anyone been through a touchless car wash with a bottom breather or similar CAI and notice a slight change in your idle when the high pressure sprayer is directly in front ? i wanted to "knock off" some dust and bugs between washes but I dont think I will do it again.

i dont think it would suck water in but I dont know for sure......

 

I have the LPE intake on mine and no problems with water.

On a side note I no longer use the brushless washes. I did in the past a couple of times because there are alot of high end cars going to this place. When I didnt feel like washing myself I would run it through there. Well the tracks they use were to narrow for my wheels and it scuffed up my OEM painted wheels pretty bad. I didnt notice it for a while but when I did I had no idea what happened to them. I put it all togther pretty quick but the damage was done. Anyway it was my excuse to buy new CCW wheels with Z06 tires. Now I always wash it myself.Just a heads up, watch the car guide tracks.

 

I shutoff the car during the process. Start it up at the end.

 

I do not take mine through them. I have taken it through a wand type of self wash while on a trip or in a hurry.

Personally, I prefer not to take the chance on something as small as a car wash.

No offense, simply stating an opinion.

 

There are a few different touchless car wash makers. Some don't have tracks at all. You drive in, either leave it running or not, then drive out after the wash. Those would be the preferred.

But if I had to, I'd rather do the rakuhn way: go to a wand type, do it yourself. That way you control the pressure, angle, where it goes, etc. I did it driving my car back from Museum delivery.

 

I wash my C6. I don't trust any car wash.

 

Plus it's my OCD therapy.

 

I've run mine through a touchless several times and never had a problem.

 

Its just a car guys. The touchless wash is not going to damage anything! I use it all the time when I'm in a hurry.

 

I thought it was plainly obvious I was talking about "tracked" car washes. If the carwash doesnt have tracks then he can disregard what I said. But thanks for the clarification anyway.

 

This is the type of Touch Free car wash I use all the time. The dryers they use at the end of the process are useless. So when I pull out of the washbay I dry off the car with my own micro-fiber towels.

 

The soap they use in those touchless car washs are really really strong.

TRR

 

 

Thats why we use Zaino every two weeks!!

 

I make sure I go to the trackless touch-free close to my house in Winter

 

Depends on the cars wash and chemicals they use (from Lexus Forum):

“The problem isn't the water, its the CHEMICALS. Touchless washes have the harshest chemicals out there, how else do you think they clean the car without touching it? Those chemicals fade and break down plastic, and a LOT of the car is plastic, the emblems, the window trim, the seals in the doors and windows, all the lights, the trim around the mirrors. Wash it in a touchless wash every other day, in 2 years all that trim will be grey and peeling I promise.

While doing some research for an article, these are some of the chemicals used in some carwashes. If you get a chance, attend a car wash / wax vendors symposiums where they give demonstrations of the different soap products that these type of facilities use, as a Chemical Engineer they scare me.. You'll come away a convert to never using them again, on any vehicle.

Hydrofluoric Acid (SiO2): Cleaning paint (inc wheel surfaces) - ten or more years ago this method was widely used by body-shops and detailers to remove water spots from paint surfaces, however, as time progressed, we started to see metallic paints darken under the clear coat.

Hydrofluoric acid is also notoriously known to react with glass. On factory aluminium wheel surfaces, acrylic polyurethane finishes or polyester powdered coatings it will occlude (cloud) an indication that the finish surface has been compromised, it also produces micro hairline cracks, and will eventually fail.

Most of the larger automotive paint suppliers (PPG, DuPont and BASF) do not recommend this type of chemical to be used on their paints. Stating that the acid, even if thoroughly flushed with water had already compromised the clear coat and given time would also compromise the paint system, dependant on the environment the vehicle was subjected, to over a period of 2-3 years it was possible that the clear coat would occlude (cloud) indicative of clear coat failure as the acid breaks down the paints binder system.

It also has the unique ability to dissolve almost all inorganic oxides. In the human body, hydrofluoric acid reacts with calcium and damages nerves, bone, and several organs including the heart and kidneys. It has an NFPA health rating of 3; Short exposure could cause serious temporary or residual injury even though prompt medical attention was given. Note: Muriatic acid is also a form of hydrochloric acid.

Ammonium hydrogen fluoride: NH4HF2 (or Ammonium bifluoride) is misclassified as the safe alternative to hydrogen fluoride[i], once mixed with water it becomes hydrogen fluoride one of the most common, and dangerous, acid wheel cleaners used in automatic carwashes today. Its effectiveness removing brake dust and difficult contaminants from wheels is undisputed, but most chemists say Ammonium bifluoride presents an unjustifiable and potentially lethal risk to carwash operators and their employees. Ammonium bifluoride sometimes known as ammonium fluoride or ammonium hydrogen fluoride is a crystalline salt formed when ammonium hydroxide reacts with hydrogen fluoride. Through a complicated chemical reaction, it essentially becomes hydrogen fluoride when mixed with water or liquid cleaning solutions.

Similar to hydrogen fluoride, Ammonium bifluoride was originally developed for industrial uses, like etching glass, removing oxides from metals and eliminating mineral stains from stone, glass and porcelain.”

 

Since the house hoses won't work in the winter (or shouldn't unless you want to freeze your house pipes, some people have no choice if they drive their C6. I don't see any problem using touchless car washes with no tracks. As far as the modified intakes, I'm sure the manufacturer would have used them to gain the 30 to 40 + extra advertised HP if there wasn't some drawbacks. My guess is that they may suck up some water it if it is angled right.

 

It's easy to be hyper sensitive.

I guess im lucky that my touchfree doesnt have the track and has a super rinse cycle (1 regular rinse) (1 spot free)

I feel comfortable as long as I use it sparingly and I know previously I have protected the car with wax and other protectants.

I also make sure to get the base wash (dont need all the extra chemicals and liquid wax) Also the high end wash will do undercarriage which will freak a vette owner out by blowing out your driving lights and/or getting in your intake possibly!! Avoid the undercarriage

 

"Laser Wash" touchless close by and convenient in cold weather months or when I'm in a rush. $7 Express does a great job.

 

They do here in New Mexico--all year long!