Underbody car wash after off-road drive

[Thomas Varghese]

I just remembered @Frederic instructing us during our Absolute Newbie drive that if you are afraid to scratch your car then offroading is not for you. Its a natural instinct to slow down and be cautious when there is uncertainty ahead. I was one when I got stuck and found myself in an awkward position same like @Shehab Alawadhi in my Absolute Newbie drive. I was not sure whether the car will topple head down if I go at that speed and jump over the dune. I let go off the momentum and hoped the car will carry through but gravity always overtakes you especially when driving on sand. To tell you the truth I also sped up and didn't let go off the momentum this time bcoz I trusted @Gaurav & @Jeepie not to put us in a serious crash and didn't want myself to be perched on top of the dune like the one before me. Of course the car jumped and hit the downward slope with a slightly downward angle with the momentum but I knew instantly me, my passengers & car was safe and all of us in the car enjoyed the jump. I want to know if after this offroading drive isn't it necessary to give the car for an underside wash to wash off all the sand so that all my bushes and tie roads are clean again and will not cause any unnecessary wear and tear to the suspension. Can anybody help me with their suggestions? Thanks for the support.

[Rahimdad]

Its always a good idea to keep your car clean. This coming from someone who only gets his car washed on special occasions like annual passing. However washing is not going to keep your tire rods or rubbers clean and thus damage proof. Your tire rods will only bend if there are a few hard bumps and not because there was sand from the last drive. Similarly rubber will become hard and crack with time and change in temperature, not because of sand from a few drives back. Cleaning from the underside helps you to get down and visually inspect if there is anything that looks put of place.

Although its not a good idea to leave your throttle when you are climbing up a dune, but its not the greatest idea to keep the accelerator pressed to warrant a jump. That is why we encourage people to observe the car ahead and try to repeat the exercise. Once you feel that the front wheels of your car are through, let the accelerator go. The car's momentum will take it through. My opinion is better to get stuck than have an incident, and I'm sure no senior member in Carnity will encourage you to jump instead of getting stuck. Even our tutorial video clearly states try at lower RPM if you fail, reverse and try at slightly higher RPM and so on and so forth until you get it right. Repeat the exercise on each dune and do not go at higher RPM on next dune as each dune is built differently although they might look the same. With experience and repeating this exercise you'll learn the right throttle at the right time. Momentum doesn't mean speed, it means the right speed at the right time. Hope you continue to learn safely and with the patience of all the convoys all around, we don't mind you taking longer the learn as long as you do it safely.

[Chaitanya D]

Every time I wash my car myself , I save the same amount enough to fuel for the next drive.

Rather than the saving what I enjoy the most is one gets to know their cars better, learn and improvise on their regular checks themselves ( like oil / coolant check, air filter cleaning,  examining tires for any cracks , leaks from differentials, know which part is where , organize and strap all recovery gear securely etc). This saves you both time and money, allowing you to know your car much better than just driving.

You spend a lot of energy enough for a days workout 😂

Edited December 12, 2020 by Chaitanya D

[Thomas Varghese]

On 12/12/2020 at 6:17 PM, Rahimdad said:

Its always a good idea to keep your car clean. This coming from someone who only gets his car washed on special occasions like annual passing. However washing is not going to keep your tire rods or rubbers clean and thus damage proof. Your tire rods will only bend if there are a few hard bumps and not because there was sand from the last drive. Similarly rubber will become hard and crack with time and change in temperature, not because of sand from a few drives back. Cleaning from the underside helps you to get down and visually inspect if there is anything that looks put of place.

Although its not a good idea to leave your throttle when you are climbing up a dune, but its not the greatest idea to keep the accelerator pressed to warrant a jump. That is why we encourage people to observe the car ahead and try to repeat the exercise. Once you feel that the front wheels of your car are through, let the accelerator go. The car's momentum will take it through. My opinion is better to get stuck than have an incident, and I'm sure no senior member in Carnity will encourage you to jump instead of getting stuck. Even our tutorial video clearly states try at lower RPM if you fail, reverse and try at slightly higher RPM and so on and so forth until you get it right. Repeat the exercise on each dune and do not go at higher RPM on next dune as each dune is built differently although they might look the same. With experience and repeating this exercise you'll learn the right throttle at the right time. Momentum doesn't mean speed, it means the right speed at the right time. Hope you continue to learn safely and with the patience of all the convoys all around, we don't mind you taking longer the learn as long as you do it safely.

There is a small problem with my XTERRA. The car sometimes lags when accelerating and will do so only after it shifts the gear down by itself. This creates the necessity to accelerate a little more than what is needed to avoid hazardous conditions. Can't understand what is the problem as my other car Altima doesn't hesitate anywhere and its like sailing. The Arabian Auto mechanic told me its usual for the XTERRA to hesitate a couple of seconds and shift the gear before it accelerates. To tell you the truth I didn't believe one word he said. I can't be sure also as I bought this XTERRA as a second hand and the Altima was bought brand new. Altima has run 800000 kms and XTERRA 600000 kms. Hopefully you can give me a better advise than what I had understood @Rahimdad

[Frederic]

4 minutes ago, Thomas Varghese said:

There is a small problem with my XTERRA. The car sometimes lags when accelerating and will do so only after it shifts the gear down by itself. This creates the necessity to accelerate a little more than what is needed to avoid hazardous conditions. Can't understand what is the problem as my other car Altima doesn't hesitate anywhere and its like sailing. The Arabian Auto mechanic told me its usual for the XTERRA to hesitate a couple of seconds and shift the gear before it accelerates. To tell you the truth I didn't believe one word he said. I can't be sure also as I bought this XTERRA as a second hand and the Altima was bought brand new. Altima has run 800000 kms and XTERRA 600000 kms. Hopefully you can give me a better advise than what I had understood @Rahimdad

800,000 KMS or 80,000 KMS ?

[Thomas Varghese]

1 minute ago, Frederic said:

800,000 KMS or 80,000 KMS ?

800,000 kms. I bought it brand new in 2011 and was using it everyday traversing my different sites but now since Feb after I bought the XTERRA is idling at home. 

[Thomas Varghese]

4 minutes ago, Thomas Varghese said:

800,000 kms. I bought it brand new in 2011 and was using it everyday traversing my different sites but now since Feb after I bought the XTERRA is idling at home. 

The XTERRA has run 90000 kms with me after I purchased it in Feb. Its like choosing which car to drive everyday as I like both of them very much and pains to see I always choose the XTERRA over Altima as having a construction company, I need to carry lot of materials around which the Altima cannot take. Hopefully my son or daughter will take a license soon and take charge of that car. 

[Looper]

After every drive; either on Friday or on Saturday I take my car to the nearest petrol station to have it washed. I choose the normal cost wash but I ask them to wash the underbody and the inside of the engine bay as well - it is a weekly affair for me. After every 3-4 washes I ask them to do the extreme wash - where they use hot water to wash and they spend a lot more time underbody as well.

Am I overdoing it?

To think of it petrol station is a more expensive place compared to some dedicated carwash. Any suggestions near around Al Quoz area?

On 12/13/2020 at 9:56 PM, Thomas Varghese said:

The XTERRA has run 90000 kms with me after I purchased it in Feb. Its like choosing which car to drive everyday as I like both of them very much and pains to see I always choose the XTERRA over Altima as having a construction company, I need to carry lot of materials around which the Altima cannot take. Hopefully my son or daughter will take a license soon and take charge of that car. 

Those are some extreme milages. I am curious how much you drive everyday.

[Thomas Varghese]

3 minutes ago, Goutam said:

After every drive; either on Friday or on Saturday I take my car to the nearest petrol station to have it washed. I choose the normal cost wash but I ask them to wash the underbody and the inside of the engine bay as well - it is a weekly affair for me. After every 3-4 washes I ask them to do the extreme wash - where they use hot water to wash and they spend a lot more time underbody as well.

Am I overdoing it?

To think of it petrol station is a more expensive place compared to some dedicated carwash. Any suggestions near around Al Quoz area?

Those are some extreme milages. I am curious how much you drive everyday.

Around 300 to 400 kms a day. Stay in Ajman and office in Dubai plus sites running in Business Bay, JLT & Jabel Ali

[Thomas Varghese]

On 12/13/2020 at 9:39 PM, Thomas Varghese said:

There is a small problem with my XTERRA. The car sometimes lags when accelerating and will do so only after it shifts the gear down by itself. This creates the necessity to accelerate a little more than what is needed to avoid hazardous conditions. Can't understand what is the problem as my other car Altima doesn't hesitate anywhere and its like sailing. The Arabian Auto mechanic told me its usual for the XTERRA to hesitate a couple of seconds and shift the gear before it accelerates. To tell you the truth I didn't believe one word he said. I can't be sure also as I bought this XTERRA as a second hand and the Altima was bought brand new. Altima has run 800000 kms and XTERRA 600000 kms. Hopefully you can give me a better advise than what I had understood @Rahimdad

Looks like some of the problems got solved yesterday once I changed the front differential oil , transmission gear oil & the transfer case gear oil. XTERRA is a very underrated 4 X 4 and I regret not owning one before. The car sails almost like my Altima now and the throttle response has become little more better even though I'm not 100% satisfied. The mechanic told me some XTERRA's have this lag and some doesn't. Can any one advise if its because of the torque convertor wear out? I have a hunch if this is the problem. By the way ABS kill switch got installed and all the other functions of the car looks normal including the 4Hi & 4 Low. All are functioning when I checked. Will know it better when we meet in Fossil Rock.