washing a TA

[jjrho]

hi, my first wash for the new TA coming up… with the grills on the hood and airscoop with filter element visible … is there anything i need to be careful of ?
obviously i won't spray directly into the air filter but what about the hood itself…. i mean… does all the water just drip onto the engine ?1??

am i suppose to avoid washing the hood and just do a light sponge bath type wash on the hood part of the car ?!??

pls advise,


jR
'14 TA #66

 

[pathoguy]

airscoop with filter element visible

I wondered what that was...lol

My 2013 srt base is a commute vehicle (rain and shine, except nasty stormy forecast days). It's always getting dirty. It's been really clean twice....day I bought it and I had it hand cleaned once. Otherwise, I take it to a superpray place, every few weeks. I spray all parts of the vehicle but am extra gentle around the hood (spray in opposite direction of the slats), the vent areas or whatever they are (big design gaps on body sides) and particularly around the door handles. I always spray at an angle on the wheels too. Never had any issues with doors or anything. Just let the car sit for a few minutes after the wash, then drive away. The car gets rained on, so I don't worry about water getting through the hood slats. Car doesn't seem to care. I have a small SUV that I intended to use more often and therefore the viper less.....but just enjoy driving the viper too much and don't care about the mileage. The SUV stays parked for days at a time.

 

[johniew398]

Here's what I have practiced on my ACR and now my TA.

I take two large towels and cover each side of the engine (placing the towels inside so the water doesn't directly come down in the engine).

Probably no real reason to do that but that's what I have always practiced - makes it easier for me to keep the engine clean too.

 

[Bobpantax]

Look under the hood. There is a decorative plastic engine cover. The car is tested to make sure it is water proof and when driving on a wet surface or in the rain, water comes up from the road and hits underneath the car and rain hits the intake. As you noted, you should avoid a direct hose spray at intake but a light spray inadvertantly hitting it is not going to harm anything. The car was designed and built for track rats. It is not fragile. The paint system on the Gen V is different from any other generation. It is better and uses a much better clear coat.

 

[jjrho]

i see…ok…good info…. yeah, i think when i wash the car… i'll try to wash it when it's cooled off a bit and but two towels under the 3 scoops on each side… that makes sense….
yeah i love the car so far…i should drive it daily but I think i'll get in trouble … i wish someone would come up with a not -so -obstrusive but functional fender protectors for the front and back… this piece does not have to be a CF material in my opinion but just a small black plastic piece to keep the rocks from directly hitting the body , as it gets flung by the P0 corsas….

 

[Bryan Savage]

hi, my first wash for the new TA coming up… with the grills on the hood and airscoop with filter element visible … is there anything i need to be careful of ?
obviously i won't spray directly into the air filter but what about the hood itself…. i mean… does all the water just drip onto the engine ?1??

am i suppose to avoid washing the hood and just do a light sponge bath type wash on the hood part of the car ?!??

pls advise,


jR
'14 TA #66

Dude, I high-pressure spray mine down all over. You will get water to pool up right at the front, under the hood, but not a lot will actually get on the motor unless you open the hood to drip dry. Same goes for the hatch. It will run water into the trunk area, so be careful. Otherwise, water will go where it goes. There's drains everywhere because the car ain't no pansy. Treat the paint well as you would any car, but you don't have to worry about getting anything wet. They built the car to take anything you can throw at it.

 

[Policy Limits]

It has been speculated that the reason several doors have randomly popped open was due to water getting into the opening mechanism. I wouldn't spray heavily near the door handle. Some guys even tape them during a wash. Seriously.

 

[Bryan Savage]

It has been speculated that the reason several doors have randomly popped open was due to water getting into the opening mechanism. I wouldn't spray heavily near the door handle. Some guys even tape them during a wash. Seriously.

I read that was a problem on the 2013 cars, but the mechanism was updated and the new part appeared on all the 2014 cars. Not that I point the pressure washer right down the hole, but I've not had any problems with mine.

Maybe I'm a *****, but I just don't like the idea that a car that is so awesome and so abused during manufacturer testing phases could possibly break or malfunction under any stress that my plebeian usage can impose on it. I know you shouldn't try and make it a sand rail or rock crawler, but I'm not going to treat it with kid gloves at the car wash. Not that I hold full pressure 1 cm away from the paint, but driving the car at 80mph in the rain is probably worse than waving a car wash nozzle at it. I work too hard to afford mine that I'm not going to spend ten hours cleaning it with an eyedropper and box of diapers.

Let'er rip!!!

 

[Bruce H.]

I take great care not to scatch the paint, hosing it down thoroughly on the outside, and lightly under the hood (not directly on engine/exhaust). No problems with water, including driving it in heavy rain on the highway and in lighter rain at speed on the track.

 

[Policy Limits]

Actually most of the folks with the door issue were 14's and several were TA's. Appears to be either door that can act up and has occurred whether stagnant or on the highway. Other than that I haven't read any other issue with a car wash. In 14 months of ownership I've washed mine about 4-5 times without issue.

 

[mblgjr]

I wash it like normal. 2 bucket method.

I always wipe/air hose off the door handle area prior to opening the door. Just so standing water doesnt run down into the mechanism.

 

[sunsalem]

My Detail Guy recommended Griot's Garage products:
http://www.griotsgarage.com/

I have used them between professional Details and can report they are excellent.