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I was wondering if anyone on here from canada or northern states has any real knowledge about the brine they spray down on the roads for ice prevention. I am in ontario and it dropped below freezing last night so my city sprayed all the roads already even though its suppose to get nice again in a few days. My question is how bad is it to drive on once its dry. I just got my car and I am not ready to store it yet. I plan to drive it for another week at least just ensuring the brine is dry on the roads. Obviously I will wash it before storage...more worried about under carriage. Any thoughts?
My town sprays it down days in advance of snow ice forecast etc.
Its mixed with a surfactant that makes it stick to the road & cars. Urgggh.
Once it dries its a white salt dust kicked up by ur tires.
Easy to wash off & does not chip paint like rock salt.
2025 C8 Z06/7/E-Ray of the Year Winner - Unmodified
2021 C8 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
I would think road salt will collect inside the panels that cover the undercarriage of the car. It could come in around the wheels, through the oil filter and drain plug openings, etc. Washing the car will probably not remove salt that gets very far inside there, but maybe the designers have accounted for that in some way.
Its horrible crap in my opinion. Its like driving your car on a salt water beach when it's wet. And a salt dust storm when it's dry. It's more corrosive than rock salt. They go crazy using it, every time there's a chance of frost they are out spreading that crap. Instead of having the road salt when it actually snows. This car eating spray is on our roads in Wi. all winter. You wash your car on a sunny day, and out they come with the brine it "prevent" spinoff. I park my C5 from October to April to help prevent the tons of wiring harness issues you can read about in the C5 tech pages. I've noticed more rust on my d.d. since they started using these products
Last edited by feeder82; Oct 31, 2020 at 10:45 AM.
Brine is fine. Plus your Vette has no steel so you are golden!
Salt, beit brine or "rock salt" they put on the roads in NE Ohio when I lived there is terrible. (They get 4 million tons/yr of rock salt from the Morton Salt mines 3 miles under Lake Eire, some 2000 feet deep, 30 miles East of Cleveland.)
Yep they coat the aluminum BUT bolts are steel and salt in whatever form will dissolve in any amount of moisture an ultimately corrode the bolts and where bolts touch metal.
I recall a doctor I was going to in our town drove his Vette most of the winter (where I have my 260Z parked all winter.) Saw it one day on a lift and could not believe how bad it looked, every bolt and the metal it was attached to was corroded! Granted the frames were steel but bolted connections were the worst.
I drove my rage top CJ5 until around May when the white salt residual on the sides of the roads was no loner visible! Each week brought it to a DIY car wash and used high pressure spray inside and out. Had drain holes drilled in the floor! Each year brought it to a fellow who sprayed undercoating over the bottom, suspension etc each year. That trapped water between it and the floor and had to screw in some sheet metal and recall painting with multiple heavy coats of Rust-Oleum that matched the blue exterior! Salt is nasty stuff!
Salt Mines 3 Miles Under Lake Eire and 2000 Feet Deep Near Cleveland
Yup. Road salt is nasty stuff. I finally got rid of my 2008 Jeep due to extensive corrosion, including body panel perforation, despite it having low miles and a lifetime powertrain warranty. But it wasn't just the body that had rusted. The exterior of the aluminum engine and other aluminum drivetrain parts had gotten super-ugly, due to corrosion. The oil pan had rusted through, resulting in an oil leak that required replacing the pan. The brake lines were badly corroded, and I was wondering how long it would be until they failed.
I just sold my 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 (76,000 miles) because the corrosion was everywhere. A couple months ago when I pulled in the driveway I saw a puddle under the drivers side lower control arm. Brake fluid, the line had just dissolved. Everything I touched either crumbled or flaked apart with rust. I replaced everything and sold it. Final score: SALT 1 - Phil 0
Cars have certainly improved over the years to be more rust resistant. Problem with the brine is on a nice sunny day I would always find a wet spot or unavoidable puddle to get the car wet. We’re all different....but when I lived in Ohio I flipped my corvettes frequently so no issues.
My first nice car... a 68 mustang. And my first new car a 71 Camero.....I swear came from the factory with rust!
once upon a time...long ago...when I was out in the country with a gravel driveway......I sprayed all my cars undercarriage with used motor oil. Really cut down on the rust.
Tha ks for the suggestion. Any idea about this product and ceramic coatings? I'm mostly worried about under carriage and suspension/, engine parts (c8 is pretty well closed up underneath, but not totally).
Could probably get.this.up.into.the suspension/engine without touching the paint, but curious if anyone has.exp.
I've been driving in CT (we get snow 3-5 months of the year) primarily german cars which I usually kept 10+ years. None had any signs of rust anywhere.
My last non-german car was a 90s era Mitsubishi Eclipse GTX and many fasteners (screws/bolts) had rusted out in less than 6 years. So, it depends on the car manufacturer I guess.
I have zero experience with GM products, the C8 is my 1st.
I live in Ontario as well.....No chance I'm taking mine out once this starts.....In the spring, I won't bring it out either until there has been a ton of rain to wash the Brine and salt away, but that's just me....
Wait till spring that stuff just kills the aluminum and other parts. It will be a long wait but worth the wait to keep the car nice. Unless you trade every few years and don't care.
To some extent, it depends on the mix. I've been your way in winter, but not in a Corvette (). The big issue is, what is the 'mix' they use? Down here, and maybe universally, my county uses a "slurry" of brine, salt crystals and ethylene glycol. It also depends how much is left on the road and does it become dust after it dries. Mine does, or at least the salt part does. It can almost become a minor "fog" even on a sunny morning when it's first dried..It blows around like fine dust...only it ain't fine at all for anything. But it does work.
I drove my 2020 C8 for three winters in Toronto. Absolutely no issues with rust at all just like my Challenger pictured above.
Am I just lucky or do modern cars not rust much anymore?
Road salt brine
). The big issue is, what is the 'mix' they use? Down here, and maybe universally, my county uses a "slurry" of brine, salt crystals and ethylene glycol. It also depends how much is left on the road and does it become dust after it dries. Mine does, or at least the salt part does. It can almost become a minor "fog" even on a sunny morning when it's first dried..It blows around like fine dust...only it ain't fine at all for anything. But it does work.
