There seems to be 2 completely different force on this forum.

One is the "super ****" squad lead by Yoda and his brickyard Z, these people will not drive their Z in the winter nor in the rain. They also apply 2 coats of Zaino after each drive.

The other force is lead by the dude in Toronto, (also in a brickyard), this guy puts 16 wheels and snow tires on his Z, his car looks "white" rather than purple during the winter.

My question is......
1)how bad exactly is salt water for a car?

2)I drive my car in the winter, BUT ONLY WHEN THE ROADS ARE DRY. I live in MN, I find that I can drive my car 3 days out of the week. So why do people store their car? How bad is it to drive your car in the winter when the roads are dry?

 

The salt isnt so amazingly horrible for your car that it will rust and fall apart. Some people baby their car, but if your car does have salt on it you should rinse it off.

 

ut oh lol <-------- spelled that way purposefully

 

As long as the salt stays DRY, then its no worse than sand or any other solid particle thats on the road. If the dry salt becomes WET however, it can stick to your car and the corrosive properties will be able to take affect.

 

Dry salt is just as bad as wet salt. Either way it will coat your car. I spent most of my life in Buffalo, where snow is a way of life and salt is a necessity. A perfectly clean car, when driven on a dry road with salt residue, will still be covered in salty grime in no time flat. The salt will rust any exposed metal. In fact, I just had the joy of snapping 3 wheel studs on my DD Maxima when trying to change over to snow tires because the lugs and studs were so rusted (note to self: next time prime with PB Blaster). And, Forget about getting an exhaust off without a torch after it has seen salt. The entire underbody, suspension, exposed frame, etc will start to rust. Trust me, there is nothing worse for your car's longevity than salt (except maybe never changing your oil).

That being said, I am going to have to drive my Z all winter. Luckily, it's mostly sand rather than salt, now that I am here in CT. In the past, I have always had 2 cars, and I never drove my Z32 or M3 until after the first major rain of spring washed all the salt off the road. Now, I have no choice. Wash your car often

 

I'm not to worried about it, I replace a car about every 3.2615 years, I'll let somebody else worry about it. I'm driving my '85 S-10 4x4, that I bought new, lets see....that's about 18 yrs. old now, sure every time I slam the door it loses about 2 more lbs, and the paint looks like crap, but I had it on a hoist last summer, just to take a look around, and the frame and all major parts still look to be in good shape. The salt issue is from back in the olden days when steel was not treated from the manufacturers, How many Ziebarts, etc do ya see around today?

 

All cars will rust eventually due to oxidation, unless you clean the underbody frequently and thoroughly. That being said, just wash the car at the carwash several times a month in the winter and you'll be fine.

 

sometimes i wonder...how paranoid we can get?...i also became afraid of salt because of the threads. As much as i do baby the car in chicago weather...i come to think about the old(10 yrs old) cars in my driveway which i could care less(not garaged so they've have taken the brutal pain of the chicago weather. They seem to be smiling, so that makes me feel more comfortable=)

i still baby my Z but sometimes i need to bring myself back down to earth and say...screw it...it's just salt...wash it off when you get home or at a carwash.=)...nothing to go crazy about right?

 

i wash the car at a self wash w/ the high pressure spraygun thing, but as soon as i leave that place the water turns to ice, it eventually melts off after driving around, is that safe to slide that thing under the car and just start randomly spraying whatever i can w/out reall seeing what i'm spraying?

 

HEY, HEY! It's Ottawa, not Toronto. Big difference!

IMO, probably the worse aspect of winter driven cars is that they get harder to work on underneith (rusted bolts) and the engine bay won't look as new for as long. This was in comparison to several buddies of mine who parked their TT RX-7 during the winter when I drove mine for several winters. As for the body, if you rust proof the car yearly, it helps a lot, but only in the long run (ie: 6-7+ years).

As for the salt, the general consensus is that it doesn't being to corrode until the temperatures are quite mild (0 to -10 C) at which time I wash the car anyway (which is usually weekly).

I guess it comes down to what one expects from their car. I expect to get stone chips from the road and small dents on the doors from parking lots (not that I like that though). I expect the exhaust bolts to rust whether winter driven or not. Should I ever sell it (doubtful right now) I expect the vehicle's mileage to be the strongest resale factor and not body condition. I expect to see very small amounts of rust should I own the car 20 years from now - at which time it will need a repaint anyway. Having said that, I will definitely try that Zaino stuff when spring rolls around because that Brickyard is such a sweet color.

 

I've spoken to my bodyshop about this. My family used to live in Buffaly,NY as well. New cars (i'm assuming around 2000-2004 ) will not really be damaged by the salt. The only real damage that occurs to newer vehicles is when they have chrome or high polished aluminum. The salt will dull the finish. Ask Kevin Overall too( our forum body guy), he'll tell you the same.

Furthermore, I've driven my Z in wet AND dry salt for a while now. I don't always wash it off either. Had it up on a lift recently and no rust anywhere. My neighbor has a daytona blue and his is fine as well

You'll be fine. Wash car off after driving if you're that worried about it

 

Hey DVLAD do you have any input on this? I only ask because of your breathtaking pics from the Utah salt flats. I'm sure you'd have to drive around for a few years worth of winters to get that type of salt buildup on a car.

 

ha, sorry.

Thank all of you for the inputs. I am not being paranoid.....even if driving my car in the salt will make it fall apart in a month, I would still drive it.

 

When I lived on the East Coast I would always wipe the salt off my 1st Z with hot water in the garage then wipe the car off.Salt is not good.

 

Jedoublery
After living in Minneapolis for 22 years and moving to So. California. I have one observation for those that have never lived there.
There are no cars over 4 years old in Minn. the bodys fall off due to salt rust.
Just be glad its not a roadster, on the other hand it was nice running with the top down all weekend in 80 degree weather. Sorry couldn't resist.
Thanks for reminding me why I moved. Must be a mild winter if your getting in three days a week

Take care, bundle up, stay warm and have a beer & a bump for me

Dunc

 

haha, it's not mild here, very cold but dry, nothing is melting so the roads are pretty nice.

And thanks for reminding me how warm SoCal is, you suck!

 

This may sound dumb, but any way rust may occur from an underbody rinse just from exposure to water itself or is it all safe under there?

 

And what kind of Engineer are you anyway?

 

Electronics. And I'm not stupid, thanks. I realize some metals rust with water, I just don't have the time to keep up with new car technology, especially one as poorly advertised as an underbody's coating (if any), or its protection against the elements. What I can tell you is that cars rust pretty good up here in NE but my last car lasted through 3 winters no problems or any rust spots whatsoever (including underneath), and it was a 2000. Others, are known to rust regardless, like the old Ford Tempos and their trunks, etc.

And what do you do for a living?