Dogconker

So I have a 2013 Subaru XV 2.0D SE (Euro 5 Diesel), the car is approaching the end of it’s 5yr warranty and rather than change car I’m looking at a remap to boost the torque mainly, fuel economy isn’t a big deal as I only do about 6k a year. I’m looking for any advice, recommendations, do’s and don’ts, things to look out for, insurance problems, how to get around your annual servive including a firmware update, that sort of thing. Any advice welcome Thanks DC

Hi, so my manufacturers warranty runs out at the end of the year, and I am considering a remap for towing etc to unleash a few more of the restrained horses that all UK cars have. I currently have an XV 2.0D SE (Euro 5 diesel) which has been fully maintained by local dealer. I’m looking for do’s and don’ts, best places, things to look out for etc, any advice welcome. thanks DC

Yeah that’s Herbie, he’s one of those naturally cute dogs!!

Not going to lie, I am seriously impressed with how much it looks like an XV

So, it’s my wife’s birthday next week, we’re going away in the caravan and meeting friends there, she doesn’t know this yet. but my real reason for my post is the cake I had made by TLC Cake Design. Looks pretty good did it from a photo, will be a shame to cut into it

Ok, so it has been almost 2 months since I treated my car with a ceramic coating, the car was filthy, covered in fine dust and sandy water marks, mud and bug splats. So first thing I did was test the hydrophobic effect of the Hydrosilex coating, as video below, actually quite surprised at the result considering the paint felt like sandpaper. Water did repel off the paintwork and left the surface dry with a few beads. so then to cleaning the car, the guide says just pressure wash off, no need to clean with soap, dry with a good quality drying cloth (I used a meguair’s one) then lightly buff with a good quality microfibre towel. So how did that go? Well me and the wife hoovered and cleaned the inside of both XVs, washed the outside, quick spray of detailing spray to remove some stubborn braie dust and bug splats, though still much easier than normal. End result was 2 cars that look like they had had 2-3 hours work each on them, look freshly waxed, actually very impressed as we did both cars including the insides in 1hr 10mins. what you can’t see is that the paint feels as smooth as glass, I would have had to clay the whole car to get it that smooth normally And the cars look freshly waxed, even though all I have done is pressure wash, dry and buff (and a little detailing spray for the stubborn bits). it even works on the plastics, glass and matt finishes, even my windscreen app s hydrophobic now! So my summary review? This stuff really works, and I mean really, really works, it’s really easy to put on, once you’ve removed all the old wax and swirl marks, makes the car really easy to clean to a showroom finish without any effort and very little time. One thing I would say is use the dry application method, as tempting as it is to do the quick fix, all the detailers say you get a better finish with a dry application. You can buy it from Hydrosilexglobal.com costs about £36 for a mid sized bottle of which we used about 2 thirds to do both cars. I am seriously impressed with this stuff!

I’m not sure I’d go with the orange, i reckon black or clear might be more my taste. You might be best bonding it rather than riveting, as you say rivets creat a lot of stress on the plastic. have you been out with them fitted becayse I have a sneaky suspicion that they will howl like a banshee 😂 you’ll have to let us know how you get on.

I quite like the more aggressive look it gives the car to be fair. I bought mine with the car so it was a dealer install, cost me £80 + vat to supply and fit which wasn’t bad. Looks even better if you dechome it 😉

Threw me then, I thought found my car! 😂 it does help protect the bonnet from bug splats

I seem to have fewer chips thanmy wife’s old car that didn’t have one, the hydrosilex is supposed to help because it putd a tough silica layer over the clear coat. I used that Chipex system for chip repairs, was actually quite good, took some time but better results than I have had with any other system.

I am consideringbit to be fair, I need to see first if it lasts, if it does I’ll order some more, so far though the car is still beading and anything that lands on it seems to get washed off with rain, it’s not been cleaned for over a week will see how long it goes for

Defintely much easier to tow if you don’t drive straight over the top of the biggest hill in the peak district, journey back through Ashbourne a lot easier. It’s the length that’s the issue 12m long in total. Still, with my new ceramic coating still working well it still looked shiny

It is clean but not got the pull of the Euro 5, which is just as well as my wife gave me directions to the Peak District and took me past the highest village in England, with a really long steep drag up to the top which at one point had me in second gear!! made it though, I think we’ll find an easier route back

Shock!! I’ve just seen a TV advert fir Subaru XV on Channel 5!!

So car has been coated a week now, this morning it was covered in dust and pollen etc, paint felt quite a bit gritty especially having towed tge caravan nearly 100miles and also down a crushed stone road, but we had a downpour this evening, water beaded on paint even though it was obviously dusty and dirty, just as it did in the video I posted earlier, rubbed my hand over the paint and it felt as smooth as silk again, so I guess it’s self cleaning in terms of dust etc. Even the bug splats on front bumper had mostly come off, just needed a help. But without me doing anything to it it looks like glass again. Actually quite impressed!

Yes I will, towing a caravan at the weekend sk will pick up some crid, pollen etc. I wiper some bird muck off yesterdat that had gone solid but when I wiped it it just slid off. i meam you still have to clean the car but inlike was this finish doesn’t wash off it can only be abraded off. will see what the car looks like in a week or two

Update. wife’s car is done so now to see how long it lasts and to see if I buy any more. Used about a third to 3/4s of a small bottle but I imagine you’d a lot less on subsequent treatments, anyway for now they both look the dogs! Very impressed. Lets see if it last the 9-12months they claim

Wife’s car prepped, just waiting for it to cool down now to apply the ceramic coating. now I have cramp in my hands and forearms from all the polishing to get tid of the swirl marks on hers where she put it through a car wash

Sadly, made a rod for my own back because the wife wants her gunmetal grey XV doing the same now, another 5 hrs of my life been allocated to car detailing. mind you, if the results on her dark car look as good as mine it should look stunning, I’ll post a pic when done

Well that will be the test. Bit at the minute it has a near mirror finish and is as smooth as glass. Very impressed.

Ok so today the weather cooled off a bit and I had some time to sort this ceramic coating out Hydrosilex. OK short review, you need this!! Car looks like new, used 1 third of a bottle, cost me £36 including postage, Hydrophobic effect is supposed to last 6-12 months, nearer 12 in a moderate environment which the UK is. To clean, just pressure wash off, dry and buff. Yet to test this but apparently nothing sticks. longer review, you’re going to spend 5-6hrs doing this the first time! First wash the car, and I mean REALLY wash the car, rinse off thoroughly, then you need to clay the car to get rid of all the old waxes abd coatings as you want it back to top coat, I did mine by hand but machine is going to be quicker. I then did a swirl removal job using MEGUAIR’S Swirl X, (works really well by the way) if you put Hydrosilex on with swirls you’ll have to abrade off the Hydrosilex before you get to the swirls, Hydrosilex is a semi-permanent coating. once I’d done the swirls i rinsed off the car again to get rid of any dust that might stick in the coating. Lastly I dry applied the coating as per instructions spray on an area, immediately wipe, then buff with clean microfibre. and that’s it! you can usin it on, every part of the car outside, wheels, glass, vinyl, plastic, apparently you can even spray on material to stop stains. i bought mine here: https://hydrosilexglobal.com/ Anyway I did a before and after vid below. And a finished photo.

I’ve noticed mine never shudders with the caravan on the back so there’s something to that

Bought mine from halfrauds for about £60 but then I don’t put anything expensive or heavy up there.

Parked in Attingham Park Shrewsbury, now I hardly ever see other XV’s as theyre as rare as rocking horse dung around here, but I pulled into a parking space and got out and suddenly noticed that the car next to me was also an XV same model and year (mine is actually a 2014 model but registered at end of December 2013, confusing I know) and even rarer it was also white.

Will post up, I have to sort out stone chips first which I hope to do tomorrow then its a wash and clay so I can put the treatment on in the cool of the evening. Will do some before and after vids