If you HAVE to take your X to the car wash
 

I found one here in the DC area that's Dyn-o-mite. It's called Flagship. It's in Rockville, MD, right off 355 at Bou Ave. The wheel tracks are wide enough to fit your dubs, lined with silicone to prevent scratches, and the wash is twice as long as any I've seen before, probably 80 yards, start to finish. It's brand new and very clean. All soft-cloth and a high-pressure undercarriage wash. They have special wheel cleaners, which you can see in the first photo, and a waterfall filtered warm-water rinse, which you can see in the second.

Sometimes you just gotta settle for the car wash, especially to rinse that road salt and tar off the undercarriage, and this one kicks ass. Good prices, too.

I apologize for the pic quality- camera phone again.

JV

I prefer touchless car wash place, as dirt from others car sometimes get stuck in cloth. The one I use is also about 80 yards long. Before car goes in, they manually spray the wheels with wheel cleaners and use wheel brushes, spray some additional soap on sideboards and wheel wells. Once it goes in, it goes thru several different stages of high pressure and low pressure water jets and water mist sprays. Does a good job and when its out they dry by hand whatever little water did not get blown away by the blowers.

I may check it out, although Rockville's a little far from Columbia. You mentioned that the tracks are wide enough, but will they handle my 20s (315s in the rear)?

I usually use one in Laurel, but I know that my wheels can't fit in those tracks.

How much was it BTW?

Where is it? :dunno: I'm always looking for a new car wash place. The hand wash places around here are $$$$.

:withstupi

My X has seen a cars wash once, and it was because my wife put it through it. I won't even let the dealership wash it because I know they do not do it by hand. If I can't do it by hand, I have it detailed by someone who washes it ... you guessed, by hand.

Hope you have good results with this carwash though.

Juan

RF, May be a long drive for you....exit 5 eastbound or exit 6 westbound on I-84. Get on north st and the # is 53. They do not recylce water. Very busy place sometimes on weekends. They also wax and detail.

It was $18.95 for the works, and the tracks are wide enough to handle my 19"s with room to spare. The fact that the tracks are lined with silicone to protect the rims to me means they know what they're doing. I guess they have to because the area they're located in has a median home price of about $650,000, and they don't get too many F-150s just back from the bog up in there. They also have a hot air dryer and several guys who really do a good job of drying when it comes through the wash.

I don't know about where you guys live, but the only Touchless car washes around here are about the size of a large home garage and they're attached to gas stations. They really do no more good than the Mr. Clean car wash system you can buy at WalMart- they don't actually scrub the car. I used to go to those because they have a high-pressure undercarriage wash, and I've only really used a car wash for washing salt and road tar off of the undercarriage. I was just impressed with Flagship because they really had a nice set-up. They also have those bays where you insert $5.00 and wash the car yourself, and those bays even take credit/debit cards.

I have definitely surpassed the bandwith for praise of a car wash on this board, but thanks for reading if you did.

JV

Thanks LeMans. I'll make note of it. :thumbup:

Ooooo you are way down South :)