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No, corrosion does not wash off. Yes, road salt accelerates the corrosion of aluminum also. Salty water soaking into the carpet, DOT traction sand & cinders injected into body & frame crevices. . . . NO THANKS!
Here's a thought. . . . some of us aren't as rich as ya'll are, and we can't afford to abuse the ONE sports car we're going to own for years. We scrimped and saved for it, and so we have more respect for something we worked so hard for! I'll abuse the daily beater in dirty slush. Let it get hit by a dumba.. SUV soccer mom sliding on ice.
The beautiful Corvette can wait for nice weather!
What if it was a soccer dad? Then would it be safe?
Not rich either. This will be my only Vette and only the second time I have purchased a new vehicle.
I plan on enjoying my ride my way and if that upsets some, sucks to be them. I did not spend all this money to have someone else tell me what to do with my car.
Ten years on as a daily driver in the winter...128k miles since new...
put it up on a lift at the dealership and the car looks brand new.
if you dont want to use your corvette in the winter thats fine but honestly ten years on and my c6 z51 manual with 128k miles ...and my corvette after ten years still looks mint...body and frame
Yea,Ok..A untouched photo of YOUR alternator would be sufficient to see:Salt and Aluminum Beauty..
for those who store your cars in the winter...its important to store your c5 s, c6 s and c7 s with no more than a quarter of a tank of gas...
that leaves the right fuel tank empty and the fuel sensor above the fuel line so the sulfur doesnt corrode the sensor over the period of time you are storing the car.
just a heads up...for those that store your corvette c5,c6 or c7s.
paul put it on facebook yesterday or today in a video..
thecorvettemechanic on facebook..
???
I thought it was the opposite - you are supposed to have your tank full (or close to full) to prevent condensation/moisture from appearing over the winter.
After putting on the snow tires, wow, simply amazing the reduction in road noise and feel over bumps and cracks....nothing beats 5/16" of soft rubber under foot. Add below freezing temps air and voila, feels like 30 more HP. And to the haters, yes, the car gets dirty if driven in bad weather. But, news for ya, IT cleans up beautifully in the spring...you would never know what it's been through. And, such a joy to be able to combine 'engine braking' with a downshift coming up to a traffic light while others are being over cautious in snow.....great combination; manual trans, high HP, and winter tires.....so much fun!
Considering where you live (from your published ZIP) reminds me of when I lived in NE OH along Lake Erie. Recall seeing my doctors early 1970's Vette on a lift and the frame etc was totally rusted. I parked my 260Z until May when the salt was finally off the roads! Drove my CJ5 rag top Jeep in the winter but brought it to a car wash with a pressure wand once or twice a week and sprayed the salt and crud off inside and out! Drilled some drain holes in the floor!
But with the coated aluminum frame would not be too concerned about driving the C7 with snow tires on all 4 and set in Weather Mode. Think I would install a water spray bar I could drive over after every trip with a water drain in the garage! Then since I only keep them about 5 years, sell it!
To the OP..........you rock!!! Glad to see your using that and enjoying the hell out of it!!! With the soft tires and these cold temps your right,I bet it’s a rocket!!!! Life’s short and I’ve seen some terrible health issues happen to some very close to me. Way too many people don’t drive these cars and enjoy what they offer. Don’t forget folks.........these are gm mass produced cars that in 10 yrs .......one that’s been given an owner many happy crazy miles compared to one that’s been sitting in the garage taken to car shows and ice cream on Sunday evening really won’t be too much different in actual car value!!!! The latest crazy stupid thing I just heard is the one guy who won’t even take his c7 on the freeway!!!!!!! Halarious!!!!!
I am with you guys all the way. Life is too short to save this thing on a pedestal for literally 50% of the time you could be enjoying it (up in MN it would be 50% of the yr in storage if you listened to most on here!). I have lived here my whole life and have never had a vehicle rust through or have any noticeable rust damage and those are steel vehicles not aluminum/fiberglass ones. With this car I just run it through a wash with under body wash after a "salty" run. I have a 2010 Traverse that has 170,000mi, stored its whole life out side, and haven't done underbody wash regular and it looks like new still. People not used to snow / salt have an unreasonable fear. With the Traverse the worst problem from salt is I have had to change two wheel hubs that were pretty stuck on, but that is the worst of it- hour of deadblow whacking got them lose. So my advice is run your Corvette as you like and 10 years down the road, the price you will pay is an hour of your time whacking off a stuck rotor or hub. I'll take 10 yrs of fun in winter for an hour or two of extra work time.
and I'm not rich either...Had to save 10+ yrs for this car!
Loved every minute of it. After salt from roads was gone I pressure washed her. But yall keep saving those cars so I can later get a 2019 with low miles and half the price.
Loved every minute of it. After salt from roads was gone I pressure washed her. But yall keep saving those cars so I can later get a 2019 with low miles and half the price.
Each one of us has to make the decision on when to drive our cars, there is no right or wrong answer.. I use the crap out of mine and I will trade it for a low mileage model in 2 or 3 years when I hit 75,000 miles or so.. a 2 or 3 year old low mileage car already has the depreciation hit done and it's in pristine condition... my next one will be a manual convertible and maybe a Z06 and if I am crazzzzy lucky a ZR1 in 6 or 7 years
Living in the Pacific Northwest if you don't drive in rain, you don't drive. But I draw the line at snow & ice. I don't want to buy a spare set of tires for winter, I don't want to be on the streets with the idiots who don't know to drive in snow. I have other vehicles that are designed for that type of driving, so why risk driving the Corvette?
I love to drive my GS on cool clear winter days when roads are free of chemical. As far as driving in the snow/sleet, why the heck would I?
I have two Tacomas that are build for poor weather driving and are a BLAST to drive in such weather.
I thought it was the opposite - you are supposed to have your tank full (or close to full) to prevent condensation/moisture from appearing over the winter.
Hmmm . . .
I'd better look into this further!
Since no one respnded. there are a number of recent posts that say 1/4 Full NOT Full for storage.
Probable said best in a recent post re C7's and even C6's. A number of reports where the fuel sender failed due to sulfur in gasoline coating the fuel level wiper (they stated contact) when the sender sits in gasoline and not moving, which tends to keep it clean. However also posts where folks who drive the Vette have problems. Another post defined the issue, the contacts are made from silver an form a silver/sulfur compound that is an insulator!
In a C7 to change the sender, cheap by itself, requires dropping the exhaust and rear drive train. A posted was shocked when he saw I whole drive train on the dealers shop floor! Read expensive. Even if under warranty would not want to hope the tech got it all back correctly.
This recent post also said the old rule of thumb of keeping it full was so moisture did not enter. As it pointed out, the fuel system is sealed. EPA doesn't like gasoline fumes entering the air!
My Vette is in the garage covered in salt. I might wash it if I have time tomorrow. My 18 XC60 is in the driveway covered in salt too. It’s not getting washed. My 17 Cayman S has been in my daughters garage for the last 6 weeks. It will come out in the spring.
No, corrosion does not wash off. Yes, road salt accelerates the corrosion of aluminum also. Salty water soaking into the carpet, DOT traction sand & cinders injected into body & frame crevices. . . . NO THANKS!
Here's a thought. . . . some of us aren't as rich as ya'll are, and we can't afford to abuse the ONE sports car we're going to own for years. We scrimped and saved for it, and so we have more respect for something we worked so hard for! I'll abuse the daily beater in dirty slush. Let it get hit by a dumba.. SUV soccer mom sliding on ice.
The beautiful Corvette can wait for nice weather!
I agree by taking care of stuff. I can't afford to buy a new corvette every year. However, there is a simple solution, don't drive it in the snow and wait a few days to a week for the salt to get drive/rained off the road. You will be fine.
12-08-2018, 06:43 AM
Considering where you live (from your published ZIP) reminds me of when I lived in NE OH along Lake Erie. Recall seeing my doctors early 1970's Vette on a lift and the frame etc was totally rusted. I parked my 260Z until May when the salt was finally off the roads! Drove my CJ5 rag top Jeep in the winter but brought it to a car wash with a pressure wand once or twice a week and sprayed the salt and crud off inside and out! Drilled some drain holes in the floor!
