Car wash = Staling/sputtering?
 

The car's a 88 S4 Vert non turbo.

I've noticed that whenever I go through a automatic car wash. My car doesn't run the same for about a half hour of driving it. It sputters a lot after the wash. The only way to get it to run good again, is to drive it a bit hard. Like I need to burn/blow the water/whatever out or something.

Anybody have any suggestions for a solution?

My car has always been hand-washed, so I've never had this problem. Try washing it by hand next time and see if that helps. Maybe the jets at the car wash are pointed in just the place you don't want them.

I contacted the guy I got the FC from and he said the same thing. I only go in the automatic one to get the little bit of street salt off of the bottom. Maybe I should just leave the car alone until summer time.

The roads are all clear, just a bit wet. But I love driving the car soo much. I don't wanna put it away. lol

Yeah that's a rough situation with those auto car wash places, I feel like if I take my vert there with my hood being a little misaligned and the 20 year old seals and other gaps that may have formed water will get into places and the top being pretty fragile as well just always made me nervous.

Plus those places have high powered water being forced into almost every area compared to a garden hose at home which basically isn't high powered and just gently washes the car. But yeah you do have to watch out for road salt and I can understand that, because I would tackle that whenever I possibly could.

But the car isn't a big surface area to do a quick 20 min car wash your self, that is unless you don't have a driveway in which to wash it easily in.

The summer would be ok. But it's freezing out right now. Maybe ill just do the stall wash. Where I spray it myself.

Thanks for the replies guys.

yeah it just sounds like you are getting your air filter wet.

HAND WASH YOUR BABY WHEN EVER YOU CAN, I HAD SOMEWHAT OF THE SAME PROBLEM BUT IT TURN OUT TO BE SOMETHING TOTALY DIFFRENT LIKE A BAD FUEL PUMP.