taffyb

SiCr - I've had a look at the FAQ before, but i'll print off a copy to read later tonight & i'll take a look at the owners manual also. cheers

aldfort - Ok so,

Oil - weekly = check

Fuel - 97+ = Shouldnt be an issue for V Power most of the time. However should i get caught out is it an issue to use say eg Ultimate ? Or in worst case plain old super unleaded?

Cleaning - Well i look after my cars, not toothbrush like, but want it looking good. I'll try every 2-3 wks if i can.

Minimum for protection twice a year.
Wash (use mitt plus good quality car shampoo) - = mitt?
Clay (Megs Quik clay is good)
Polish (if paint is dull or swirly) (Megs Deep Crystal Step 1 and step 2) this step is not mandatory you need to look at the paint finish.
Sealant (Autoglym Ultra deep shine or Poor boys or a Megs glaze)
Wax - a good wax to finish off. (Megs deep crystal step 3)
= Ok, got a hellfrauds near me. I take "megs" to be Meguirs? Also how much we looking at for this lot (approx) & i take it this'll take me a good wkend?

Hood,

303 Protector or Ragg topp or Renovo depending on how bad. If hood is in good nick then 303 or Raggtopp twice a year.

I personnaly clean with Ragg Topp cleaner Once a year and apply Ragg Topp protector twice but my car is low milage and no longer a daily driver.
You need to mail order Ragg Topp but I've done it by sending the cash (euros) in the post and it works OK. Bloke even put the change in the box!!!!
= This is the one i dont have a lot of experience in. From what i can see the hood is just dull colour & has those crappy lines across it from the struts. Besides tha seems all good. Last owner i believe had a garage, however mine will be outside most of the time. So as its a new car & not too sure of care before hand, would you recommend the full treatment just to be safe? If so what you advise?

= What about interior / wheel care? Interior in good nick now, only one slight wear mark on the drivers right side bolster & not many cracks at all. So wanna make sure it looks top notch really. Also i believe wheels are an issue with corrosion. At the mo only the centre caps have slight corrosion marks on them, so kinda wanna keep it that way. Any advice?

Cheers

j8mie -
- Check the oil every week along with tyre pressures. - What pressures?
- Don't VTEC until you have three bars on the tempertaure gauge - Ok
- Take it easy in the wet/greasy conditions, especially on cold tyres. - Yup
- I now use V-Power all the time, but there's no harm in using normal unleaded if you get caught short.
- Enjoy the car, and get the roof down as often as possible

Cheers

Crotch Rocket - cheers for info. who's Tango Man?

huytonman - "winter section" ok, sounds like a good idea. Do you have a link to the post? Just gotta find myself a big "empty" car park now.

funster - Is it a case of simply unscrewing it ? Also will it damage anything by taking it off? & does it really make that much of a difference?

Dan Hale - wise words ;-) Defo intend to enjoy, but not too much too quickly that i end up crashin it.

Bibbs - Cant see me doing any modding TBH, only thing might be newer wheels at some point, stereo/speaker upgrades & maybe some cosmetic stuff.

Dembo - Fair comment, again do you have links to the threads?


Cheers all keep the comments coming, better to learn now & start from day one, than pay the price later i recon.

Bibbs

I said that .. and I started with alloys and a de-cat ..

Now I'm broke.

aldfort

Boy you are keen.

Ok washing the car - two buckets is best. One with shampoo and one with clean water. Use the mitt - in the shampoo - on the car - in the clean water to rinse it out - back in the shampoo - on the car etc.

mitt - like a square glove with no fingers, made of mircofibre - put your hand inside and caress the car as you wash it.

Megs - Meguires as you suspected.

Mitt

taffyb

Bibbs - Nah modding aint really my thing, had an Impreza for 4 1/2 yrs. Was the first uk turbo model (95 'm) & was completely standard when i bought it (even had tweed interior & cassette player).

All i did in the time was replace seats (a must) for proper ones, put in a cd player & add a 3.4 inch rolled scoobysport b/box for a nicer throatier sound. That was it.

aldfort - "boy you are Keen" - well no time like the present i say, plus if your guna do it might as well do it properly ;-) Yeah in the past "i" thought i'd done a good job of presenting my cars, but this is my first real big spend & i love the thing. So might as well get some advice from like minded people as to what works & go from there.

Cheers for the guide (kinda like the bant with the level of detail ;-)

Aint used clay before, i used to use Autoglyn Super resin followed by high gloss. Same sorta stuff & process?

When you say glaze, is that over the Clay?

Bumpers, black parts & windows - which products?

Also what alloy cleaner do you recommend?

Hood, right i'll get some on order then. Dont suppose you got any pics showing different conditions? (so then i could compare mine & act accordingly) ;-)

Leather, ok autoglyn it is.

Plus yeah do need some mats, but after my shopping list tonight for all this stuff, might wait a bit.


Thank you very much for the advice.




Everyone else keep it coming

echo66

Bugger washing it. Get it geo'ed ASAP, that way you can get the best out of it with confidence. Doesn't matter if was done 12 months ago or 2 months ago. Get it set up & sorted to suit you.

Best

funster

[QUOTE=taffyb,Oct 8 2007, 12:10 PM] .....funster - Is it a case of simply unscrewing it ?

Crotch Rocket

Tango Man is "the god of all things shiney" ™ look him up on the forum he has a thread for car cleaning, just do a quick search

s2000tim

Yep, go see Chris @ COG, best thing to start with.

Crotch Rocket

[QUOTE=s2000tim,Oct 8 2007, 02:43 PM]Yep, go see Chris @ COG, best thing to start with.

wingnutLP

Can you vtec before three bars? I thought it wasn't possible but have never tried to find out!