So I bought my versa...

[milk114]

So I bought my versa, drove it home, and exhausted after a long day. what now? is there anything i should do for optimum performance? i got the maintinance package or whatever, for the oil changes for 3 yrs or 36000 mi for cheap and will follow up on them. anything else?

this is my first new car ever so i dont wanna **** it up. in any way. its gonna get washed like nobody's business. what's best to wash it with?

ive never been a "car person" but now really really care about my car. i come here to see what others are doing and though i dont always know what someone is referring to i learn all the time. now i care.

my car? a 2007 Nissan Versa 1.8 SL hatchback silver with charcoal cvt with convenience package.

any and all advice is always greatly appreciated.

[Clipsed]

welcome, and congrats on the new car! just keep oil changed, fluids stocked, and rotate your tires. Also whille your car is still under warranty, sometime in the next couple weeks I would go to the dealer and tell them your alignment is off just to have it double checked, as the shipping of the vehicle sometimes knocks this off and the dealer sometimes forgets to make sure it is ok. As for washing your car if you take it to get done, get a 100% hand wash, not a machine wash, as they have more of a tendency to scratch your paint. If you do it yourself, get yourself some microfiber rags, and 100% cotton rags. Use a specially designed soap for cars, and always wash your rims and tires first with a wheel and tire cleaner that way if over spray gets on the paint, you will wipe it clean when you wash the car. After you finish you can dry it with the 100% cotton towels, and finish up with the microfiber cloth, this will leave the car spot less, and scratch free.

[proxim2020]

As far as washing, wash it when it's dirty. Waiting too long to wash it will make washing tougher and washing it too much will cause your luster to fade faster than expected down the line. Wash with soap specifically for washing cars. They are all pretty much equal. Wash once every six months or so with regular dish detergent and follow up with a wax and buff. I use Meguiar’s wax and Black Magic spray wax in between waxings. These are the best for my 2 silver vehicles. If you're lucky, you may have a car wash that's equivalent to a hand wash. We have a car wash that has it's equipment inspected and tweaked every morning and all the brushes are soft cloth. Its the same as if you stitched a bunch of microfiber and soft cotton towels to the rollers. Never use touchless car washes. They have to use a harsher detergent since they don't touch the cars. Keep the dash protected. It'll crack on you faster than you think from sitting in the sun.

Optimum performance? The cheapest and most common mods are CAI and a new exhaust system. Both should be done at the same time. Either you have the ability to suck in a lot of air, but can't get it out. Or you can get a lot of air out, but you're not getting enough in. Strut bars will stiffen the car if you like driving it aggressively. That's pretty much that's all that's out now.