I know I know, yet another "I bought my dream V8V' thread but I pulled the trigger today one. I found an '08 manual with ~12k miles in amazing shape, fully optioned (no power kit or sport upgrade however), Black on Black (black calipers as well) from a Toronto exotics dealer.

I had been hunting around on both sides of the border and this popped up at a great price so I jumped on it. It has a full service history from the AM shop in TO which I visited this aft (in bw test drives ) to get the run down. It has had no issues with annual service every year (incl the last one a month ago).

If there was any downside it's that the previous owner did not install a 3M clear bra so there are some tiny chips up front commensurate with the mileage. I'm waffling as to whether to put one on myself. I've heard conflicting opinions about whether it really allows to paint underneath to fade evenly compared to the unprotected paint over time (any comments?). I plan to keep it long term so am leaning towards putting one on just to stop any further damage.

This is actually my first 'real' car ever. I've been putting it off for years and finally decided that I owed myself a V8V for all that hard work . Also my 12 yo son is just about as nutty about cars as I was at his age so I'm rationalizing it that it's for him too . I have not had a regular manual driver for about 25 years but so far am loving it (I really never considered a sport shift). Sad thing is, with the weather up here about the change, it will be going into storage shortly until spring. For you guys who winter your cars, how often are you down firing up the engine and how long to you idle/rev it for?

Anyway, it comes home tomorrow, I'll post some pics as I take them (I'll be able to play with it for a little while yet) Not sure if I'm going to mod it in any way (this one was at the top end of my price range so that limits my options initially regardless) but the shopping list tentatively contains a clear bra, wheels and/or aftermarket exhaust ...

... during the summer months, my car will be outside and I was thinking of getting a cover. Does anyone here use one? Any manufacturers to recommend?

 

Congrats!!

I don't have any experience with the clear bra, but shoot a message to Michael 996TT, he might have an answer about that and about the cover. I believe he had one made.

Edit: also, try to drive it at least a little during storage season. That will help make sure everything moves a bit and keeps proper lubrication, helps prevent damage to your tires, etc. I had a car in storage for nine months while I was on a deployment and my dad was taking care of it for me. He'd just drive it around for a few minutes once ever two weeks, and I had zero issues with it when I got back.

 

Congratulations! I have the Venture Shield Clear Bra (made by 3M) on majority of my car and love it. You need protection especially if you lower the vehicle.

 

I also have Venture. I wouldn't go without it. My V8 had road acne under the rockers and the lip after 5000 miles.

 

paint protection - I wouldn't, I have read threads about paint coming off when that stuff was removed

cover - don't let a car sit in the sun, so yes a cover, either one with a chamois/flannel lining or a full size polartec fleece covering ( I did ) under the cover

winter - drive it on the occasional sunny day when the roads have had a rain, maybe once a month

 

Thanks. Where did you get your cover?

Not sure about the winter driving up here in Canada, yes there are certain cold clear days where the roads are dry but there's always lots of salt residue which would make me worried about corosion underneath.

 

Congrats!!!

 

My 928 has it's own little Columbia parka. I went to a fabric store and bought a lot of polartec fleece 200 or 300 weight, very thick and very soft, in a wide bolt. (2) 20 ft. long pieces sewed together. This covers the car front to back and side to side. This material will not scratch and it does breathe. Next a fitted white car cover (waterproof), and for extended periods a large blue tarp. There may be waterproof/soft lined 1 piece covers out there. but I doubt they match what I have done.


I don't think the Toronto area has much on central MA, where I used to live. Snowfall and temps there are really bad, they just got 15+ inches. And I would take mine out when the roads weren't bad.

 

Congrats on the purchase. Now go out and have some fun with it while the weather is cooperating.

I have the clear bra on my 07 V8V as well as our Escalade and Boxster. I don't know about the potential for affecting the paint later but I'm convinced it will save the current finish from rock chips, etc. The cover on the Escalade has marks from rock chips and a scrape where someone had trouble negotiating the parking space next to mine. I'm certain I would be looking at a repaint had it not been for the clear cover. I should also note that the Escalade is usually parked outside.

 

Congratulations!!

Looking forward to some pictures. Good thing you will get a few days to play before the weather hits.

I didn't think they used salt much anymore?? Plus it's mostly aluminum that is exposed below ... not sure if that would be better or worse for corrosion with salt. Any materials engineers out there?

 

I live in Toronto. I think I know the car you bought.

I'm storing my car the old fashioned way.
Put it away.
Keep it dry.
Put a charger on it
Cover it properly
Stabilize the fuel.
Keep it covered with plastic on the bottom so the mice can't get in.
Check on it regularily.
Also, get a really good detailing done.

I have been advised to not do the starting it up method. Creates too much condensation.

Car goes away real soon.

You will love the car.

 

Congrats on the car!

For storage, get a trickle charger (the Aston charger is just fine), cover the car, pump up the tires to max. permitted pressure (or use tire cradles) and just leave it alone. The worst thing you can do is start the car periodically and run it for a few minutes, or even around the block. Without a lengthy drive to completely warm up all the mechanicals, you will just create condensation on the internals that won't get a chance to evaporate off. And I don't know about you, but I can't stand the idea of a lengthy drive even on dry Canadian winter streets, because the roads are covered in corrosive salt dust and grit.

Just remember when first starting the car next spring to follow the procedure for pumping the oil out of the dry sump and up into the internals. This is described in the owner's manual, but it's simple: dip the clutch, apply full throttle (which prevents ignition), and press the starter button or ECU. The engine will crank but not fire, and when the oil light goes out in the instrument cluster, you are good to go. Release everything and then start as normal.

WRT covers, I never use them except for winter storage when the car is spotless. Any dirt, any wind, any mositure - all surefire recipes for a messed up clearcoat!

 

After reading this thread I wanted to share some experiences with you all in regards to clear bra's ...
#1 they do need maintenance .... Venture Shield Recommends Plexus but I know they are other manufacturer's of great products as well.
#2 when storing the vehicle it is a great idea to cover it not only to protect it over all but the less sun the Bra see's the longer life it will have. Now that does not mean you can go out and enjoy your vehicle everyday in the sun ... just clean it and maintain it and you will be just fine.
#3 When removing the bra we have not had any issues with paint coming off when the paint is OEM and the bra is removed slowly and out in the sun. The very rare cases We have seen paint come off have been for vehicles where there is aftermarket paintwork that does not meet OEM standards. ill give you an example of what has happened a few times. ... A customer brings in a repainted front bumper done by a mobile service or john does local body shop .... sometimes during the installation or at the end of it when there is trimming being done .. there will be times where the paint will give away and peel off. Usually this because the paint did not have enough time to cure prior to the customer bringing it in ( we do ask if it is re-sprayed and can usually tell ) or because the job was not done right and or good paint products where used.

We have a local certified body shop for euro cars that uses Euro/German paints a drying and baking booth .... not one single paint job of theirs has ever given us an issue with a clear bra install or removal. So its obvious ... the quality of the paint / surface we have to work with from the start makes a huge difference.

I know this was a long read but I hope it helped in some way.

thanks!

 

I have a clear bra on the whole front hood and extended sides. Really keeps the chips to a minimum. The key for the bra is the installer. A good installer will make it seamless, while a sub-par one will make it look like crap and worse could leave razor marks in the paint.

In terms of a cover, unless your car is pristine when you put the cover on, it will cause light scratches/swirls- esp on black.

Agree with the above that periodically starting the car is not a great idea. Just get a trickle charger.

 

Thanks to all for your helpful and thoughtful responses!

Yes sadly they do still use it in large quantities up here and although thank God much of the car is aluminum, there's certainly plenty of ferrous compenents to the car that would be susceptible to corrosion. On the clear dry days in the winter there is a fine salt dust that just permeates the air on the road ways. I often ride my bike to an from work on those days and you can taste it ... just awful ... on a lot of levels ...

Thanks a lot Penguin ... if you know the owner and he wants to connect directly I love to hear from him, just PM me. The car was apparently very well taken care of and I'm planning to give it more of the same. The dealership did a fantastic job detailing the paint, The clear coat is just immaculate and glowing at the moment (part of the reason I'm being so **** about trying to do the right things to preserve it now).

The only issue I've got is that they did small spot patches in some places and compared to the original lusterous black metatilic finish, up close those things seem to stand out like the proverbial sore thumbs to me. Not sure if or what I could do to those areas.

Was there more than one factory black finish for the V8V? This one is a fairly sublte metallic shade. Just gorgeous close up.

Thanks, good comments from you and Penguin re: short starts. I guessing ideally if you were going to try and start it during the winter you'd want to run it for a significant length of time to really get it hot and therefore avoid teh condensation issues. Unfortunately I don't have garage space for it so will have to store it off site. I've got leads on some places in TO for this but if you know of any, please just post or PM me.

As I said above, I agree completetly on not bringing it out onto the roads until there's been enough rain in spring to wash away most of the salt. It's such a toxic environment we have here for good cars. It would almost better to be someplace colder where they don't use salt at all (except then, I've have to live in Winnipeg ... )

I am also concerned about covering the car when it's not 100% clean ... haven't decided if/how I'm going to handle that ...

Appreciate that detailed response. I'm certainly leaning towards getting a bra installed. Not sure how those touch up spots I mention above would fare with it though. One thing I don't know though is what you do with it when you get the car washed or when it rains? Does water note get trapped under the plastic?

I imagine you're very careful about cleaning the finish before you put the cover on correct? I guess polyester is 'softer' than clear coat right? You can wipe a car with a polyester cloth (I believe that's what microfibre cloths are made from) without imparting any scratches. So as long as the car is clean then placing this over it should not cause any damage ...