The Car Thread

[vanpeebles]

Side on the front looks exactly like the late 90s Camaro/Trans Am.

[charlesr]

Check out the off-the-line speed

Also have a look at the top vid here:

http://www.scoobyclinic.com/news.htm

Shows the dangers of overtuning (and large diameter alloys probably) - car can't perform once past the limit.

[powkisser]

O man i love my scooby to bits, just in the process of trying to find another.. I love watching the stupidly fast ones..

[Alastair]

I'm a bit under the weather at the mo' so rather than get freezing cold washing my car in the wind I'm just back from my first ever hand car wash. The polish boys did a surprisingly good job for £5.90. Leathered it dry and everything!

Wont be doing that every time as a pressure washer is certainly more damaging than my sponges but it was def better than nothing.

[ChrisF]

You into car washing/detailing Alastair? (Or is anyone else?)

At the risk of exposing myself here (only DH knows my dark secret)... I bought a Meguiars G220 few months back but haven't had chance to make much use of it

[Alastair]

Not massively, certainly don't know what a G220 is anyway but a mate of mine is just about to launch a detailing business. Unfortunately it's not local to me. He's obsessed, wont even let me take a picture of his EVO VIII until he preps the paintwork specifically for the photos! Weirdo!

[charlesr]

How to geek up your car cleaning experience:

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/guides.html

[charlesr]

Chris, does this G220 thingy get rid of those swirls everywhere you can see in bright sunlight?

I presume they are just tiny scuffs in the laquer top-surface.

Once you've polished it up, how do you then recoat the paint?

[Richard.John]

My car now has light scratches/swirls on the body coat, a bit like spider webs, very thin only noticeable in the light. I assume made when drying with a cloth after washing. Any tips for removing them? I a not overly worried though and accept that a car body will wear and tear. I would prefer a driven car to a flawless museum piece any day.

[ChrisF]

Chris, does this G220 thingy get rid of those swirls everywhere you can see in bright sunlight?

I presume they are just tiny scuffs in the laquer top-surface.

Once you've polished it up, how do you then recoat the paint?

Yes, it will get rid of them, but it depends on what type of pad you use. There's varying grades for how hard you want to go at the paint. I did use a soft one to begin with (along with some Sonus Swirl remvoval (forget which number!)) and removed quite a few - but then I went at it with a harder, more cutting, pad and it cleaned them up really well.

After I've had have a go at the swirls, I usually give it a nice coat with some Chemical Guys Wet Mirror Finish (again with the G220) and then finish off with some Supernatural Dodo Juice (by hand - I just hve the small sample pot, but it's lasting me for ages)

I don't bother recoating the paint on mine. It looks no worse for it I don't think. Given that it's a black Toyota Avensis (56 plate), even bothering to use a machine polisher on it is probably a waste of time and money (my car history isn't anywhere near as boring as this thing btw... and I hope to change that early next year!)

I'm no expert at it though - "All the gear, and no idea" = me I just like my black car to look black, and shiny.

My car now has light scratches/swirls on the body coat, a bit like spider webs, very thin only noticeable in the light. I assume made when drying with a cloth after washing. Any tips for removing them?

To be honest, you can remove a hell of a lot of scratches/swirls by hand using something like Meguiars Scratch-X and a good foam pad.


Weather's been terrible for keeping your car clean this year

[Chunky]

Picked up our new car on Saturday morning, traded the wifes 206 for a 2007 Vectra SRi CDTi. Car has 15k on the clock and it's 14 months old. It's the 150bhp version, extras are sat nav, parking sensors, and exterior pack 1 which includes the subtle bumpers, skirts and spoiler, and 19" rims, and it's digital green (pretty much BRG). Cost before P/X and haggling was ?10k (?23.5K list).

Haven't ever owned a diesel car before but am well happy with this, even though it's only a 1.9 it has a fair bit of poke and is lovely for overtaking on the motorways, something we always struggled with in the Pug. Practically it's great too, with our first baby on the way in January it has everything we need, including an enormous boot.

Had a tough decision to make this morning as to which car to drive to work but in the end brought the new one in just for comfort value, although since leaving all the clouds have moved and i realise i should have brought the Elise. Nevermind, tomorrow maybe.

Will try and get some piccys online at some point

[Shez]

Diesel cars are so much better than they used to be, but it is surprisng how many people are still stuck in the stone age with their perception of them.

On the flip side, isn't it funny how the cost of diesel has spiralled to over ten pence a litre more expensive than petrol, when before the popularity boom of a diesel car it was the other way around

[Alastair]

When I wa in Italy last month diesel was cheaper than unleaded!

[CMcK]

Europe is being dieselised by the big oil companies. Diesel is cheaper to produce and is sold at a higher price than petrol.

I was also in Italy last month and the price of benzina over there is scary. No wonder there are so many scooters and Smart cars in the city centres over there.

[Richard.John]

Diesel hybrids will be big one day, considering the oil crisis.