I hate to start by saying I have had more cars than I want to count in the last 45 years. I Love My MCS--but--keeping the boot clean is a daily job. Any "fixes" to cut down the amount of road dust, etc that accumulates--in a real hurry on paved/dry roads? I have Zainoed and use a California Duster for the boot. I am thankful I don't live where it snows. Saw a photo on here of a MCSC up in Conn(?)/NY--yikes!! Thoughts/suggestions. Thanks

 

Mudflaps?

 

If I can ever talk any of my aerospace engineering friends into doing a study on boot airflow I will let you know.....until then, I will just wash often

 

As you can see Mudflaps are not the answer. I was 2nd in line. Mini in front shredding the leaves me collecting them. Yes, I had to modify for the cooper mudflaps to fit. I think the flaps add to the dirt collecting vortex.

 

Sorry, I have no idea. If there's one thing about the MINI it's that it collects all dirt witin 15 feet and deposits it on the rear.

 

It's probably mostly due to the exhaust, folks. The car runs so rich that a lot of black stuff is being put out over a regular drive. This happens with any car that runs rich, just unfortunately our MINIs, being hatches, have a very large area to get dirty. Obviously there are other ways to get the boot dirty (as above), but exhaust seems to be the #1 cuplrit.

-mike

 

It's not the exhaust ... take a run down an unused road, at speed, and look in the rearview mirror. That's not exhaust being blown up and following you - it's every piece of litter, dirt and flora from the road that's just waiting for you to stop so it can catch up and stick to the boot.

To reply to the original question - after two years of trying, I haven't found anything that will keep that surface clean.

 

I don't ever see that. What my boot gets dirty with is exhaust.

-mike

 

I don't see the exhaust as being a culprit at all here, though my car is black so that would be hard to see.

The one and only problem here is the shape of the mini. I posted here a day or so ago about the amount of vacuum the mini creates. Nothing like driving along at 60 mph and seeing leaves in tow, just coming along for a free and relaxed ride

One thing that might help is to get one of those wind deflector that the old American station wagons had that would direct air down towards the rear window. (YUK, just kinding of course)
If I wash my Mini and don't get every bit of water out from all the seams(tailgate, bumpers, license plates) it drips out when I drive and becomes an instant DUST MAGNET. I get out and admire how wonderful my car looks when I get to where I'm going, ...... until I see the back! Feel like someone put a "KICK ME" sign on my back during school ...

Car was JUST WASHED and waxed!

 

This must be the difference between those of you who actually have tons of leaves on the ground, and us Californians.

-mike

 

This is just a fact of MINI life: the boot attracts attention of the "dirt-y" kind, tee hee!

I always carry Meguiar's Quik Detailer and several clean microfiber towels in the boot to clean the boot!

Clover

 

.... MINI WIPES ...

 

I agree with mlebeau in that when i wash and wax I have little black sooty like dots all over the boot that wash off but takes some attention, and in cali maybe thats the only dirt that you have to worry about due to abundant sunshine.

However, It is definitely not because of the exhaust that the boot gets dirty it is the vorticies that form at the rear of any car, the mini may be much more likely to get dirty because of the nice round nature of the boot, and just they way i like my boots.....dirty and nicely rounded

 

I carry those, too! LMAO! Costco's Kirkland brand...oh wait! Those are for humans!

Clover

 

That's perfect. Mine's pepper white and I can't tell you how many times I have done just exactly that. Good tips on the wipes ya'll.

 

hello guys and gals, what we need are rear under body diffusers to let the air flow SMOOTHLY out from under the back of our rides.

I'm getting ready to open those fake vents on the lower part of the bumper and replace them with some nice mesh to see see if that helps. Def. going to look nice even if it doesn't keep the back cleaner.

 

sfjames2 - Like this?

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=33380

If you check through the site PinkPanther has already opened up the rear grill area.

 

I experience the same problem, the back of the car gets filthy within hours of cleaning it, and if the road's dirty or muddy forget it. I definitely DO NOT think it's the exhaust, there's just no way our cars are spewing out that much thick, dirty filth. The insides of my tailpipes aren't dirty or sooty at all.

Now a fellow MCS owner has told me his theory that the dirt is drawn up on to the rear because of the vacuum (vortex?) caused by the spoiler (or wing) on the rear of the roof. I have noticed that the underside of the spoiler gets particularly dirty. Anybody agree with this theory?

Anybody have a MC or MCS without the spoiler and do you have the dirty rear end?

 

edzachary , but I'm coating them up with black paint. We'll see how it turns out.

 

How fast will a MCS go backward? There IS a wiper back there.





Sorry, I think I skipped a medication...

 

It is absolutely, positively not the exhaust.

The shape of the car and the way the air passes both over & under it deposit dust & road debris on the back of the vehicle. Every hatchback and/or station wagon I've ever owned (and I have owned A LOT) have the same "problem."

 

I think regardless of what one may try, the MINI boot will always get dirty. Period. Best to just learn how to keep it clean. For me, a light going over with the duster works most of the time when it's dry. On a Saturday, when I'm motoring about, I dust maybe four or five times a day!!! AND in public! I have no shame!!!

 

...exhaust gases can coagulate with particulates like dust and dirt being thrown up (on the shortest car sold in US) adding to the adhering effect. After all, it's a fossil that's being burned here mixed with particulates that causes all this nasty winter smog so yeah exhaust is one factor out of many. For those of us in cold climes (salt, magchloride, etc) however, it's the road leftovers, coupled with the rear wheels located where they are. Jimbo

 

Yep, not the exhaust. mlebeau, if you are indeed getting exhaust soot on your car, I'd have it looked at, there's definately something wrong there if this is the case.

I made an interesting observation when I first got my car, I adjusted the driver's side mirror to look toward the rear tire area and in the late afternoon drove westbound (into the sun) and looked in my mirror and saw the rear wheels kicking crap upward. I pretty much concluded that the almost nonexistant rear overhang on the MINI is the main reason so much crap gets kicked up in the air. Couple that with the airflow coming off the back of the car from underneath and that's what throws all the crap back onto the hatch and such.

 

On the positive side, I have noticed the bonnet area seems to stay extremely clean in comparison, so much so that I have taken to backing into my parking spot at work so I don't see the "dirty " boot when I get into my car, Let everybody else look at my dirty boot !