Corvette, winter driving and salt
04-30-2013, 10:14 AM
#41
04-30-2013, 10:20 AM
#42
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St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15- '16-'17-‘18-‘19-'20-'21
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04-30-2013, 10:44 AM
#43
Most of those other luxos vehicles you see in the winter months are most likely leases, why should they care
04-30-2013, 11:59 AM
#44
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There are different degrees of snow........ one inch vrs 6 inches or a foot makes a big difference in any car especially a Vette. And some areas are excellent maintaining the roads others are hit and miss.
I was lucky to get my first Vette a C5 at 47. A dream come true. I never took it out in the rain!!!
But now 13 years later........ I'm going to say it my 13 is just a car. The spliter is not a plow but I know there is a C7 in my future so I drive it.
Different age different perspective.
I was lucky to get my first Vette a C5 at 47. A dream come true. I never took it out in the rain!!!
But now 13 years later........ I'm going to say it my 13 is just a car. The spliter is not a plow but I know there is a C7 in my future so I drive it.
Different age different perspective.
04-30-2013, 12:00 PM
#45
Drifting
Take a look under a car with aluminum suspension parts that is a salt area driven car. Not saying there is a structure problem, but the aluminum becomes ugly and definately is affected by salt and water.
04-30-2013, 12:14 PM
#46
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St. Jude Donor '13
Here's my take on salt. It depends on how long you plan on keeping your car. If you trade regularily, drive it. Who cares what the underside looks like, the next guy can worry about that. I tend to keep my cars for a very long time, in other words, I don't sell or trade, I just add to the fleet. So, I want to keep the car as pristine as I can. Here in MN they salt the heck out of the roads. They are literally white in the winter and not with snow. Since I do drive my cars in the rain, I just try to minimize the corrosion by not mixing salt and water.
I don't think the corvette is any more susceptible than any other car. Just trying to keep it as nice as I can. The older C3's were very susceptible to rust in the frames.
I don't think the corvette is any more susceptible than any other car. Just trying to keep it as nice as I can. The older C3's were very susceptible to rust in the frames.
We used our 2001 as a daily driver through five Chicago winters, using the Goodyear M+S winter tires (not A/S, and not available now) on a second set of wheels.
Every winter, it looked awful. Every Spring, I'd give it a careful detailing and it looked fine.
When we traded it at 5 yrs/66k miles, the paint looked as good as any C5 with that many miles, and the underside looked like any other C5 that was driven in rain but not in snow/salt. The dealer's service dept inspected it on a rack and said it was "excellent", gave us a very fair trade-in allowance.
Our current C6 may get kept a long time, so we avoid the salt except for one dash to Florida in January, flush it thoroughly, and don't come back until the salt is gone. I also put duct tape over the shipping slots for the trip down.
04-30-2013, 12:26 PM
#47
Race Director
Spending time between our family farm in Iowa and our home in Colorado....I've experienced both the salt solution situation (Iowa) and the sanding of Colorado roads......for salt....wash the vehicle as often as possible to keep the salt reaction to a minimum...in Colorado...just replace your pitted windshield every few years.....
04-30-2013, 01:08 PM
#48
Team Owner
The frames WILL rust. I live in Norther, PA and drive a lot in NY as well. The vehicle around here take a beating. Its not just rust to worry about. Yes, the frame will rust, do not fool yourself. The other aspect people dont think of is that bolts are made of what? Thats right, metal.....and they rust as well. Over time it makes it harder to remove them and often times they break and leave you pissed off and spending time to remove it.
The salt also eats at your clear and over time your car will look like crap if not regularly taken care of. By that I mean washed, waxed, and most likely recleared. The salt also will make your plastic bits look old, gets caked in suspension bits and finds its way all through your engine bay. You also suck it up in to your air cleaner and it gets caked in your radiator.
Im not saying you cant drive it in the winter. Its just there are more things to think about than the rust.
The salt also eats at your clear and over time your car will look like crap if not regularly taken care of. By that I mean washed, waxed, and most likely recleared. The salt also will make your plastic bits look old, gets caked in suspension bits and finds its way all through your engine bay. You also suck it up in to your air cleaner and it gets caked in your radiator.
Im not saying you cant drive it in the winter. Its just there are more things to think about than the rust.