bontrager

I have had my C6 manual trans in storage since Nov. 1.

Today it's sunny in Pittsburgh about 30 degrees and no black ice but there is salt dust on the road.

What kind of damage if any will I do to the underside of the car and components if I drive in those conditions, would drive even if the temp is in the teens. The tires will remain high performance summer only but I will be mindful of that.

I would do my best to spray with water the under side in my garage after each drive or two.


Thank you!

NoRuls

I'd be more concerned with the tires than the salt. Be careful if you have "summer only" tires, it's like driving on ice. You can wash off salt, a crash.............

Jmhornz71

Washing the underside is the best bet as for the tires especially in below freezing temps summer tires can be damaged easily hitting pot hole, some times the tires will crack or actually lose little chunks of rubber

Don-Vette

If you like rusted bolts and corrosion. Go ahead and drive with salt dust on the roads. I mean isn't it obvious what happens?

vettesmith02

orca1946

OK It's a car ---- drive it. The scary part is the lack of traction in the tires at those temps!!!! summer tires" are just that.

CBRXX

If you're just driving when dry, and parking in a dry garage, I say best to leave it alone and just wash it in the spring. It's the moisture combined with the salt that is the problem.

Been lucky in the Boston area and able to get the car out every few weekends until now. Roads are fairly clean. We only had one short snow of a few sloppy inches the day before Thanksgiving, and similar again this past weekend that turned over to a lot of rain.

Was out for a ride Saturday before it started snowing. Temp was around freezing and the GS tires are not too bad once you get a few miles on them, just can't be too aggressive.

Jeff-Ford

You shouldve taken it out yesterday when it was 60 If you want to drive it then have fun you wont destroy the car. If you want to spray it off when your done just hook up a sprinkler to hot water and slide it under the car. You can even do this in your garage. Install an inline soap dispenser if you really want to get it clean.

RocketDawg

Good idea about the sprinkler. Never thought about that. I don't think I'd do it inside the garage though. You must have a drain in your garage.

Seadawg

I drove my 2008 for 2 years in Delaware, on winter salty roads, and never had any corrosion issues. I washed it whenever it got dirty.

I personally believe my 2011 vette sees more salt driving here in the Daytona Beach area from the ocean. I daily drive it, have over 50k miles on it, and was just under it this weekend.

Virtually NO corrosion or rust could be found

Torchsport

I drove my GS home from the dealership on a cold february day here in Minnesota. It hadn't snowed in awhile so the salt was minimal. All was fine.

I have since driven it a few times on cold dry roads.
No problems with traction if you aren't stupid with the go-pedal.

Don-Vette

Unless the salt is washed away corrosion does begin,in places you can not see readily. I know what winter road salt does to cars,I live in freaking Buffalo.

QUOTE: "The biggest threat salt poses to a vehicle is rust, which is accelerated by repeated exposure to salt. Rust on certain parts of a car can create a slew of problems ranging from hydraulic brake system leaks to subframe damage.

Due to the construction of a vehicle with most of the underbody being wide open, most salt damage occurs underneath the car and as a result can be difficult to detect visually.
"Underneath most cars is wide open and subject to everything and all of the elements," Roger said. "All of the water and salt that can be kicked up and sprayed up underneath the vehicle are just going to stick, sit there and corrode."

After driving on salt treated roads, many drivers then pull their vehicles into a garage, which allows the ice, snow and salt from the roadways to sit underneath the car and rot away at the car's under components.

This rotting or corrosion can harm the car's exhaust and muffler systems, coil springs and the frame of the car. Damage to the subframe of a vehicle is common in the snow belt areas in the Northeast."

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weathe...y-but/22699332

Don-Vette

A salty breeze from the ocean can not be compared to winter road "rock salt". IMO of course.

Walt White Coupe

Don't worry about it. No car lasts forever. The body can't rust. It won't hurt the aluminum and the steel rails are very thick. Do you really want to limit your fun to save the car for it's next owner. I don't.

This rotting or corrosion can harm the car's exhaust and muffler systems, coil springs and the frame of the car.

The exhaust is stainless, no problem. The "coil springs" don't exist. The springs are a fiberglass composite that won't be damaged by salt.

RED84CF

I'm in the North Hills I had my GS out in the sun but cold 4 days last week. It's tucked away now until a sunny day after rain washes the salt off the roads.

Mad*Max

I've been out all winter this year, I just keep washing the car at the coin wash, the summer tires are not that bad as long as you are mindful of the same.

Gearhead Jim

We had real winter tires on our C5 and used it as a DD through five Chicago winters. When we traded it at 5yrs/66k miles, the body and the underside looked like any other Corvette that got driven only in summer around here.

Having said that, I'm sure there was some rust starting to develop in hidden areas. But how much and how fast? Would the car start to have rust problems (frame & misc steel parts) after 10 years instead of 20 for a summer-only car? Summer rain will also cause rust, just not as quickly.

Our 2009 gets driven in salt once per year, when we make a run down to Florida in late Winter and don't come back until the salt is gone in Spring. Before leaving, I clean the area and cover the slipping slots with duct tape. When we arrive south, I remove the tape and don't find anything sticking to the adhesive which was exposed on the inside of the slots. There are other openings somewhere in the frame that should let salt inside, but I'm not seeing any evidence of it. Then I wash the car thoroughly with a wand, especially the underside. And then wait for the first thunderstorm, go drive around in it for an hour or two to finish the flushing process.

The frame is dipped in paint, not just sprayed. Recently I looked up into the shipping slots in the frame with a borescope. I couldn't bend it enough to see the bottom of the inside, but the sides and top were just a bit dusty, the paint was intact and there were no signs of rust.

I figure that my own body will be good for another 10-15 years of driving at max, and our car should last that long if I want to keep it that long.

Z0HS1CK

It's not just salt that will ruin a car, rain too.

Or moisture. I have owned cars or toys i should say that i NEVER drove in the snow. Ever. But it did get driven in rain. There would be rust on all the exhaust bolts, some portions of the frame rails, some deeper bottom parts of the engine bay on random metal parts.

1rusty1

I think it would be fine. I have had my company dd sitting outside and driven with de-icer on the roads for 200k miles (9 years) with no issues. I'm sure an occasional drive on nice days wont hurt it.

It is time for a new company car but due to the higher miles and not for sitting out in the inclement weather and driving with ice melt on the roads.

Seadawg

But I've driven mine on the sandy beaches here, which is just as gritty as the roads I used to drive on in WV and DE in the winter. yes, in case you are not aware, the first land speed records were set in the Ormond Beach area, before the Bonneville salt flats The sand is so hard, you can ride bicycles on it, and they allow vehicle driving on the beach in many areas.

I'm sure salt is doing some damage, but it is not noticable (yet), after 3 yers of doing it.

To ease some minds, I'll get under mine again this weekend, and take pics of various areas, and post to this thread. If you have a particular area you would like to see, let me know and I'll take a pic of it too.