How do you clean your boxster's undercarriage?

[jfoxny]

Winter is coming and like many I'm going to attempt to keep driving my Boxster throughout the winter (once or twice a week at least) to avoid going through the trouble of storing it. My only concern about this strategy is road salt. I live in the Northeastern United States and salt is the preferred method of deicing the roads. Normally, I'd just take a car to the car wash a few times during the winter and opt for the undercarriage wash option. I unfortunately cannot take this same approach with the Boxster being a convertible and all. So, I'm wondering what the best way is to keep the Boxster's underbelly clean and free of road salt. What do you guys living in road-salt-happy parts of the country (world?) do?

Thanks in advance,

Jason

Edited December 2, 2009 by jfoxny

[renzop]

Wait for rain, then drive fast.

Seriously though, why does the Boxster being a convertible stop you form cleaning the undercarraige at a car wash? Just do the undercarraige and don't wash the rest of the car and don't get the top wet.

Edited December 2, 2009 by renzop

[danieldolin]

I had a plummer install a hot water spicket in my garage so I can do car washes in my garage in the winter with below freezing temps. This seems to do the trick, but make sure you completely drain the hose prior to putting it away, otherwise the water inside with freeze.

[jfoxny]

Seriously though, why does the Boxster being a convertible stop you form cleaning the undercarraige at a car wash? Just do the undercarraige and don't wash the rest of the car and don't get the top wet.

I assume you're talking about a self-service car wash not of an automatic one. I haven't seen any automatic, i.e., drive-through, car washes that can do that but then again I also haven't seen any manual car washes with an undercarriage option either. This is the first convertible I've owned, though. Perhaps I just never knew to look. Which kind of car wash were you referring to?

[jfoxny]

I had a plummer install a hot water spicket in my garage so I can do car washes in my garage in the winter with below freezing temps. This seems to do the trick, but make sure you completely drain the hose prior to putting it away, otherwise the water inside with freeze.

Out of curiosity, when you wash your car yourself, how do effectively clean *under* the car? Is there a hose attachment or something you can get that let's you get under there more easily?

[danieldolin]

I had a plummer install a hot water spicket in my garage so I can do car washes in my garage in the winter with below freezing temps. This seems to do the trick, but make sure you completely drain the hose prior to putting it away, otherwise the water inside with freeze.

Out of curiosity, when you wash your car yourself, how do effectively clean *under* the car? Is there a hose attachment or something you can get that let's you get under there more easily?

no special attachment, just get down on the ground and spray upwards on the underside of the car from all sides... probably not as effective as an undercarrage auto-car wash, but no risk of damage to the car either...

[Jay H]

I use a lower pressure (i.e. cheaper) high pressure washer to wash the underside of my Boxster during the winter. I believe my electric pressure washer maxes out at under 980 psi, so while it doesn't clean siding and concrete like a gas powered 2400 psi washer, it's much less damaging for the underside of a Boxster and does a good job of getting the salt off. In Wisconsin we get enough above freezing days that I can get out the pressure washer several times a winter and wash off that under carriage. The "wand" on my washer is plenty long enough that I can reach anywhere under the car.

Porsche advises in the owner's manual to not use a high pressure water source on the alternator area of the motor.

Edited December 24, 2009 by Jay H

[jlamb]

Winter is coming and like many I'm going to attempt to keep driving my Boxster throughout the winter (once or twice a week at least) to avoid going through the trouble of storing it. My only concern about this strategy is road salt. I live in the Northeastern United States and salt is the preferred method of deicing the roads. Normally, I'd just take a car to the car wash a few times during the winter and opt for the undercarriage wash option. I unfortunately cannot take this same approach with the Boxster being a convertible and all. So, I'm wondering what the best way is to keep the Boxster's underbelly clean and free of road salt. What do you guys living in road-salt-happy parts of the country (world?) do?

Thanks in advance,

Jason

I'm new to this forum so forgive me if this post comes out messed up. I don't drive my Porsche in the winter but I'm still a fanatic about washing the undercarriage every couple of washes just to keep the grime and dirt off the bottom. I actually bought a round lawn sprinkler,(under $10). I place it on the the drive way, drive the car so it is just over it, shut off the engine, get out and slowly pull the hose back under the car hitting all the spots that need rinsing. Works pretty well, believe it or not, if you keep up with it and do it often enough.