Well, it's that time of the year where us 'northerners' start getting really cold and inevitably have snow/ice on the road at some point during the season. As most of you know they put salt on the roads to make the freezing point of water lower, therefore making it have to be much colder for ice to form on the road.

Now that the science lesson/background is over, I still want to drive my car every now and then during the winter and I'm wondering if there is anything in or around the undercarriage that could be harmed by the salt on the road. Being from Florida, I never had to deal w/ this problem.. so I need the winter veterans to chime in here.

Thanks a lot for the input in advance!

 

I would suggest to avoid driving the vette when it just snowed and the roads got covered with salt which just melted the snow. Basically, you are then driving over salt water, which then splashes all over in the engine bay and in the under carriage. Unless you clean out all the salt thoroughly, metal parts will start to corrode.

 

So basically just give it a few days after they put the salt down is what you're saying. I suppose just to be safe after I wait a few days and go driving around, I'll still hose down the undercarriage, or maybe get an undercarriage wash at a touch free car wash.

 

Yes, ideally you want the road to be dry and not be covered in white salt dust. Otherwise your car will turn silver regardless of its original color I would also use the external temperature indicator to gauge if there is potential ice or not. I guess depending on where you live, it is possible to have occasional sunny days when it is in the 40s or 50s, then taking the vette out would be tempting. Although, if you have an awd car like a subaru, you get excited when it snows

 

From your profile it looks like you are in Virginia. You shouldn't have too much of a problem. Snow days and salt will be few and far between. Several hundred miles further North, I tend to drive the car year round but during the winter I wait for a nice day with dry roads. I can usually depend on one nice day per month sometimes several more. I try to put between 30 and 40 miles on the car when I have it out. This gets everything hot and cooks off condensation in the engine, exhaust, tranny and diff. I have been driving my Vettes like this for at least 25 years with no problems. For the 12 years preceding that my Vettes were daily drivers..

I don't worry about dry salt on the roads other than it can make the road slippery. In up state NY the various organizations treating the roads use a mixture of sand and salt so the car will tend to get a little dusty. When it is really cold in January and February I just go for a drive and put the car back in the garage. I wait a couple of months before washing it as it is really tough to wash a car in below freezing or below zero weather. My 03Z has been driven this way since I got it in 03 and I believe the original owner actually drove it snow quite a few times. During the rest of the year it is driven in the rain if it happens to rain. I was just under the car doing some work on it and the frame has no rust issues.

Bill

 

Thanks for the input guys. I feel a bit more at ease about taking the car out in the 'cold' months when road conditions are not the greatest.

 

Once the salt hits the road my car stays put until the first rain to wash it away. Just a personal preferrence, it won't really hurt anything to drive it. It just won't be as clean underneath.

 

I drive mine year round, sunny, rain, snow or ice. Unlike others on this forum. I had both my C5 Z06s rust proofed by my Ziebart dealer when I first bought them. My 2002 has 160k with no signs of corrosion on the undercarriage, suspension components or engine bay.

 

I worry about the salt, but the salt is only one problem it's thise tiny 1/4 rocks they use with the salt that does the real damage.

I'm garaged untill the spring, or when those little stones are gone again.

 

Thanks for posting up about the Zeibart, I found a location near here, I'm going to give them a call next week and see what kind of prices they charge for the car and maybe even the Ram DD.