Winter lessons, and choices going forward.

[jatleson]

If the car has a coating or good sealant on it, the winter won't bother it. I don't wash my car until it warms up (I'm in Chicago, so maybe June ).

Sounds like you aren't in love the OEM wheels (can't blame you), so get your favorite set of wheels for nice weather, OEM for winter - part 1 solved, but you knew that. For washing, find a local detail shop or at the minimum a hand wash place (no tunnels). You pay a little more at the detail shop, but you'll have the confidence knowing nothing will be damaged and the car will be washed properly.

 

[MerlintheMad]

If the car has a coating or good sealant on it, the winter won't bother it. I don't wash my car until it warms up (I'm in Chicago, so maybe June ).

Sounds like you aren't in love the OEM wheels (can't blame you), so get your favorite set of wheels for nice weather, OEM for winter - part 1 solved, but you knew that. For washing, find a local detail shop or at the minimum a hand wash place (no tunnels). You pay a little more at the detail shop, but you'll have the confidence knowing nothing will be damaged and the car will be washed properly.

I actually really like the OEM GT rims. It causes real pain to see them rashed. As I said, I can imagine getting them refinished to be alloy only, so that they'll be easier to buff/sand out without having to watch the two tone gun metal get ruined. I don't know if this is even practical, but I'm thinking in this direction.

I could never go through a whole winter (or even a whole week!) with my pretty car grimy. I bet that Magic Clean has a hand wash option for those few customers who can't bear the "tunnel". Heh! But they don't advertise/offer it up front unless a customer indicates reluctance to use the "tunnel". I'm turning into one of those!

 

[Silverghost]

I am afraid I don't like washing cars enough to spend that kind of time.

Take a look at this option for DIY undercarriage cleaning.
LOL.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Take a look at this option for DIY undercarriage cleaning.
LOL.

Sure. In sub freezing air, that would work once, if you didn't crack your hose trying to get it over there and under your car. And the resulting ice on the driveway, heh! Ice sickles. And the salt would still be there. Not enough pressure. Lol.

 

[MerlintheMad]

This morning, I ordered the TSW "Watkins" staggered rims. Here's a rough scan of the pic the seller brought up:


Pricey! But 5 lbs lighter than the TSW Eclypse (both in glossy black). The weight is mainly what made up my mind. Because I bought these today, I took advantage of their powder coating offer of $200 off and my OEM rims will get thoroughly smoothed and stripped and coated glossy black for $100 per rim. Cool! I will keep my Nitto Motivo UHP A/S tires on them for winter, and the Watkins are going to get my Michelin Pilot summer tires for c. eight to nine months out of the year. And, these new rims will never see the inside of an automated car wash, so they will stay shiny.

My near future plan (with the retreat of winter) is to ceramic coat my entire car, including glass and rims. That should help a lot in keeping these new rims pristine for a long time.

Any nicks or gouges either set of glossy black rims get will be met with glossy black touch up paint. I anticipate that this will be much more effective than repeatedly applying sandpaper to clear coated alloy; and "in the field" (i.e. without my touch up paint) I will just use a Sharpie to hide the bare metal until I can get to my paint.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Oh, and the rest of the saga: Magic Clean's Karl (owner) said he'll give me four months of unlimited "exterior-plus" washes, and a wax job, as payment for what his untrained newbie employee did to my car when he wasn't around; that's about a $200 value. He also said my damaged rims are the first his car wash has seen in over ten years.

 

[Revvdmedia]

This morning, I ordered the TSW "Watkins" staggered rims. Here's a rough scan of the pic the seller brought up:
View attachment 20052
View attachment 20051
Pricey! But 5 lbs lighter than the TSW Eclypse (both in glossy black). The weight is mainly what made up my mind. Because I bought these today, I took advantage of their powder coating offer of $200 off and my OEM rims will get thoroughly smoothed and stripped and coated glossy black for $100 per rim. Cool! I will keep my Nitto Motivo UHP A/S tires on them for winter, and the Watkins are going to get my Michelin Pilot summer tires for c. eight to nine months out of the year. And, these new rims will never see the inside of an automated car wash, so they will stay shiny.

My near future plan (with the retreat of winter) is to ceramic coat my entire car, including glass and rims. That should help a lot in keeping these new rims pristine for a long time.

Any nicks or gouges either set of glossy black rims get will be met with glossy black touch up paint. I anticipate that this will be much more effective than repeatedly applying sandpaper to clear coated alloy; and "in the field" (i.e. without my touch up paint) I will just use a Sharpie to hide the bare metal until I can get to my paint.

You say you bought the new wheels in gloss black? That's a good choice. My former wheels were TSW Nurburgring in matte gunmetal grey and there was no perfectly matched touch up paint available. The closest match you could find was the matte grey touch up paint for the Hyundai Veloster, but even that wasn't very close. Gloss back is much easier to find a matching paint.

 

[MerlintheMad]

You say you bought the new wheels in gloss black? That's a good choice. My former wheels were TSW Nurburgring in matte gunmetal grey and there was no perfectly matched touch up paint available. The closest match you could find was the matte grey touch up paint for the Hyundai Veloster, but even that wasn't very close. Gloss back is much easier to find a matching paint.

Yep. gloss black "face"; it's sold as a "double black", matte behind, face glossy. If all goes well, I should have them on tomorrow; Wheel Werks said they would arrive on Wednesday; but I need an appointment; and I doubt they are scheduling me on the day they arrive: so realistically, Thursday or even Friday. Then, I shall post pics.