B3CD or Sidekick?

[stripesace]

I've been going back and forth on this one. I currently use a red neck blaster dryer aka leaf blower. It gets the job done pretty good but it's a bit unweilding above the shoulders so I've been kicking around the idea of a sidekick for all the triim tires etc which is what I essentially use the leaf blower for except for the roof... The roof on the suv holds water bette than Lake Meade.

 

So now I'm stuck. Do I go with the sidekick for 80% of what I use a blower for? Or do I go to the sensible middle step with the B3CD. It's hard finding any sort of review or comparison between master blaster or b3cd.

[Dan@Adams]

I haven't had a chance to try the B3CD yet, so I should probably pick one up. I can usually dry most areas with just one of the two 4hp motors with the big Master Blaster if a car has a good coat of sealant or wax on it, so I would say the B3CD should work well on small to midsize cars, but might take a while on larger trucks and suv's. That is my best guess until I actually test one out. Hopefully others will chime in if they have purchased it

[NG13]

John, I still have not had a chance to actually use mine, ol'man winter is in full swing uphere and my poor truck needs a bath but it is just to cold and snowy right now. I will keep you posted if you can hold off long enough

[CMDChase]

I have a sidekick that I've been using for several years. I love it and it meets all my needs in blowing water out of tight areas. I've never used it to dry the entire vehicle. I know it doesn't affect its drying ability, but the new white one is really cool.

[Kodiak]

Leaf blower here too. Bought a sidekick and it is sweet on my roof/vents/door jams/wheels etc. it is perfect for that application. I use it to blow off my workbenches and even used it in my garage

[goheels]

Go big or go home, IMHO. Haven't tried the 4 hp model but I like having the extra power with the MB. Can dry all our vehicles in no time at all. Each tire takes less than 30 sec for it to be completely dry.

 

My sidekick hasn't left the cabinet since I've used the MB.

Edited January 9, 2016 by goheels

[stripesace]

Go big or go home, IMHO. Haven't tried the 4 hp model but I like having the extra power with the MB. Can dry all our vehicles in no time at all. Each tire takes less than 30 sec for it to be completely dry.

My sidekick hasn't left the cabinet since I've used the MB.

For some reason it's easier to part with 250 bucks than 400, especially when I think the 250 will get the job done well... It's even easier to part with 80...

[goheels]

For some reason it's easier to part with 250 bucks than 400, especially when I think the 250 will get the job done well... It's even easier to part with 80...

400? Oh, I passed on the revolution version. With Adams discounts at the time of purchase (used to be able to use 15% coupon on machines) I picked up the MB for 288. So yeah, I will spend an extra $40 for the more powerful model.

[Ricky Bobby]

John I have a Sidekick and although I haven't dried the whole car with it, it will knock a substantial amount of water off and dry it enough to where what you have left to dry with Detail Spray and a waffle weave towel is much less.

 

The Sidekick is GREAT for blowdrying tires/wheels/wells so you can dress them soon after the wash, takes about 30 seconds to 1 minute for each.  Thats probably my favorite use for so I can dry the wheels/tires touchless.

 

The B3CD is a great machine and if I had the coin to spend on it I would - but I think the Sidekick is the best value at $75.  If you aren't looking to blow dry whole cars with it and understand its limits you'd really enjoy it.  It has a ton of power for the size!

[chops1sc]

The Sidekick is GREAT for blowdrying tires/wheels/wells so you can dress them soon after the wash, takes about 30 seconds to 1 minute for each. Thats probably my favorite use for so I can dry the wheels/tires touchless

Sorry to thread-jack, but can you elaborate your process for a 1 minute cycle time? It took me forever to dry my wheel/tire with my Sidekick today, lol! Are you wiping them down first?

[charged lx]

I use the sidekick for wheels/tires. front honeycomb grill, door jambs, crevices around lights and sideview mirrors. The rest of the car gets detail spray and wiped down with waffle weave. If I use only the sidekick to dry the entire car, I will have very faint water spots left behind. So I always wipe it down.

[hemi1300]

I had the b3cd master blaster for a while, until I scored a deal here on the forum for the monster master blaster. The smaller 4hp unit did ok, but on my quad cab dodge ram and the wife's jeep grand cherokee it seemed like it took forever sometimes. On smaller vehicles it would probably work great, but on full size trucks or suv's it may take a bit longer. Absolutely love the 8hp unit, plenty of power to dry both vehicles quickly, and just run one motor when blow drying the harley

[Ricky Bobby]

Sorry to thread-jack, but can you elaborate your process for a 1 minute cycle time? It took me forever to dry my wheel/tire with my Sidekick today, lol! Are you wiping them down first?

I have 20" wheels on my X5 and 18" on my wife's Wagon.

 

I keep them clean and sealed so they rinse down pretty easy - I just clean, rinse well, and then blow dry them after the car is dry.

 

Use the small blower nozzle and not the fan nozzle with it. Get the tip up close to the wheel and it shouldn't take more than a minute for a 20" or less wheel.

 

I usually don't wipe down after, but a quick spritz of DS would be fine.

[chops1sc]

Maybe my wheels just have more nooks and crannies, lol! It seems the lug nuts take the longest!