Z through car washes

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Z057

Hello fellow Z'ed Heads-

I wanted to chime in real quick with my car wash experiences. I drive a 2011 base and I was told by the US Nissan Motor Corp. that automatic car washes were not recommended. I asked, "So the Nissan Motor Corp. is telling me that I cannot take my car through a car wash?" "Yes", was the reply. This had just come off the heels of me purchasing the vehicle and the first time I drove it through a car wash. I was also told by the service personnel at Nissan service dept. not to take it through a car wash with a undercarriage wash. It seemed that the undercarriage wash was shorting out electrical somewhere and I would lose all my gauges. The car would still run, but if I turned it off, then I could never restart the vehicle. This ended up happening twice and each time it was towed back to the dealership to have the ecu reset. Eventually we found a grommet on the firewall passenger side that was being blown out by the pressure of the undercarriage wash. They popped it back in and so far so good. So regardless to say, I have heeded these warnings and I hand wash my car now. The other day a pack of unruly, wild birds flew over my car and desecrated it with a shower of...well you know. I was scrambling and nowhere near my house, so I pulled in to a car wash and asked that the undercarriage wash be turned off. They obliged my seeing my awful predicament. This would get me by until this weekend when I have a hand wax scheduled. I went through and everything was fine. I do think there is another issue with automatic car washes. Our sheet metal do not take the air dryers well. I could hear the roof waving with the dryers movement...not good!! I only use them now if I absolutely have to....just my 2cents...

happytheman

Carry QD an a microfiber cloth with you. That should take care of the dreaded bird onslaughts.

I have yet to even consider taking her through a wash of any kind.

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--Brantly--

onzedge

...on both counts

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Vaughanabe13

My wash routine isn't the only thing I do, I also have a clay bar and random orbital with various polishes and waxes. But I don't do that every week or anything.

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2009 Nissan 370Z Touring, w/sport, 6MT, chicane yellow/black.

Vaughanabe13

Yes I've had that problem. Basically I pull on the handle just barely enough to get the stream going, but not a full blast. It's hard but with a little practice you can get a less powerful stream coming out. Then I aim along the side of the bucket so that the water swirls around rather than bouncing straight up, and I alternate from side to side to prevent the swirling water from going over the edge as it fills. Then once there is a few inches of standing water I will put the nozzle under the water surface and go full blast to fill it up the rest of the way.

Also, it's pretty much unavoidable that you will get splashed a little bit in this process so I usually wear gym shorts and a t-shirt, or something I don't mind getting wet/soapy. You could do it sans splashes if you went really slow, but I always get impatient because time is running out on the sprayer.

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2009 Nissan 370Z Touring, w/sport, 6MT, chicane yellow/black.

DLSTR

Nissan does not at all forbid you from using a car wash. In section 7-2 of the owner's manual they recommend to be careful of soap that some might use. They can be slightly acidic to clean the paint.
The NISMO is stated as to NOT use a car wash as the rear spoiler will be damaged.
Ive had zero issues in winter when I must use one given the temps I deal with here in Germany.
I also use a very nice and expensive wash mit and never a car wash brush wand.

JARblue

Filled up on gas today at lunch and went ahead and purchased a car wash with it cause the Z is pretty dirty. It just started pouring at the office, so I'm glad I didn't use it yet

I will run it through the automatic wash prior to hand washing it at home, which hopefully I can find time to do this weekend

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Vertigo

I take my R32 daily driver through the car wash, that's about it.
The Z gets the hand job. Wait, what?

JARblue

Nothing wrong with that

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zeeder

My car is a little on the dirty side right now, I haven't washed it since I bought it a little over a month ago because of all the rain lately (and trying to figure out what direction I wanted to go with polish/wax). I just purchased a bunch of Zaino and other car care items so I'm not sure if I should run the car through a brushless before I start the Zaino process to knock of the heavy stuff or just be really careful at home. Any suggestions?

Also, a lot of the stuff I've read say to wash in the shade. I can do it in the garage but I'm a little worried about all the water. Should I wash in the garage, rinse in the drive and dry in the garage? I bought a leaf blower to help dry the car.

I've never hand washed a new vehicle before and only older vehicles a handful of times, and very poorly I'm sure...lol.

Sorry for the noob questions but I've been searching and reading a lot and am in information overload...lol. Not to mention the fact that I'm worried I'm going to screw something up due to my inexperience!

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Zack
FI catback, HFC, and Start Button - Z1 Intake - Nismo S-Tune Spoiler - PasswordJDM V2 Shift Knob

DLSTR

DLSTR

Zeeder welcome aboard. Dont over think this. If the weather is good, a thorough hand wash is what your super Z needs. Best of luck with the detailing. Its a car. Wash it, polish, wax but mostly enjoy it!!

JARblue

Junkman has some great videos and instructions in the detailing section if you haven't already checked them out. I don't have personal experience with Zaino, but I have heard only good things. The products I use are Meguiar's Clay Bar Kit, Adam's Brilliant Glaze, and Meguiar's Ultimate Paste Wax. I don't use anything special for regular car wash soap, though - I am nearly finished with a large bottle of RainX brand soap that I've had since before the Z.

Washing in the sun isn't too bad unless the car is extremely dirty and it takes a long time to wash (I do it in the Texas summer sun without too much trouble). Just don't let the soap stand in the sun too long before washing it off, and be sure to give it a good, thorough rinse just prior to pulling it into the shade for drying. The touchless car wash IMO can be a useful initial clean before you hand wash. I typically wash the Z in the driveway, first wheels then the car, before pulling it into the garage for drying and any additional steps like clay, glaze, wax, etc... (I don't do those last steps every wash). I also do all of my interior detailing in the garage as well.

I'm only saying this because you called yourself a noob, but lastly, don't ever use circular motions when washing the Z. Always move the mitt lightly over the paint in a straight line (shouldn't have to put any pressure - I use a bug sponge for anything that doesn't wipe off easily). Also, be sure your mitt is clean every swipe because a dirty mitt is a quick way to scratch up your paint. Using circular motions and a dirty wash mitt is the most common cause of paint swirls

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Z057

I understand and know what the manual says about washing the car. I also know what the Nissan Motor Co. told me. I even re-iterated the question to make sure they understood how funny they sounded by telling me that. I don't agree with what they told me, it is just what they told me though.