Best Wraps in The Industry

[mikarwash]

I'm in the process of adding some new equipment. I'd like to know which wraparounds are better. "Better" means which ones clean the best. Covering more of the vehicle with ti the least amount of headaches. Ive narrowed it down to the Superflex from MacNeil and the Quickfire from Belanger. Which ones better?

 

[newtunnel]

I'm in the process of adding some new equipment. I'd like to know which wraparounds are better. "Better" means which ones clean the best. Covering more of the vehicle with ti the least amount of headaches. Ive narrowed it down to the Superflex from MacNeil and the Quickfire from Belanger. Which ones better?

I have the Belanger Quick Fire and love it. I have modified it and works perfect. Washed aprox 175,000 cars with it.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I'm in the process of adding some new equipment. I'd like to know which wraparounds are better. "Better" means which ones clean the best. Covering more of the vehicle with ti the least amount of headaches. Ive narrowed it down to the Superflex from MacNeil and the Quickfire from Belanger. Which ones better?

Sionce you specified "Least headaches" I suggest you analyze ow many moving parts their are in the Belaner and MacNeil units as comapared to Sonny's and AVW. I have older Belanger 2001 units which I modified, just took out some Hodges, and I have Sonny's and AVW. I would never go back to "Knuckling" wraps or ones that used air cylinders to operate.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I have the Belanger Quick Fire and love it. I have modified it and works perfect. Washed aprox 175,000 cars with it.

How did you modify them. I modified my 2001 Belangers.

 

[newtunnel]

How did you modify them. I modified my 2001 Belangers.

I removed the way the soap sprays on the wrap. I now use foam sticks prior to the Quickfire. I now modified it to spray soap on the rails on certian wash packages and that keeps them very clean and lubes the rail and the bushings. I can send you some pics.

 

[DavidM]

I don't have personal experience with the Quickfire or Sonny's Big Man wraps but I do have a set of Macneil Superflex wraps. They have been in since 2003. They cover the backs of vehicles better than any that I have seen and are incredibly safe. When many operators had problems with the Grand Am mirrors, we did not.
Maintenance has been minimal. They do have a few more moving parts than some but the movement allows them to follow vehicles to spend more time on the back of the car.

David

 

[my2cents]

There is a Wrap Control Module made by PECO (Called Bump and Shoot) that will lightly retract the brush head away from the side view mirror (Bump) and then give some additional air to (Shoot) the wrap across the back of the vehicle. It would not only work on PECO Flex Wraps but also AVW and Sonnys as the designs are very similar. The nice thing about this is the ability to keep the brush setting aggressive without pounding side view mirrors and getting the lighter foam brush heads to stay on the backs and provide overlapping cleaning coverage. PECO wraps are also good and durable if you are considering that style. BTW the BUMP and Shoot settings are very adjustable to operator needs.

 

[Earl Weiss]

There is a Wrap Control Module made by PECO (Called Bump and Shoot) ....

Is this controller activated? Sensor activated?

What is the theory of operation?

 

[my2cents]

The system requires a tire sensor switch, a single function from your controller and your pulse length. The location of the tire gives a close proximity of where side view mirrors are on most vehicles. The PLC is written to know when to bump and then shoot based on the tire location and your pulse. You can have the bump be set as many pulses as you wish but the best scenario is a 3 foot bump so 3 pulses roughly from a controller that is based on 11 inches. The wrap control module is actually a tunnel controller in its own right and is equipped with 8 outputs which activate the 4 way valves out (bump) and then across the back (shoot). The amount of air pressure on the bump and shoot is also adjustable so the brush head could come far away from a mirror or just slightly graze the mirror.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I found it on the website. Aside from the $1500.00 cost you would need other stuff I don't have including, Tire sensor, Mac Valves and air cylinders.

I would also caution any one who uses it to put the tire sensor close to were the wraps are. Otherwise if you lose a roller between the sensor and activation location you are in for a heep of trouble possibly putting the extra rear end pressure where the mirror now is.

 

[DavidM]

With something like this from Peco, it seems to combine the Sonny's, Peco, AVW, etc style wraps with the abilities of the Macneil wraps.

That is the same concept Macneil uses on their wraps. They flex the knuckle at the mirror, taking pressure off the side mirrors and then use a "boost" to push the wraps across the back of the car more quickly. When you take the time to set it up properly, it works very well. The wraps do an excellent job of cleaning the back of the vehicle.

David

 

[my2cents]

Tire sensor switch you need and only $250.00. The valving is on the Module and the cylinders are standard on the wraps. Keep in mind, this is not a required item for wrap operation and air pressures in either direction should not be more than 20 psi for the bump and 10psi for shoot. The tire switch needs to be located in the photo eye area. If you jump a roller there could be an issue depending on wrap aggressiveness and pressures.

 

[Robert Bailey]

Superflex are very nice and simple. and dont forget they are very safe. even if you have run away car...

 

[JeffM]

2 of our locations have MacNeil Superflex and the other has Balenger Quickfires. Both turn out a good looking car.

As I have limited experience with the quickfires, all I will comment about them is that I have heard that they require daily cleaning and lubricating on the part of the arm that the wrap travels along and that in some cases they can push the car ahead of the roller.

I am a huge fan of MacNeil's equipment for how safe it is, its durability, and how easy it is to work on it. My wraps are 4.5 years old and I have only had to change minimal parts up until now.

 

[Emerald in NJ]

There is a Wrap Control Module made by PECO (Called Bump and Shoot) that will lightly retract the brush head away from the side view mirror (Bump) and then give some additional air to (Shoot) the wrap across the back of the vehicle. It would not only work on PECO Flex Wraps but also AVW and Sonnys as the designs are very similar. The nice thing about this is the ability to keep the brush setting aggressive without pounding side view mirrors and getting the lighter foam brush heads to stay on the backs and provide overlapping cleaning coverage. PECO wraps are also good and durable if you are considering that style. BTW the BUMP and Shoot settings are very adjustable to operator needs.

Depending on which tunnel controller you have you might be able to accomplish this without needing to buy the additional module. I have an ICS WBC controller and I have it programmed to do a "mirror bump" on every car. I have an old set of Sonny's wraps with air cylinder retracts. The wraps wash the front of the car then the retracts turn on for a few seconds causing the "bump" then the wraps come back in contact and wash the back of the car.