On the Way to 500k: Austin's BMW M5 for Turtle Wax

The Caccavo family takes their cars seriously. It's rare to find a family in which every member is unquestioningly dedicated to the automotive lifestyle, but here we are. Austin and his family may have only recently moved to Northern California, but they have wasted no time immersing themselves into the car culture here. Austin in particular spends much of his time working on his vehicles, and finding new roads to explore. 

On this day, my husband and I went out to explore the mountainous range of El Dorado and the surrounding region with Austin in his E28 M5. This car has been in his family since 2004, and it has lived a life that many would call unusual for an M5. Think: 100k miles on the clock when purchased by the Caccavos, daily driven, given a fully rebuilt 3.6L transplant at 293k miles, and still driven today. In 2017, Austin's father decided he no longer wanted the car, but instead of shipping it away, offered it to his son to purchase. It was an easy choice for Austin. 

Not many M5s have the privilege to see this amount of road time, as most people try to follow a "low mileage, high value" mantra. Austin however has run over 14,000 miles on the car in the last eight months of ownership, so I don't need to tell you that he drives it. A lot. We spent most of this day driving up winding, vast mountain roads, cruising the freeways in between, and stopping at a couple of Austin's favorite spots. 

Once we reached a high point on the mountain, Austin took a quick stop to clean up the bug casualties on the front of the car. Austin uses Turtle Wax ICE Spray Detailer for on-the-go spot cleanings. 

Our next stop was at the base of the mountain, where we took some time to photograph Austin doing what he loves most: driving. Most of us aren't fortunate enough to hear an S38 at wide open throttle every weekend, so I have to say that there may be a tint of jealousy somewhere behind these photos...

Our next stop was another region a short drive away. This space fell victim to a wild fire some years ago, and it's rather eerie to see the resulting landscape even after years of healing. 

In addition to the ICE products that Austin carries with him, he also has the Turtle Wax Express Shine Carnauba Spray Wax for deeper cleaning after washes. 

We wrapped up our day of driving at a nearby historical bridge (scantily built yet surprisingly sturdy, might I add). Beneath the bridge were incredible river rock formations, crafted by the water over decades of time. 

This is a sponsored post. I am a Turtle Wax Shine Squad Influencer, although all opinions expressed are my own.

The Paddocks: The 2018 Spring Classic With Turtle Wax

The overwhelming smell of race gas. Technicians tinkering with last minute adjustments before heading out on the track. Hot rubber, exhaust pipes kicking up dust, and thunderous engine notes reverberating within your ribcage. These are just a few of my favorite things about shooting in the paddocks on race day. If you've followed my work over the last couple of years, you've likely seen that I frequent Laguna Seca Raceway for a handful of vintage racing events each year. 

For this photo essay, I teamed up with Turtle Wax for a social media takeover to share what Saturday looked like during this year's Spring Classic Showcasing Nitro Revival. The social media aspect of this project was fun (check out my post on Turtle Wax's IG channel here), and below, you'll find a large gallery featuring the day through my lens. Paddock life during race weekend is exciting in the way of being able to watch human-machine interaction on a very personal level. I do my best to document drivers, technicians, and everyone in between, because they are the ones who make it possible for us to enjoy these amazing cars. This year's race was a bit different than usual, as there was a huge hot rod presence, as well as a variety of nitro fueled dragsters. I hope you enjoy this essay. Did you attend the race this year? If so, did you have a favorite car (or two)? Leave me a comment or send me a message with your thoughts!

An Afternoon Drive

I have been trying to make it a point to drive without an exact reason. I'm always running around and going to this place or that place, all with purpose and things to do. Sometimes though, I think it's necessary to just get out there without having a destination. It's stress relieving, fun, and good for your mind. 

That said, I met up with one of my dear friends Bengt and his E9 to go for an afternoon cruise. It was tons of fun and it felt almost strange to just be out there in the mountains without a real plan. It was nice to have a casual day of hanging out and just enjoying photographing our cars along the way. Bengt is an avid photography enthusiast and is constantly driving around the Bay Area, collecting places to revisit and take photos at during his next drive. 

I decided to give the Touring a good wash and wax before I headed out for the day. I later ended up miscalculating the depth of a mud patch off the side of the road, and my washing efforts ended up being slightly wasted. But admittedly, it was pretty fun.  

Below is a collection of photos from our day out - I hope you can imagine how the sun and wind felt. 

First, we came together at Alice's Restaurant. We stopped a ways down the winding road to take a few quick snaps of the cars on a turn out.

Anyone who's driven out to the coast past Alice's knows this big barn. I love this picturesque scene - it's like something out of a storybook. The two cars looked pretty small comparatively.

This Express Shine Carnauba Spray Wax from Turtle Wax is the wax that I used after washing the Touring before our drive. I not only love the smell of it, but it leaves behind a clean and residue-free feel, which is a big plus in my book.

This is a spot that I love to stop off at whenever I'm in the area. It's gorgeous no matter what time of the day it is, and it's relatively safe compared to the other busier stretches of the mountain roads. It's peaceful and quiet here, with only the occasional car rolling by.

California is pretty damn cool, right? Our next stop was along Highway 1 at this surreal lookout point along the coast. The beach has always been a place that resonates with me. It's my happy place, if you will. Our point of view lent us an expansive view, making the couple of people below us seem almost nonexistent. 

On the way back inland, this was our final stop. A cute conglomerate of little shops create this old fashioned, green storefront along the side of the road. It's charming and also a well known stop for regular drivers out here. There's a deli right off to the side, a fire station, a post office, and a handful of other small businesses. 

It was getting closer to the evening by this point, so we decided to call it a day and went our own ways. The really wonderful thing about cruising around with Bengt and his E9 is that he's genuinely there for the drive. He likes to take in the sights and make frequent stops to poke around the environment, just to see if he can find something new. This is definitely my driving style - take your time, explore, and don't be afraid to really experience your car. We run enough of a race in our daily lives, so my relaxing cruises need to be anything but fast.

When I got home, I busted out the soap and water again and washed down those mud cakes that had accumulated at the rear of the car. Drive, clean, maintain, repeat. 

This is a sponsored post. I am a Turtle Wax Shine Squad Influencer, although all opinions expressed are my own. Since I was on my own this day, I didn't have the time available to photograph my entire process of washing and waxing before my drive. I hope to bring more material like that to light in the future - but what I really wanted to focus on in this blog is the real experience of driving and enjoying your car. Thanks for reading and I hope you're able to enjoy days like this one.

Review: Turtle Wax ICE Combo!

Hey everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve actually managed to keep up with blogging. I’m going to attempt to get back into it in the coming months, so bear with me. 

The focus of this blog is simple: combine multiple products from the Turtle Wax ICE line and tell you what I think! In this example, I’ve combined the ICE Spray Wax, Interior Cleaner and Protectant, and their newest product for 2016: M.A.X. Power Car Wash!

Seeing as California is still struggling with its terrible draught, I only get to thoroughly clean my cars one every few months. It’s not really fun to see your neighbors frown at you when they see you running the hose water on your car… That said, my daily commuter, this BMW 740iL, was filthy, to put it lightly. Covered with a thick coat of dust and bugs, a good wash was definitely needed. 

Before I go further into detail about the results of this combo, let me explain the science behind the M.A.X. Car Wash. The idea is to have a wash soap that, quite simply, has layers. These layers operate on a variable pH scale. A good way to think about it is to compare it to cooking. When cooking from scratch, there are sometimes specific ratios of ingredients you must combine. This car wash is no different! For example, adding 3 oz. of wash to one gallon of water provides a more Moderate level of clean. This is more for light dirt and other remnants from commuting. This is the most pH-neutral layer. The middle layer, which is about 6 oz. per gallon of water, is a more potent one (Aggressive). This increases the pH levels so that you’re able to clean more inset grime, like stubborn bugs. The final and most powerful layer, Xtreme, is a whole 9 oz. per gallon of water. This is the amount you want to use when you’re trying to remove problematic stains, like sap or even hard set dirt or brake dust on your wheels. Pretty cool concept, right?

Well, as cool as it sounds, it produces the results to match! I have to admit that I was surprised by the amount of suds the soap produced. I’m used to extreme bouts of bubbles, but this was a bit more mild on that front (which I didn’t mind). The M.A.X. wash feels thin and slick, not slimy and syrup-like. It made contact with the paint easier in my opinion. As far as removal goes, I didn’t have to drown my car to get the soap off—which, again, is great for conserving water. I have used thicker soaps in the past that just didn’t seem to come off unless sprayed with an obscure amount of water.

Once I had finished drying the car, I applied a coat of the ICE Spray Wax. This wax is meant for more casual use, and doesn’t take nearly as much time to apply as the other waxes that the ICE line offers. It’s great for quick cleaning, or even for those who might be a little intimidated by pastes or other compounds. After I had waxed the car panel by panel (which took quite a while—do you see how huge this car is?), I was extremely happy with the result. Not only did my paint shine brilliantly, but it was such a clear clean. There were no swirls nor residue to be found; that’s what you want from a good wax, after all! 

On to my interior… This is one of the most stress inducing interior colors— next to pure white— that I can imagine. Dirt shows up immediately and I need to be aware of clothing (like dark wash jeans) rubbing off on the seats. The ICE Interior Cleaner and Protectant worked wonderfully to scrub out dirt that somehow stained the side of my passenger headrest. It also worked well for wiping down the leather dash (which I’m paranoid about keeping in good condition). 

 

One of the parts of this process that made me happiest was how nice my wheels looked after! I had scrubbed them thoroughly with the M.A.X. Car Wash and coated them with ICE Spray Detailer to finish. The wash really did a great job of breaking down the immense layer of brake dust I had accumulated. 

Ultimately, I’m very excited with the combined result of using these products together. My car is 15 years old, but you wouldn’t think it! It certainly isn’t perfect; but it just goes to show that if you take that extra measure and maintain your vehicle, it can look great even decades down the line. By no means am I a professional when it comes to detailing and car care, but the products that Turtle Wax offers give me the confidence to take charge of my car’s cosmetic health!