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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

I turned my drive into an ice rink - is anyone else this clever?


Havard
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Ok then, here's the scenario..!!

 

I bought my TT at the end of September and have hardly driven it really besides a couple of trips to Jurgens, Pixelfills wedding, 1 pancake run and Blackpool lights.

 

During the bad weather the car has been sat still undercover and the battery has sounded weaker everytime I have started her of late. With this in mind I have been looking for an opportunity to take the car for a spin to recharge the battery. I have just ordered my CTEK charger this weekend and it should be here on Tuesday. Worrying that the battery would be totally flat by then I decided to take the car for a spin.]

 

The problems are as follows:

 

Not running the car results in a dead/flat battery, if it needs replacing then I would have to change the terminals (don't want to do that..!!)

 

If I take the car out, the car will get dirty and it will get salt on the chrome alloys and the underbody (Will need to clean/jetwash it when I get back)

 

My hosepipe is frozen solid outside.

 

The car cannot be dirty or wet if I am going to recover it with the Stormforce cover for the next week or so.

 

It was a cold but clear day today and the roads were not overly wet and yesterdays rain would have washed away a lot of the salt. The sun was out and I realised that this was my opportunity..!! At 2pm I went out, picked up the daughter and had a 40 mile blast up the M6 and then back down the M61. On arrival back home I got my hosepipe out of the bath that I filled with warm water before I left (thinking mans idea....;):D)

 

It was now 3.15 and I reckoned I had an hour and a half to get the car cleaned and dried and back undercover...!!:)

 

Hosed and washed the car then gave a final rinse, temp outside was about 2 degrees when I started. Went inside the get my chamois and towels to dry the car and whoops.........as I returned to the car and mopped up the drops I realised that some on the roof had frozen......:(:rolleyes:

 

I checked the outside temp in my Audi............-1....:taped:

 

I then spent the next two hours trying to dry the car with warm towels and a chamois being dipped in clean hot water in attempt to get the car dry enough to put the cover back on.

 

My neighbours were all shaking their heads and grinning at me as I slid up and down the drive on the freezing water trying to unfreeze a car at -1.

 

The car is now undercover but my drive is like an ice rink and Mrs H has posted all over facebook what a penis I am for attempting to wash the car.

 

I think she may have a point but what would you have done?

 

H.

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I had all 4 cars I have here running on the drive yesterday just to get them up to temp and melt snow, my neighbours gave up ages ago, 6L Vette, V8 Porsche, Golf GTI and Merc 200C all running for 30 mins, quite a sound track I though, not so impressed was her indoors !!

 

The wiping off the snow turned into a mini wash and dry, I was blue when I finished !!

Edited by tooquicktostop (see edit history)
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In this weather, id have let the battery go flat and use the Quattro.

 

If i had to drive it I would have given the wheels a quick rinse with a bucket of warm water and left the cover for another day.

 

That's boring...!!:D

 

I reckon after this week it won't move till after Christmas so I was desperate to get it covered up. I feel a garage coming on..!!

 

H.

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I'd have realised this may happen at some point and bought some cheap, crap wheels for such an occasion.

 

I'd have swapped the wheels over and gone for a drive so I didn't need to worry about the chrome bad boys corroding.

 

 

In all honesty I'd have probably just let it go flat.

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I'd have realised this may happen at some point and bought some cheap, crap wheels for such an occasion.

 

I'd have swapped the wheels over and gone for a drive so I didn't need to worry about the chrome bad boys corroding.

 

 

In all honesty I'd have probably just let it go flat.

 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Once you start though you have to get the job finsihed, time and temperature were not on my side.

 

With regard to the spare alloys, I have no garage and no where to store a spare set of wheels. I also has a pattern imprinted concrete drive that would not like having a jack digging in to it regularly, it's on a slight slope so not the easiest of places to work on the car. The rest of the estate is covered in frozen snow...!!

 

I was more worried that a dead battery would mean the car would mean it would be ages before I get it going again and the lack of alarm would invalidate my insurance.

 

H.

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I was in exactly the same boat as you H, though after rubbing down the slight frost on the top I decided that after I put the cover on it will dip below freezing and will be the same anyway. Strange though how quickly though the temperate dropped!

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I gave mine a wash a couple of weeks ago. Same thing as you but i had to get out spotlights aswell because it was dark lol.

 

I just used warm water & left the car running with the heater on full whack, that kept mine from freezing over while i washed it. But then again it wasn't as cold 2 weeks ago.

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I think you should just sell me your wheels, besides, there too 'fussy' and hard to clean for you:d

 

I thought that when I bought the car but I love them now, no matter how much of a pain they are to clean. Especially when it's Moscow outside..!!

 

H.

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