Nibreezy

Winter weather is coming up very soon here in Virginia and I was trying to get some tips from you guys when driving an s2k during this time. I won’t be dailying it but will drive it when the road conditions are dry. However, if I come across some roads with salt, will I be okay? I did notice that on the undercarriage of my s, they did put some kind of coating to prevent corrosion/rust. But I still want to make sure that I don’t do something dumb when driving the car during this time of the year.


btw: The car is completely stock w stock suspension.

B serious

It'll be ok.

Chassis parts will rust, though.

Nothing you can do about that.

MrFunk

You either drive it in the winter salt or you don't. There's no "technique" for diving through salt that will reduce the exposure to it.
What kind of tires do you have? You will want to be very careful if you're driving on summer tires. In cold weather they become like hokey pucks and you have significantly reduced traction. Once temps get down to low 40's I switch over to snow tires.

cosmomiller

That is why I refused to consider purchasing a car that was not from the southwest/west coast: no corrosion.

C'est la vie.

kschoenefeld

I agree with the comment about driving Summer tires when it is cold out. And the temperature of the road also matters. It might get in the 50's some days, but the roads and tires will still be cold. It feels like a whole different car, and the loss of traction may be sudden and unexpected. Be careful out there in cool or cold weather!!!

WVCR-V

It just depends on how you view your car. Is it a low mileage one that you want to keep super pristine? Just don't drive when there is salt on the roads. Is it a car that you have made up your mind to drive whenever weather allows but just want to mitigate the effects of the salt getting onto it, I'm not sure you can. Its best just to drive a winter beater when roads are salted. Also these cars are more prone to spinning out when salt is clustered in a pile and traction is limited so be aware of that.

rudyy

If you have to drive it, then wash/rinse the undercarriage thoroughly after finish driving to get all the salt off.

Car Analogy

...which is particularly difficult to accomplish, since its likely to be very cold out, and doing this effectively will involve lots of water splashing everywhere.

So you'll need to store the hose so it doesn't freeze, and rig up some sort of undercarriage sprayer you can hook up to hose and drive over it slowly as it sprays. Then drain it afterwards each time so it also doesn't freeze. You'll also need a way to deal with all that water sprayed all over tbe driveway turning into ice.

Or just drive a different car for the winter.

darcyw

I drive my civic SiR all year long up here in the hinterland. I use a product called Rust Check (but there are other choices as well)- i buy about 2 cans and get under the car- I spray down every nook and cranny, bolt etc. I spray it into the suspension bits and bolt heads and wheel wells. My 18 year old civic shows minimal rust on the underside. There are some commercial companies that will also apply the product- don't know about Virginia. Although I don't drive my s2000 in the winter, i still spray down the underside with this product.i
darcy

B serious

I constantly keep up with corrosion protection for my TSX. Including replacing bolts, and removing and painting components. Its in excellent shape for a winter driven, 11yr old midwest car.

As you can see...my above and beyond efforts are effective. But...still a losing battle.







Its still not as clean as my S2000 that's never seen snow.