The Car Thread ... !

[Matz]

I’m curious, has anyone here used a clay bar? I’ve seen a video or two, but would like to hear of actual experiences from you folks. And based on said experience, opinions as to whether it was worth the effort.
I’m trying to decide whether or not to use one on my car, or to just go ahead and wax it.
Thanks.

 

[cube]

Hmm, never knew my 90hp(gross) MG wasn't suitable for driving in the mountains. I guess I won't drive it down to Eastern KY this spring like I have for the past few years since someone on the internet told me that wasn't enough power to drive in the mountains.

How many adults and luggage?

Is it a station wagon?

 

[bunnspecial]

I’m curious, has anyone here used a clay bar? I’ve seen a video or two, but would like to hear of actual experiences from you folks. And based on said experience, opinions as to whether it was worth the effort.
I’m trying to decide whether or not to use one on my car, or to just go ahead and wax it.
Thanks.

I have used them in the past.

When I did use them, I would always end up with the best looking wax application I've seen on my car. On the whole, though, I'd say that the difference is subtle and it's a fair bit of work to take one last step toward perfection when detailing.

I still keep clay bars around, but I generally only use them now if there's something stubborn that I can see but that a wash rag won't get off. Claying an entire car is a LOT of work. IIRC, the directions tell you that if you're doing it at least on a semi-regular basis, you can probably get away with only claying horizontal surfaces(i.e. hood, roof, deck lid) but if you've never done it and it's been a while you should do the verticals also.
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How many adults and luggage?

Is it a station wagon?

Generally one, no more than two.

I guess you don't know what an MG is...

 

[scubachap]

How many adults and luggage?

Is it a station wagon?

I always thought the whole point of an MG was to take someone away to have the sort of fun which doesn't involve actually taking much luggage...

 

[cube]

Generally one, no more than two.

I guess you don't know what an MG is...

Exactly. And of course I know what an MG is.

We have been 2 adults on a C1 with no luggage to the mountains.

 

[bunnspecial]

Exactly. And of course I know what an MG is.

We have been 2 adults on a C1 with no luggage to the mountains.

So what's your point?

You say you need 120hp minimum in the mountains with two adults and no luggage...I'm saying I've done it with a lot less and with luggage...

Perhaps I'm not intelligent enough to follow the points you attempt to make in this thread...

 

[cube]

So what's your point?

You say you need 120hp minimum in the mountains with two adults and no luggage...I'm saying I've done it with a lot less and with luggage...

Perhaps I'm not intelligent enough to follow the points you attempt to make in this thread...

I did not say that. Now I think it is you who does not know what a C1 is.

Indeed I think you have shown trouble understanding my posts.

 

[vipergts2207]

I’m curious, has anyone here used a clay bar? I’ve seen a video or two, but would like to hear of actual experiences from you folks. And based on said experience, opinions as to whether it was worth the effort.
I’m trying to decide whether or not to use one on my car, or to just go ahead and wax it.
Thanks.

I've clay barred before. Honestly, it's probably something you only need to bother with every other wax job. If you've never done it before, now might be a good time to do it. But it does make an already long detailing process of washing, polishing, and waxing even longer. Usually to do the whole shebang is a two day process for me considering you're going over every exterior inch of the car at least four times.

 

[bunnspecial]

Yes, that is the minimum I look for. Enough for going on holidays to the mountains.

Said in response to this

120. More than enough for my daily commute.

So, I guess as usual I'm too stupid to discern a point incoherent, disjointed rambling.

 

[0388631]

I do envy your patience, Ben.

 

[A.Goldberg]

120. More than enough for my daily commute.

I assume that’s the 1.4 TSI? I’ve always been impressed by the golf. Its such a small car even with the base engine it’s a fun ride.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I assume that’s the 1.4 TSI? I’ve always been impressed by the golf. Its such a small car even with the base engine it’s a fun ride.

It is. Petrol of course. It’s an impressive bang for your buck so to speak.
Good handling, responsive enough engine and good equipment.
The change in handling since I dropped the crappy Dunlop’s in favour of the Continentals has been significant, especially in the wet.

 

[cube]

Ford Focus 1.0: 4,8l/100km, 107g CO2/km, 125HP

15K euro


Golf 1.5: 4,8 l/100km, 110g CO2/km, 131HP

18K euro


Škoda Octavia Combi 1.5: 5,3 l/100km, 119g CO2/km, 150HP

18k euro


Toyota Auris Touring Sports Hybrid 1.8: 3,5 l/100km, 81g CO2/km, 136HP

18K euro

It can do 195 km/h on the Autobahn, which is not shown below (there are graphs around the middle):

 

[Matz]

I've clay barred before. Honestly, it's probably something you only need to bother with every other wax job. If you've never done it before, now might be a good time to do it. But it does make an already long detailing process of washing, polishing, and waxing even longer. Usually to do the whole shebang is a two day process for me considering you're going over every exterior inch of the car at least four times.

Two days sounds about right. Problem is, finding two uninterrupted days for the task. Makes me wish I had a garage.

Given the likelihood of interruption, I’m wondering if completing a panel at a time, wash through wax, would be a viable approach.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Two days sounds about right. Problem is, finding two uninterrupted days for the task. Makes me wish I had a garage.

Given the likelihood of interruption, I’m wondering if completing a panel at a time, wash through wax, would be a viable approach.

It would be like painting the fourth bridge. By the time you’d finish you’d need to start over!

I’m happy with a good wax. I’m not looking for perfection. If you are, then you’d better keep it in a garage 24/7!

 

[trillionaire]

View attachment 833421 Its the bottom of the mirror. It does have contours. Just not a very good pic. Here’s one I took tonight.

That's a nice looking vehicle. I always thought that Toyota's and Honda's hybrid vehicles were ugly, but that I could get behind. Very much like the new Accord.

 

[44267547]

Man, do I love detailing (Like, it’s kind of an obsession for me with well over $300 dollars worth of detailing products, I.e Carguys being the primary and Chemical Guys). I’ve never used a Claybar personally with any of my cars, but I can see the advantages. There’s a few good tutorial videos on YouTube, but I guess it also depends how much you keep up with the paint on the vehicle, storage conditions, etc. I tend to wax my cars at least twice a year, but intricate decal weekly. (Yes, I’m obsessive and I can’t stand dust on black cars.)

Something else unrelated, but a bit expensive, I also ceramic coated my GT last year, and whatever vehicle is next soon, (Either the Scat pack/19 GT or GT350) will also be ceramic coated, including the wheels. Huge advantages, looks slick, and water spots is no match either.

 

[Odysee]

I’m curious, has anyone here used a clay bar? I’ve seen a video or two, but would like to hear of actual experiences from you folks. And based on said experience, opinions as to whether it was worth the effort.
I’m trying to decide whether or not to use one on my car, or to just go ahead and wax it.
Thanks.

Yep! I have used one twice on two cars. First one was my Vauxhall Corsa in Yellow - the clay bar was filthy. It successfully removed all the dirt/grime and tar - was well worth the effort!

Second time is on my current car. My Volkswagen Golf - not sure what happened here, but the paint came out... in what I could only describe as as crocodile ish.. very patchy. Not sure where I went wrong here, maybe a cheaper alternative?

All in all, buy a good quality one. It is well worth it. Also, I’d recommend watching AMMO NYC on YouTube - he makes some fantastic videos... a lot of tutorials.

 

[bunnspecial]

It took entirely too much effort to get this out of the car...battery swaps are supposed to be able to be done in 5 minutes in the parts store parking lot.

I need to swap the terminal on the positive cable, as it's also a mess, but hopefully I'll get it done tonight.

Also, the last time I had the car out and running, the fuel pump was ticking loudly and incessantly when not running. I was having some issues too with keeping the car running when at anything above idle. SU fuel pumps do "tick" when pumping, but normally it's fairly slow(once per second or so at most) and will stop when the float bowls on the carburetor are full. Many folks who regularly drive MGs or other British cars with an SU pump will get into the habit of flipping the key "on", then listening both for the pump to start ticking and for it to stop. I don't generally try to start the car until the pump has stopped.

In any case, ticking that quickly GENERALLY indicates that the pump is not actually pumping anything, or otherwise the flow is restricted(incidentally, this is also why pre-filters on this type of pump are a bad idea-they are fine to just pump air, but can burn out if "stalled" against a clogged filter). The fact that it would idle okay indicates that at least some fuel is getting pumped, which tells me there may be something blocking the line between the tank and the pump(a blockage past the pump would result in the pump not running at all). So, with that in mind, I need to jack the car up and see what's going on there. If it's the same as when this happened probably a year and a half ago, I'll get away with just disconnecting the line and letting some gas flow freely out of it, and hopefully whatever crud is in the line along with it.

 

[bunnspecial]

It's always something with old cars...

Apparently I have a fuel line blockage to end all other fuel line blockages.

I pulled the line from the tank to the pump, which if directed down will normally siphon gas out of the tank on its own. After it emptied, no more gas followed. I tried some other tricks to get it going-I don't have my Mightyvac handy, but tried removing the gas cap and blowing in it. I got a lot of resistance to doing that, but every time I did it I got a trickle of gasoline out of the line.

With that in mind, I thought maybe the intake in the tank was blocked. Since I couldn't seem to flush it out, I thought I'd try going the other way and pushing it back out the tank. I blew compressed air up the line, and sure enough that seemed to clear it as I could hear gasoline gurgling in the tank and feel air coming out the filler neck. Initially, I couldn't get any fuel to flow back out, but it occurred to me that the side I'd jacked up was where the pick-up is located. Once I'd dropped it back down, fuel flowed out of the tank again.

It seems, though, that whatever was in the line managed to migrate through the pump and into the line running to the carbs. With the pump "primed" again, it would quit running but I'm not getting any fuel flow out the fuel line under the hood. At one point this evening, I'd also running compressed air from under the hood back through the line, but seemingly ended up with nothing but a bunch of back pressure from the line.

So, tomorrow evening, I'll pull the line off the fuel pump then crank the pressure on the compressor WAY up. Hopefully I can clean out whatever is blocking it.

 

[senseless]

A Prius just wouldn’t work for me. Apart from the efficiency, it’s an ugly car.

A hybrid will make sense at some point, but as someone who keeps his cars a few years I’d be worried about battery life. The minute your old battery stops holding a decent charge, your carrying around a big (literally) dead weight.
That’s not going to help with fuel efficiency.

Of course you could get the battery replaced but that’s expensive.

My Accord Hybrid battery warranty is 8 years or 100,000 miles. Plus I will almost never have to replace brakes, there's no transmission, oil life is much longer and I get a hybrid insurance discount. The hybrid has advantages other than economic savings. Start/ stop system has no delay(you can creep ahead at red lights), it's dead quiet at low speed and it's a unique experience to drive. Honda uses a serial hybrid system, so it actually drives like an EV most of the time. The ICE is only used to charge the battery, except for highway speed.

 

[Apple fanboy]

My Accord Hybrid battery warranty is 8 years or 100,000 miles. Plus I will almost never have to replace brakes, there's no transmission, oil life is much longer and I get a hybrid insurance discount. The hybrid has advantages other than economic savings. Start/ stop system has no delay(you can creep ahead at red lights), it's dead quiet at low speed and it's a unique experience to drive. Honda uses a serial hybrid system, so it actually drives like an EV most of the time. The ICE is only used to charge the battery, except for highway speed.

But what will the retail price be like as you approach or pass that 8 years? That’s what puts me off as I don’t buy new and keep a car around 5-6 years so I’d be the out of warranty.

 

[2298754]

But what will the retail price be like as you approach or pass that 8 years? That’s what puts me off as I don’t buy new and keep a car around 5-6 years so I’d be the out of warranty.

I don't think it's an issue. There are tons of Priuses with 300-400k miles on them. Still on their original battery.

 

[2298754]

Yes that certainly looks more attractive than a Prius.

I'd stick to a Toyota. Their hybrid system feels better calibrated (smoother). Not to mention, my friend has a new Insight and his MPGs went down by nearly 15mpg during the winter.

Never had that issue in the hybrid Toyotas I've had experience with.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I don't think it's an issue. There are tons of Priuses with 300-400k miles on them. Still on their original battery.

Fair enough. I’ve never really looked into it as I’m not a fan. But I guess at some point I’ll end up with a hybrid. But not for a good while.