[pjbiju]

The sun - with the sun-blocking screen on the windshield. Cleaning the birdsh*t off the car everyday may not be good for the paint I guess. As well as the acids in the stuff will have a lot of time to nibble at the paint. I think modern day paints do not age very fast even under the sun.

[iraghava]

I prefer in the sun but covered, that's the way my car stands at work. Bird crap is acidic & can cause permanent damage to the paintwork if not removed at the earliest.

[benbsb29]

Robben, i guess exposure to the sun would cause lesser damage to your car, as against cr@p from the birds.

[rks]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

My car is often parked in Delhi sun, and the tires did not have any damage I could see. They lasted 43000+kms. I think running at 100kmph on hot asphalt would be more taxing for the tyres?

High-speed driving, especially on concrete roads, will certainly bring down the tyre life substantially. If high-speeding driving constitutes a substantial fraction of the driving that you do, you will probably not get 43000 kms out of your tyres; 30000 would be more llike it (a Michelin tyre dealer told me that Michelins will last only 25000 kms for my usage, which includes high-speed driving on the Expressway every week).

It is prolonged exposure to hot sun that will deteriorate the rubber used in tyres (and also the wiper blades, as per what I have heard). If one does 43000 kms in, say, 2 years, the tyre life has probably been exhausted before the sun can do any serious damage. But if one does not drive much and the car is parked mostly in the hot sun during day time, then one may find that the rubber has deteriorated in, say, 3-4 years instead of the expected 6+ years.

[tsk1979]

Don't expect modern tires to be that sun affected, maybe true for older tires.

As for highway driving(non concrete highways), have had three cars which had 80% 90kmph+ highway driving(Indica, indica, indigo) and the tyres lasted 40,000+ on all three.

If you drive at half the max rated speed of a tire, how does it matter?
Anyways thats for another thread.... lets stick to the topic

[bblost]

Hey,
Why dont you consider the possibilty of getting some shade built up.
Should not cost more than 4k for a temp structure.

Then you can park it under the shade, which is under the shade (ha ha) and the goo stuff/ water will not fall directly on on your car.
Think about it.

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by rks

(a Michelin tyre dealer told me that Michelins will last only 25000 kms for my usage, which includes high-speed driving on the Expressway every week).

Based on personal experience I wouldn't believe him unless you were running Pilot Sport's or Pilot Sport Cups. My commute is 40-45k per year (75% highway at moderate to high speeds) & I've never had any tyre including Michelin's last less than 40-odd thousand kms.

[mobike008]

Its a no brainer. Sun is better than bird's dump

[Raichal]

I have the same problem like Rtech. I park my two-wheeler (Scooty Pep+ Colour - Night Black) under a tree. I ride happily in the morning to office but evening turns out to be misery with the bird droppings. I ride back with a frowning face. I feel very bad to see the mess on the “Black Beauty”. Don’t know what to do.

[rks]

@tsk1979, upon a little Google searching, what I learnt is that it is the UV radiation from the sun that could be damaging to the rubber in tyres and wiper blades. It is not just the heat, so there is a difference between high-speed driving and prolonged exposure to the sun. But it is true that the rubber in modern tyres is more resistant to this kind of damage, probably due to added compounds.

@iraghava, thanks for the info. I am keen on trying out Michelin XM1 for my next set of tyres.

[bill1182]

I think Sun would be a better option. My M800 I use to park it in Sun for 4 years and the discoloration was not there. Only thing which use to bug me was, Oven effect when I use to go out for lunch.

[nitrous]

I would say 'Wet n Dirty' instead of 'hot n sunny'.

Dirt can always be washed.
Heat can't be.

[androdev]

my vote goes to sun.. i can't possibly drive home every evening with bird poop on the car.. if the parking problem is at home, i can alternate between the two.. park in shade on the days i have time to clean before u start, or park in sun.

bottom line.. short term or long term damage.. driving with bird poop on the car is a sin :-)

[Jaggu]

i have similar problem add a lot of dust twigs and leaves to this, i choose the shade and ensure that i wash off the bird dropping next morning. Rest of the stuff is ignored and taken care during weekend wash.

I have another issue with tree sap also coz shade is under trees, funny thing unlike the bird drop, tree sap (atleast in our parking lot) comes off without a stain if completely dried (as in leave it till weekend). Only reason might be the stain is being absorbed back by the sap ???

To sight an example, the Pollution control sticker (green square thingie) faded in 2 weeks of parking in mild sun during last summer in bangalore, so anybodies guess how much harm the sun does.

[condor]

I'd park in the sun.

Get more frequent polishes. Else tie up with the value-added-service provider at the dealership you got your car, to get a no-B&W coat every quarter. It will work out cheaper than the regular coat job, and as long as you have him do it in your presence, you know you are getting the coat of protectant.