To winter drivers on salted roads. I live in Rochester, NY and just bought a MY02 S2000. I"m thinking of driving it all year, but before I do, I'm concerned about salt damage. Here in Rochester, they use salt to "plow" the roads so we get alot of sludge etc... I plan on keeping this car "forever"....

My other car is a '95 Z28 w/6 speed so I already know all the driving tricks, and what salt did to that car (has 105,000 miles now).

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

thanks.

 

Don't do it! Get a beater. The S is much 2 sweet to see such conditions. I live in Pittsburgh, so I sympathize with the salt thing. Just ruins a car.

 

Hello, fellow Rochestarian. Join us in the Upstate NY forum!

There's a few folks around here that drive theirs in the winter and I'm looking to join them. I've used the Delta Sonic carwash on a regular basis to help keep the rust issue down with good success. The chassis bath is what I'm after. Also, you'll need appropriate tires - winters would obviously be the best choice but I'm going with Pirelli P-Zero Nero all-season tires. Since there's no traction control, you just have to drive intelligently and you should be fine.

Jump over to the forum and we can continue this. Testut is the fellow you'll want to get these details from...

 

Hello, I'm a new owner (2 weeks) from Rochester also in the same boat (car .. I mean) ... will follow you to the Upstate forum.

 

Hey I'm in southeastern PA and believe me this car is not winter friendly. Try not to drive it if there is any possibility of frozen precipitation.

 

Many of us Canadians drive our cars year round...mine's been through three winters, and not the slightest sign of rust. Just make sure you're washing the undercarriage and wheelwells thoroughly and frequently. And a good set of full-on snow tires is a must...I personally like the AVS 901 Winters, but they're only available in Europe and Canada...lots of folks up here really like their Blizzaks, but guys like Tire rack can provide other performance-oriented winter tire solutions.

 

I disagree. This car is extremely winter friendly if you use dedicated snow tires.

 

With the exception of my TT Stealth AWD with dedicated snow tires, the S2000 is THE most winter friendly sports car I have ever owned.
If you do not know how to equip the car suitably for such driving conditions or if you are not knowledgeable on how to drive a RWD car in such driving conditions, then yes, this is NOT a winter friendly car.

As for this whole salt business, mine has seen 4 daily driven winters in some of the most horrid conditions you can imagine. Rust? Please don't tell my car. It doesn't know what you are talking about. And there is no comparison between the factory rust proofing of a '95 Camaro with that of any year of S2000.
If, however, you suffer from this "salt paranoia", then DO NOT drive this car in winter. It will not be worth it to lose sleep over your S rusting away.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear the rustproofing is good.

Any problem taking this car through a carwash with the softop? Per the manual they say no.. My concern is Cold top (Jan/Feb) with hot water, then freezing..

I've always run 4 snows on all my cars. Only way to enjoy the winter, esp. since my parents live in the Adirondacks and we go up there to ski..

Also I really enjoy kicking the car around with the throttle in the winter. Fun up to about 30, after that a little too exciting.

 

I think the manual advises against a car wash due to the high pressure water jets pushing water past the window seals. This is the main worry. But I've seen convertible owners go through touchless carwashes armed with a few towels for soaking up the water that gets in. As for the top going from cold to hot to cold, as long as you do it on a day above freezing, it should be able to take it.