I just got a '08 MCS 2 days ago and of course I'm stoked.

I traded in my 1991 318is, which was in amazing condition for its age. One of the things I did for that car regularly was hose out the wheelwells and undercarrage to get rid of road salt during the winter. I live in the Pacific Northwest (Vancouver BC to be exact).

With my MCS I noticed the wheelwells are lined with a type of felt for sound deadening.

How do other MC owners deal with road salt? Do I continue to hose out the wheelwells?

Thanks

 

I do not use my MCS during winter but for my other 2 vehicles, I always power-wash them when weather permits i.e. last Saturday. I jack up the sides to get into the wheel wells and underside better. Pay attention to door sills and areas where salt collects most.
I also live in Lower Mainland Vancouver (Burnaby) and I am now getting tired with the fog and absence of rain to melt all the snow and wash the salts on the road.

 

Yeah the salt sucks. Both our MINI's are not recognizable, you cant even tell the color on the boot they are so covered. Temps here finally went above freezing today but we both had to work. That was our window as tomorrow a cold front coming in the early am and getting colder as the day goes. Winter sucks when your a OCD!

 

Get a good pressure washer and just blow out the undercarrage. There is really nothing else you can do, and most of the time, high pressure water works fine.

 

I'd just go to a car wash that gets the underside of the car too. I think I heard somewhere that you can scotchguard the fender liner.

OT: how much did you get for your e30? I got rid of one of mine for my mini, but they would only give ~$250 for it (87 325 300+k miles).

 

I just use a regular garden hose and nozzle. It seems to work O.K. The real problem is that the car is filthy 15 minutes after it's been cleaned, so it's a losing battle until Spring, I guess.

 

Don't use the MINI in winter unless it is sunny & the road is dry.

 

I had 77,000K on the e30 and previous to me my Mom owned it. You should;ve seen the 2000 323Ci she sold in the spring, 14,000KM, I kid you not.

Anyways I asked for and got $6K for my e30

 

Sounds frustrating! Move to Texas... it was 80 degrees here today

 

Unfortunately I don't have that luxury. I drive it to work, if the weather's nice I actually bike. And I drive it to hockey. I was suprised how much space my goalie equip took up in the back.

 

I just use a garden hose too. I have a pressure washer but generally I avoid using that except on concrete.

Do you try to wash under the wheelwell liner or just around the area in general?

 

There's no decent hockey or mountain biking in Texas

 

Wash your car as soon as there is visible salt on your vehicle to safeguard the paint and body. Also, consider those carwash that washes vehicle underneath.

 

I fill up a dishpan with hot water, take it outside with a pitcher, and give a rinse bath to the MINI. I have a dishpan specifically for this purpose, it's never held soapy water for washing dishes and such. It gets the salt off.

 

But what about specifically in the wheelwells? Do I continue to hose out the wheelwells or since its all plastic that's not req'd? Do I need to try to hose behind the sound insulation stuff???

 

You should pay attention to those areas even if they are plastic as salt can creep through when dissolved. The weather today is actually looking good and I am going to wash my cars too.

 

I just set it to a fan spray and run the nozzle around the inside of the wheelwell. Lots and lots of sand / salt seems to be dislodged. My driveway looked like the sahara after the last time I did it.

 

For a quick rinse, try a 1 or 2 gallon plastic garden sprayer, the kind with a hand pump and an attached hose with a nozzle sprayer. I fill it with hot water in the kitchen, and then give my Clubman a bath inside the garage. It's not nearly as good as a wash, but it only takes about 10 minutes, and it gets rid of lots of crud.

 

Well to the car wash they both went today. 1st time the PW been there but 5 weeks with no wash was all I could stand! They look like brand new cars again! Finally!

 

Save all your quarters and take it to the high pressure car wash. At most of them the soap setting is hot water which helps dislodge all the carp.

 

My car was transformed from a PW one to a Hyper Blue one. Twelve quarters later it looks like new. Well not new, but a heck of a lot better. No carp were harmed in the process.

 

Long screwdriver+mallet. The mudflaps helped somewhat with preventing snow and salt from traveling to the sides of the car but it made the accumulation of snow and salt on the wheel wells worse. I had left some loose slush in the wheel well one night and the next morning it was a brick of ice. I had to pretty much chip at it with a screwdriver and mallet. The felt looked clean since it all came out in a big piece. I second the pressure washer for the wheel wells. As for the rest of the car, I would not pressure wash unless you're planning to wax it after. Pressure washers can remove the wax after a few trips and an unwaxed car + salt is rather unpleasant.