Damn I cant believe so many people go through a car wash

 

That wouldn't work for any states that have winter weather right now.. By the time you're done putting the soap on... it would be frozen to the car Having said that... the touchless car washes don't seem to clean the car completely though. Most of the time after going through one of them.. there's still some grime or salt marks on my car... The traditional car washes with the cloth and brushes do get it completely cleaned though.. but I just don't want to think about what it does to the paint

 

I would never put my car though any sort of automated car wash, one of the worst things for the paint.

best thing for the winter is to wash properly and use a sealant and wait out the rest of the winter. I used klasse back in november and the car still looks great. It's really a life saver for daily drivers who actually use their cars and drive in the winter.

 

How about the stock antenna? How does it hold up to the automated washes? I haven't tried, but are we able to push it in?

 

if you insisted on an automated wash and are worried about the antenna, you can always unscrew it off before going in the wash. should give you plenty of clearance.

 

As a pro-detailer, I'd say "DON'T EVER TAKE IT THRU A CAR WASH" - it's terrible
It just swirls the paint, and Mitshubishi paint is pretty thin to begin with

 

If I lived in a place with lots of salt/snow/etc i would take it to the manual car wash and just spray it down with soap and water.

 

Ive gone through touchless car washes with no problems and no paint damage either. But this year I'm just gonna bring all my car washing stuff and hand wash it at the self service stalls.

 

I took my RA through a "brushless" wash yesterday and it came out beautiful.

They have these little foam noodles that come down and basically just drape over the car as it goes through, I figure it's no worse than the foam glove I use to hand wash my car, probably even better cause they're spraying soapy water as it does it. Even the underside is clean. Not too bad for the late night price of $8. Could wash it every week and it'll still be under 30 beans a month.

Up north, it's near impossible to clean a car in the winter in a drive way.

 

I live in a cold area so just be cautious on exceptionally cold days because the water can ice real quick. I personally didn't really care for the touchless wash but there is no way I'm going to hand wash my car in a New England winter.

 

Why not? I did lol. It actually wasn't that bad and my car came out wicked good. The self heating packs keep your hands nice and warm. The only part that sucks is getting on your hands and knees to wash the undercarriage.