Soldato
Mate I did 13.5k miles in my C63 over 6/7 months and still found time!
2.0L 4-pot to 5.0L V8
- Thread starter Abyss
- Start date
Mate I did 13.5k miles in my C63 over 6/7 months and still found time!
If you MUST use a hand wash place I would find one that will occomaccomm your needs.
Or get a local detailer to do the washes.
We have one round here that charges £30 per wash, sounds expensive but he does this:
1. Snowfoam soak
2. Rinse
3. Shampoo with wool mit
4. Snowfoam
5. Rinse
6. Door shuts and boot area
7. Dry
8. Polish
9. Wax
And for an extra £20 he will clay the car before polish.
And for an additional £100 he will clay it and then machine polish it all then apply sealant and then wax.
I've used him twice as he's always booked when I want him lol.
Comes to my house and does it all too..
Costs more. But 1000* better job than a pols hand car wash
Or get a local detailer to do the washes.
We have one round here that charges £30 per wash, sounds expensive but he does this:
1. Snowfoam soak
2. Rinse
3. Shampoo with wool mit
4. Snowfoam
5. Rinse
6. Door shuts and boot area
7. Dry
8. Polish
9. Wax
And for an extra £20 he will clay the car before polish.
And for an additional £100 he will clay it and then machine polish it all then apply sealant and then wax.
I've used him twice as he's always booked when I want him lol.
Comes to my house and does it all too..
Costs more. But 1000* better job than a pols hand car wash
Soldato
And this is the reason people end up down the local car wash with their paintwork getting ruined.
Just wish there were more mobile mid range valeting services, those that were good seem to have become ‘detailers’ wanting to charge a fortune for 1-2 days full work and those that were reasonable have been killed off by our below minimum wage sweat shop car washes.
Soldato
Valeters are still out there, but finding one that’s does all the things Diagro lists for £30 is probably difficult. There is no way the guy can make a living out of doing all that for £30.
I can easily spend a good 2 hours car cleaning. More like 3 hours + if waxing. If I rushed and skipped snow foam maybe just over an hour.
If it’s a good detailer I wouldn’t say they charge a fortune. You’re paying for a guys time, products, workshop, sometimes over multiple days etc.
I don’t really think mileage has a direct correlation to how often you can wash a car.
Looks really good in black though. The facelift looks a lot better in person and definitely grown on me. I feel like I saw it last week near the A5 as I saw a similar one but could be wrong!
Soldato
I don’t really think mileage has a direct correlation to how often you can wash a car.
Disagree.
If you are doing 20K+ a year then you are probably spending 2 hours in the car driving it daily.
If that is commuting between normal business hours at this time of year it will be dark long before you get home. Not many people clean cars in the dark! Which essentially relegate the car wash to the weekend, which most people would rather do other things (rightly or wrongly).
Plus the associated motorway grime from slogging up and down the country mean you need to wash it frequently.
Soldato
Exactly this,
I have a 45 min commute each way to work and my stang is white, by the weekend its filthy!!
I get comments on it at work, the last thing I have time for every weekend though is cleaning the car. I have my 6 year old son to try to beat in Pokemon battles
(haven't yet!!)I will once a month get the kit out and give it a wash though.
Last time i let me lad help though he dropped the sponge!! then went to put it on the car, my wife said the look on my face was priceless!!
Soldato
I do get it obviously. And I’d be lying if I said I never have been to the local hand wash in the past. And of course I know people who do just that on a regular basis.
Black car though, probably the most unforgiving colour to take to a hand car wash. Will no doubt pick up more visible swirls.
Might sound cheeky but I’ve done it before where I’ll take a microfibre drying towel and just ask the local car wash guys to wash it but not dry, then I’ll dry after. Depending on what the car wash is like, and how clean the mitts are, I’m convinced the drying stage is where they inflict the most swirls/scratch damage to the paintwork.
Thought I should try and redeem myself slightly with a wash followed by a Collinite wax.
Also my MPG to date is 28.3 over 1305 miles
and on a run (with a heavy foot before joining and after leaving the A1 but driven econimically in between) it's 32.5
Also my MPG to date is 28.3 over 1305 miles
and on a run (with a heavy foot before joining and after leaving the A1 but driven econimically in between) it's 32.5
If you want maximum acceleration the 10-speed is a very fast car, considerably faster than the manual, simply because 10 ratio's versus 6 are better. On the manual 5 gears are for acceleration and 1 overdrive, on the 10-speed you've got 7 gears crammed in for acceleration and 3 overdrives.
In auto the 10-speed can be annoying and it can always be shifting, but as with all things you learn its quirks, adapt and begin to love it, on the paddles it is absolutely fine and has a good kick in track mode.
The manual has longer gearing, so feels quite a bit slower than the auto does (on paddles) but at the same time the manual gives you more control.
The auto should give better mpg, again because three overdrives and as proven above they can be remarkably efficient these new American V8's, its possible to see 40mpg plus on a long run if your careful which for a near 500HP V8 is very impressive. Especially as its in another league on the fun factor compared to a 4 pot petrol turbo or diesel motor.
Soldato
That mpg figure is pretty impressive given the car.
Soldato
- Joined
- 27 Mar 2013
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Just out of interest, what revs are you doing at 70mph? I ask as my e92 m3 with similar power/engine size only gets mid 20's (although with DCT ive 'only' got 7 gears) so i figure you will be a lot lower in the rev range, also hows the engine braking.
.Cheers for this. I'm in an uncomfortable position as I've always been a firm fan of manual gears, but I keep getting these nagging thoughts entering my head that an auto box may be a good idea. Not sure if it's because I'm getting older... It was partly made worse last year when a borrowed a 911 for a weekend and quite enjoyed driving without manual gears.
Just out of interest, what revs are you doing at 70mph? I ask as my e92 m3 with similar power/engine size only gets mid 20's (although with DCT ive 'only' got 7 gears) so i figure you will be a lot lower in the rev range, also hows the engine braking
My old Mustang manual with only six gears and no direct injection still did 30mpg plus on a run as the Americans even on the manuals always fit a silly long top gear, it was gearing in 6th for something crazy like 320mph, the advantage of that is at 70-80mph your hovering around 1700rpm.
Drive both before deciding!
Try to get an extended test drive in the auto, its kind of quirky and you'll either get used to it or hate it, lets just say its good, but its not as good as ZF8 best solutions as found in my SVR which is a lot more responsive in paddles and smarter in auto.
Also what is your drive, if its going to be a daily, so dealing with traffic, then automatic everytime.
If its going to be a weekend fun car, driven only when your in the mood and out on open roads, manual everytime.
Drive both before deciding!
Try to get an extended test drive in the auto, its kind of quirky and you'll either get used to it or hate it, lets just say its good, but its not as good as ZF8 best solutions as found in my SVR which is a lot more responsive in paddles and smarter in auto.
Also what is your drive, if its going to be a daily, so dealing with traffic, then automatic everytime.
If its going to be a weekend fun car, driven only when your in the mood and out on open roads, manual everytime.
It will be my daily, with a 54 mileish round trip on country roads every day. Part of the reason autos are appealing, I was stuck behind someone doing between 30 and 40 in a NSL today and there aren't really any good opportunities to overtake so you just have to suck it up and poodle along.
Mmmmm if your not in town and that 54 mile is a country road commute, I'd be inclined to go manual, do remember this car is mighty impressive it will pull in 4th gear from like 15mph very strong and continue upto around 130mph, the engine has loads of torque and it also loves to rev, its one of the best V8 motors on the planet the Coyote, enough torque down low and a near 8000rpm rev limit. The manual in 4th gear is happy to pootle around at 20mph and will accelerate just fine from there. They will happily sit in 5th over 30mph and once over around 45mph you can use the long geared 6th to get plus 30-35mpg on a run.
Its a good engine, it feels lazy under 4500rpm, but it actually pulls really well from as little as 1500rpm, but of course once you pass 5000rpm it really gets a move on due to its quite high revving nature, American V8's are no longer lazy like in years gone by, its a 5.0l with around 460HP, 440lb/ft, 7600rpm and if you mod they hit 500+, 480lb/ft and 8000rpm with some very basic bolt-ons and tune.
I'm getting on really well with it so far. I can't say I've pushed it that hard but day-today driving it works great. I have noticed it's jerkier than the A4 DSG when slowing down for roundabouts etc and it can jump around gears a bit.
The one thing I am having to watch is I've become too used to a FWD car with <200bhp. When I wanted to drop the gear down in the A4 I'd just mash the peddal to the bottom to kick it down. I tried doing that in the Mustang once and almost had a brown trouser moment! I'm now using the paddles when I want to drop it down a gear.
Just out of interest, what revs are you doing at 70mph? I ask as my e92 m3 with similar power/engine size only gets mid 20's (although with DCT ive 'only' got 7 gears) so i figure you will be a lot lower in the rev range, also hows the engine braking
I will check exactly next time I take it out but from memory it's around 1800-1900 rpm
If your commute is on country roads and the traffic isn't too heavy I'd be going manual. I only went for an automatic as I spend 75% of my time on the motorway or A1.