more dirt from the road than dusts!

However... I completely murdered it on track. Pad material literally melted. Shitty stopping power and useless after one hard stop. From that day on, I only care about braking powers of pads, not dusting.

 

That’s a good point, I rather clean the dust off more regularly than having weak stopping pads.

Mind you that’s track use, any significant difference on the road?

 

they're decent for the street. Lacks abit of initial bite, but they'll stop you.

 

^what he said. They'll do the job fine on street given that you ride your brakes or brake hard like n00b drivers.

As soon as I killed them on track. I immediately upgraded to HP+ and Rotora slotted and SS lines and RBF600 fluid. HUGE difference, and the dust is still not as much as OEM.