How Many of You Regularly Wash Your Underside?

[NSXaholic]

I don't know what your perverted minds were thinking, but I'm talking about your X's underside!!

In all seriousness, I know how much we all wash/wax/clean the exterior of our cars, but I'm curious if you regularly spray underneath the car and in-between the wheel wells (not just in them), to the connecting rods, etc?? Are there any concerns with washing off important lubrication in the process. Is the X designed to withstand this cleaning??

EDIT: In rereading the post this mornng I recognize that one answer may be that anybody that has driven their car in rain has, in fact, gone through a de facto underside wash, and since many have been caught in a downpour, with the obvious result of nothing being wrong with the car afterwards, this assumes that underside washes are fine. I wanted to probe (ouch, no pun intended) this a little further though, in that I am keen to find out how many actually stick a hose deep down and clean the underside thoroughly. Ie, I have been caught in a downpour as well, but have found, for example, that the inside of my wheel rims still retain dust.

Regards.

 

[gene '96 #178]

Clean, Clean, Clean

I spent 4 months last Winter on my back while my car was on its stands in the garage. I cleaned the undercarrage and the suspension with a toothbrush and now it gleams. I know most people will never know the extent I have gone to but it is (imo) only the next step after the car has been detailed.

I always hose out my wheelwells to remove the sand and grit when I wash my car. I use the light rain or shower pattern on my hose nozzle.
It is always an great sight when people do look under the car and see the shine

 

[Lud]

As you noted, everything under there is designed to get wet. As long as you don't go crazy with a high pressure water (which can force water into places it doesn't belong) you won't hurt anything.

 

[NSXaholic]

Re: Clean, Clean, Clean

...I always hose out my wheelwells to remove the sand and grit when I wash my car. I use the light rain or shower pattern on my hose nozzle...

I agree with you Gene. I also peek at the wheelwells of high-end exotics to get a proxy for how much TLC has been given to the car.

Regards.

 

[Animate]

This thread will expose the obsessive among us! One of the things that impressed me with the NSX is how nicely the suspension/undercarriage cleans up. The aluminum and stainless can be made to look as new, unlike some cars that require sandblasting and painting to get the factory fresh look.

Just after I got the car I removed the wheels and polished the control arms. I also removed the heat shields from the stock exhaust to polish them, and remove all the small stones that accumulated.

This image was posted awhile back, can't recall whose car it was.

 

[nsx_parts]

That car belonged to a figure skater. I can not remember her name!

 

[Lud]

This image was posted awhile back, can't recall whose car it was.

http://www.nsxprime.com/Gallery/owners/sjulius/steve_julius.htm

 

[gene '96 #178]

OMG!!!!

I thought it was only me....
I love to spend the day cleaning and detailing my car. I don't understand how somone can only wash the exterior and call it good. I always wipe the door jambs as well as the engine compartment and front radiator area down. If you stay on top of it, it isn't too hard too keep clean. I take a lot of heat from others about how clean my car always is but I don't care. My car is a reflection of me and.....(oh well) enuf said.

I also keep my wife's Mercedes E320 up to par but not like my X-car

Thanks for making me feel like I belong to an exclusive group fellows. One where how we present ourselves does matters.

 

[nsxtasy]

That car belonged to a figure skater. I can not remember her name!

Mary Lou Retton, the original owner, was a gymnast, not a skater.

Speaking of figure skaters, Tonya Harding had an NSX, but she bent the suspension arms on it.

 

[nsx_parts]

Oops, my bad.

 

[Tantheman]

I want to do my underside now. How about waxing underneath your hood? I do that...does that make me hardcore enough?

Tan

 

[gene '96 #178]

Yep Tan..... I would definitely say you are in the club!!!

Now all we have to do is come up with a secret hand shake and we will be set

 

[ajnsx]

i actually clean the in side of my rims also i had momo sports five spoke making it easy to do so..i also polish under the bonnet and the boot, door jambs, engine, plug cords and polish the door latches, i love to detail

 

[tabasco]

I haven't polished my undercarriage, but regularly do everything else mentioned. About once a month I pull the wheels and polish the inside.

 

[nsxtasy]

When I get home from the track, I always wash my car (including buffing out those black rubber marks from tire chunks getting kicked up). I wash my track wheels, too - and since those are off the car anyway, I wash the insides as well. Which means that the insides of my track wheels (which are the more beat up set) are usually cleaner than the insides of my street wheels (which are the more pristine set). Go figure.

 

[tosugrad]

Thats one clean underbody!! Darn.

I clean mine up when I can. Mostly in the winter when its on jack stands.

 

[NSXaholic]

Can some the more mechanically inclinded individuals take the image that Animate has posted, and perhaps attach some labelled arrows as to the key/critical/interesting areas of the underside of the X. It would be a wonderful study for less mechanically-minded (like me). I'd also like to suggest to Lud we put this in the FAQ if possible once done. What are the discernable mods to this car? Is that an aftermarket exhaust, or stock (forgive me -- I've got an aftermarket exhaust myself, so I don't know exactly how the underside of a stock looks)?

Regards.