Legacy GT and carwash...

is it safe to take my LGT to the car wash with the intercooler being vulnerable and all? wont soap get in the intercooler?

also, i have an AEM CAI, will that cause a problem too?

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

with that being said, soap doesn't affect the IC. wash away.

and someone spends a hell of a lot of time not washing his car for fear that his intercooler will melt.

wow some people spend too much time on the computer

17+ hrs a day

As stated in maaaaaany a thread here. It's fine to use a touchless car wash. tehs0ap1nteh1ntercOOl0rth1ng1saj0ke. The common problem with the AEM CAI is that the air filter is a "dry filter" that is in the passenger tire well and may get wet and suck up a little water right after going through a carwash with a "under car" wash option selected. The under car option generally uses high pressure jets a close range and may force water into the wheel well pocket where the air filter sits and get it wet.

Some people with this setup have said that when they leave the car wash their car runs rough for 5-10 minutes. This is most likely from the wet air filter not breathing or causing turbulence and possibly even allowing water to be sucked into the intake pipe and steam up the MAF sensor or get it wet. Again, most peole have stated that any hesitation and rough idle goes away after a short period of time.

I personally don't recall having this problem, but I only use touchless carwash a couple times a year while out of town. Also, I always just shut the car off while I'm in the wash so there is no air suction going on while the water is running. This may be why I haven't had this problem. I also have a heatshield installed on my filter that covers the half of the filter that is closest to the engine bay.

As stated in maaaaaany a thread here. It's fine to use a touchless car wash. tehs0ap1nteh1ntercOOl0rth1ng1saj0ke. The common problem with the AEM CAI is that the air filter is a "dry filter" that is in the passenger tire well and may get wet and suck up a little water right after going through a carwash with a "under car" wash option selected. The under car option generally uses high pressure jets a close range and may force water into the wheel well pocket where the air filter sits and get it wet.

Some people with this setup have said that when they leave the car wash their car runs rough for 5-10 minutes. This is most likely from the wet air filter not breathing or causing turbulence and possibly even allowing water to be sucked into the intake pipe and steam up the MAF sensor or get it wet. Again, most peole have stated that any hesitation and rough idle goes away after a short period of time.

I personally don't recall having this problem, but I only use touchless carwash a couple times a year while out of town. Also, I always just shut the car off while I'm in the wash so there is no air suction going on while the water is running. This may be why I haven't had this problem. I also have a heatshield installed on my filter that covers the half of the filter that is closest to the engine bay.

simple "no" wouldve been just fine

Ya, I get that part. I was addressing the AEM thing not the intercooler BS that everyone around here seems to think is real funny over and over and over and over and over.

The AEM issue is a real problem that some people have. I have discussed this with more than one person here. It goes right along with driving in the rain with the AEM. If you drive in the gutter lane; you will suck up some water too. Not everyone is here just to be a wise ass.

I'm on my second IC they warrantied the first after I told them I went threw a car wash.......

Ya, I get that part. I was addressing the AEM thing not the intercooler BS that everyone around here seems to think is real funny over and over and over and over and over.

The AEM issue is a real problem that some people have. I have discussed this with more than one person here. It goes right along with driving in the rain with the AEM. If you drive in the gutter lane; you will suck up some water too. Not everyone is here just to be a wise ass.

thanks man! i think ill just use the quarters and wash it myself cuz i am so catious about my AEM CAI.

^^ With all the threads you have started in the last month, I thought for sure you knew about the intercooler soap joke.

I had a AEM in my old Civic..everytime it rained or when I would g to the carwash I would be white knuckled!

thanks man! i think ill just use the quarters and wash it myself cuz i am so catious about my AEM CAI.

That's what I do. Either I wash it in my driveway or use the quarter wash and my own microfiber covered sponge to scrub it down. I run it through the touchless a couple times a year just to get the underside. After the touchless wash I just let it idle while I wipe the water drops off the mirrors, windows, trunk and back bumper and it's usually ready to roll after that. I spend enough time under my car that I just use a rag to wipe off any grease and oil while I'm under there.

thanks man! i think ill just use the quarters and wash it myself cuz i am so catious about my AEM CAI.

I dont understand, are you worried about underbody spraying?

thanks man! i think ill just use the quarters and wash it myself cuz i am so catious about my AEM CAI.

That extremely abrasive soap that is used at the DIY car wash station is probably worse.

God, guy's, who cares. It's a car, it's made to drive in all kinds of weather. You know Heavy rain. Snow storms.

How much water gets sprayed into the engine bay at 70mph in a rain storm...

What do you think happens when you drive in a snow storm and all that sand gets blasted up under the car.

Just drive the stupid thing. It's just a car, when it comes trade in time, no matter how nice you think it looks, the dealer will try and screw you.

Go worry about something else.

OK I'll stop now.

Sorry

Ya, were past the InterCooler joke. What we are talking about there is for people who have and AEM Cold Air Intake that has a dry filter located in the passenger side tire well. It can and will suck water up into the intake if you drive in the gutter lane during a rain storm or when the snow is melting and it's slushy. The other point is that when you use a drive though car wash and the undercar wash option it will fill the tire well with water which will also suck water up into OUR AFTERMARKET INTAKES. It makes the car run like crap when this happens and some of us would like to avoid it if at all possible.

As for the Intercooler; ya the car sucks far more corrosive crap in through the hood during normal driving than you could ever hope to spray in there during a car wash so that is a non-issue.

What do you think happens when you drive in a snow storm and all that sand gets blasted up under the car.

 

sand in the snow?