What I remember about automatic car washes in discussing these with my body shop owner...

I've had a 981 BoxsterS with PASM (10 mm lower than standard) for about 18 months (love it). So far I've washed it by hand as I've been concerned that the guide rail that runs along the inside of the left side tires at the local car washes might interfere with some suspension component. (I've tried measuring the rail and my ground clearance, but am not confident in the results.) The 986 BoxsterS (standard suspension) I previously owned never had a problem with any car wash. My question is:

Has anyone on the Forum run an 981 with PASM through a car wash? If so, was there any guide rail interference with the undercarriage?

I'm not looking for comments on the quality/desirability/karma of hand washing vs. automatic car washes. I'm just concerned about the interference issue.

Thanks.

I'm not sure if all car wash equipment is the same. It might work in some and not others, so not sure if other people's experience would be helpful.

I would be more worried about what the high water pressure would do to the top and seals.

One of my many joys of Boxster ownership is washing, cleaning, waxing the car on a pleasant say in my driveway. Joyful.

And, as others have mentioned, it provides an opportunity to inspect the paint, the drains, the undercarriage, the entire car...

A really good car wash - with lots of clean water, and clothes, should be gentle on the finish. And it should be less damaging than leaving contaminants on the car. Whether it is better than hand washing depends both our your method of hand washing and of course the car wash.

There are several places that automatic car washes fall down, but good ones need not:

1. Cleanliness of water - it needs lots of water and good filtration
2. maintenance of cloths and material used
3. Cleaning agents - never use the acid (they dont specify that the wheel cleaners are acid, but they are) sprays/etc that they always try to upsell you with.
4. people at the end of the line - again - must be clean, gentle.

But there is nothing about a properly designed auto car wash that will damage your paint any more than a hand washing will. And certainly its less bad than leaving abrasive dirt, acid rain residue and acid bird poop on your car.

Find a good one.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

My car was a service loaner and the dealer used to run it thorough their onsite car wash. There is no sign of damage although that may not be the case with car wash facilities open to the public. One thing I don't like about car washes based on previous experience is the "dog" that engages the rail and rolls the car ahead sometimes drags on the inside rim of the wheel and can cause minor damage (cosmetic but still damage).

Thanks, Vince, for responding to the question. I appreciate that.

contact is the wax used is a "hard" wax. He was against this. If you can find a car wash that you can skip the "wax" it might be ok to use. Trouble is the "wax" is part of the rinse cycle and may not be a separate step.


There are always the concerns about the car's undercarriage interfering with the car wash's hardware, or the wheel rubbing against the inner/outer guide rails.

(A guy I worked with in his new Corvette pulled into a car wash somewhere off of I-70 in Utah. He wanted to wash the road grime/bugs off his new car. He pulled in and the car got hung up on the car wash's hardware. The car wash was not intended for such low slung cars like the Corvette. The Boxster could be also be at risk of this.)

And a recommendation: When in Boise, find Dirty Harry's self serve car wash. Harry is actually quite clean; more like Gary Cooper in High Noon than Clint Eastwood in a sweaty spaghetti western.

wax is not so much for the benefit of the car's painted surfaces but for the customer as a come on or some kind of enticement.

Even without the wax, soap on the top is not good for it, either. I've had three Porsche convertibles and never used soap on it when hand washing. I use Ragg Top cleaner and then protectant about twice a year on it.

not the soap that comes out of the scrub brush. I use the soap for removing particularly nasty dirt like bird mess or if I get some tree sap on the top.

(As an aside, the only time I touch the top is to roll a lint roller over the top to pick up anything that might be on the top.)

But I rinse the top very thoroughly and then along with the rest of the car use the no spot rinse to remove any soap trace and then any hard water trace.

The top has faded a bit but still looks good and is water tight. That water doesn't bead up on the top doesn't bother me. As I have pointed out before the top needs to be able to breathe in order water that does get through the canvas can dry promptly or it will lead to mold/mildew which attacks the canvas and rubber underneath the canvas.

I never use the "wax" setting at the car wash. Any wax and I use a soft wax, that gets applied to the car gets applied after the car is dry and I have gone over the just washed car with detail cleaner to remove anything the washing might have missed/left.

.. it provides some lubrication and protection, and comes for free.

Not sure what you mean by hard wax, but it goes on with hot water and is almost a liquid when applied, or the one i knew was. It was the simoniz process.

G

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

and are for the quick and dirty "detailer". Another problem with car wash waxes is the wax gets applied even though the car is probably not that clean. Really, a car wash is only a glorified rinse.

To really clean a car one has to soak, then soap by hand, then rinse, and maybe repeat to really clean a car before applying any wax. Additionally, in the car wash the wax gets on everything. Paint, glass, rubber, wipers, canvas top, the rubber underneath, etc. If I am going to apply a wax it is to the painted surfaces only. Not just spray it around all over the entire car.

Not only that it's nominally slippery stuff on what should be friction-generating surfaces, but longer lasting contamination effects should be considered, too.

... on one of my least-favorite subjects: car washing.
Don't get me wrong, I like to drive and ride in a clean car, I just don't like the cleaning part.
Based on that research, I wrote the following article, which you may find interesting.
I sure like it!

[pedrosgarage.com]

Happy Nano'ing,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 314,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

I remember the "good old days" where anyone who even suggested to put their Boxster through a car wash would have been "flamed" to death on the Board!

Oh well, guess I'm living in the past.

Regards,

Ed

Ed from Long Island (Tampa)
05S Cobalt/Blue/Blue

My PSS9 lowered track car goes down the rails without issue.

Makes sure that the tire stands proud of the rim edge on your car.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Thanks.
Thanks for the info.
Thanks for staying on-topic.