Ben's Car Blog
November 25, 2017 /

Holiday Gift Ideas - 2017

Holiday Gift Ideas - 2017

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, it's time to start thinking about gifts for the gearhead in your life! To help you out, I've put together a list of my favorite car-related products from the last year.

WRX Christmas Sweater

WRX sweater

Shameless plug, but I couldn't find a WRX-themed Christmas sweater that I liked, so I came up with my own design! You can buy one of your own over on TeeSpring. If you're a fan of the GR hatchback, there's a design for that too!

Optimum No Rinse

Optimum No Rinse

Having washed my car the old school way for years Optimum No Rinse has been a huge time (and water) saver for me. ONR allows you to wash your car safely and efficiently almost anywhere. All you need is a few gallons of water and a bucket! Thanks to specialized polymers in the wash solution, dirt and grime are safely lifted away from the paint surface as you wipe. While a traditional multi-bucket rinse and wash are still the way to go for heavily soiled cars, ONR is an awesome product.

Blipshift 710 Bag

Blipshift 710 bag

Perfect for storing a quart of oil or some basic detailing supplies, Blipshift's 710 bag is made with neoprene to provide a watertight seal to prevent spills. In addition, built-in velcro strips prevent everything from rolling around as you drive around! I've been storing a bottle of quick detailer and a few microfiber rags in mine - which has come in handy at shows or for the impromptu photoshoot!

Perrin Shift Stop

Perrin Shift Stop

If you own a six speed 2015+ WRX, one of the first mods you should do is to pick up a Perrin Shift Stop. From the factory, these cars come with ridiculously loose shifters. The Shift Stop helps clean up the side-to-side slop in first and second specifically, but the included washers remove a ton of flex on the assembly as a whole. Overall, shifting is easier, faster, and more consistent. It's truly one of the best bang for your buck mods! For more details, check out my full review!

SnoBrum

SnoBrum

If you're like me and live in an area that gets a lot of snow, you know full well the pain of having to brush inches of snow off your precious car every winter. Unfortunately, traditional bristle brushes can seriously mar and scratch your paint! Enter the SnoBrum! With a large removable head, telescoping arm, and soft foam edges, the SnoBrum is a much faster and safer way of clearing off your car. In addition, you no longer have to worry about brushing cold, wet snow onto yourself!

Grit Guard

Grit Guard

For those traditional three bucket washes, a Grit Guard is a must for your rinse bucket. The elevated screened design allows grit and dirt residue to collect in the bottom of the bucket without the risk of it being pulled back into your wash mitt! For an even more ergonomic solution, pick up a Grit Guard Washboard to create an angled surface on which to scrub your dirty mitt.

Rexing V1 Dashcam

Rexing V1

As I've expressed before, a dashcam is cheap insurance to guarantee you're protected in the event of an accident. With most units being plug-in and forget, there's really no reason not to have one installed! The Rexing V1 is still the one I'd recommend - I've had mine installed for over a year now with no issues whatsoever. The quality of the video and discreet design make it a great value for the price.

VeePeak OBD-II Bluetooth Adapter

VeePeak OBD-II

A bluetooth OBD-II adapter is a great thing to have on-hand. Thanks to apps like Torque Pro for Android, you can easily read and clear engine codes, monitor performance data, and log for diagnostics and troubleshooting. I've used a few cheap adapters in the past, but the VeePeak adapter has been dead reliable for me. As a bonus, it's an extremely small package that hides well under the dashboard!

AMMO NYC Microfibers

AMMO NYC microfibers

You can never have too many microfiber towels! AMMO NYC's 80/20 325 GSM towels are excellent quality, as you would expect from Mr. Kosilla himself! I use them for everything from quick detailer wipe-downs, wax and polish buffing, and spray sealant application. An equivalent towel is also available over on Amazon.

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