Road salt - over fussing ???
Discussion
It’s that time of the year where some PHers just jump in their pride and joys as usual whilst many won’t until all the grit has been washed off the road by a few downpours.
I’ll admit I took one of my bikes out a few years ago in winter, didn’t clean it after and when I went back into the garage about 3 weeks later - the chrome was very pitted - irreversible damage but I can live with it.
If you have owned a car from new and can guarantee it’s never been driven on salty roads then I think you have a point in keeping it in the garage until the roads are clear. But, say you buy a 10 year old car in mint (ish) condition, you can’t guarantee that the previous owner hasn’t used it in all conditions and neglected to clean it. In that case the damage would already be done ?
Also, if you only keep a car for a year or 2 - will the difference between using on salted roads or not be negligible?
So, in brief - are drivers who don’t drive on salted roads being overly cautious?
I’ll admit I took one of my bikes out a few years ago in winter, didn’t clean it after and when I went back into the garage about 3 weeks later - the chrome was very pitted - irreversible damage but I can live with it.
If you have owned a car from new and can guarantee it’s never been driven on salty roads then I think you have a point in keeping it in the garage until the roads are clear. But, say you buy a 10 year old car in mint (ish) condition, you can’t guarantee that the previous owner hasn’t used it in all conditions and neglected to clean it. In that case the damage would already be done ?
Also, if you only keep a car for a year or 2 - will the difference between using on salted roads or not be negligible?
So, in brief - are drivers who don’t drive on salted roads being overly cautious?
I hate salt/gritters.
I had a brand new M140i a while back and unfortunately managed to get behind a gritter on the motorway - both intercooler intakes filled with grit and the rad fins damaged. Had to take off the grills and vacuum it all out.
New bike a while ago, grit got into the chain and dried it out way faster than normal and caused wear.
If I have to drive when the roads are salted, I have to power wash the underneath, even if I'm driving a beater. I cannot stand the stuff.
I had a brand new M140i a while back and unfortunately managed to get behind a gritter on the motorway - both intercooler intakes filled with grit and the rad fins damaged. Had to take off the grills and vacuum it all out.
New bike a while ago, grit got into the chain and dried it out way faster than normal and caused wear.
If I have to drive when the roads are salted, I have to power wash the underneath, even if I'm driving a beater. I cannot stand the stuff.
Agreed on all points.
So if you are hanging in to a car don’t use but if you don’t plan to keep it long term, just use as you like.
How about this scenario ?
I buy 2 x 5 year old Porsche 911s. ( A and B)
Both are garaged most of the time and I only use B all the way through winter whilst A sits there until the salt etc has gone. After 3 years I trade them in for a new one. At that point will the dealer be able to quite easily say ‘ we’ll take A but not B because B has obviously been out in the salt and has a lot of corrosion ?
Is it that obvious ?
So if you are hanging in to a car don’t use but if you don’t plan to keep it long term, just use as you like.
How about this scenario ?
I buy 2 x 5 year old Porsche 911s. ( A and B)
Both are garaged most of the time and I only use B all the way through winter whilst A sits there until the salt etc has gone. After 3 years I trade them in for a new one. At that point will the dealer be able to quite easily say ‘ we’ll take A but not B because B has obviously been out in the salt and has a lot of corrosion ?
Is it that obvious ?
swanseaboydan said:
Agreed on all points.
So if you are hanging in to a car don’t use but if you don’t plan to keep it long term, just use as you like.
How about this scenario ?
I buy 2 x 5 year old Porsche 911s. ( A and B)
Both are garaged most of the time and I only use B all the way through winter whilst A sits there until the salt etc has gone. After 3 years I trade them in for a new one. At that point will the dealer be able to quite easily say ‘ we’ll take A but not B because B has obviously been out in the salt and has a lot of corrosion ?
Is it that obvious ?
I’m guessing there would be a difference between cars if the one used throughout winter hadn’t been washed at all. So if you are hanging in to a car don’t use but if you don’t plan to keep it long term, just use as you like.
How about this scenario ?
I buy 2 x 5 year old Porsche 911s. ( A and B)
Both are garaged most of the time and I only use B all the way through winter whilst A sits there until the salt etc has gone. After 3 years I trade them in for a new one. At that point will the dealer be able to quite easily say ‘ we’ll take A but not B because B has obviously been out in the salt and has a lot of corrosion ?
Is it that obvious ?
swanseaboydan said:
But, say you buy a 10 year old car in mint (ish) condition, you can’t guarantee that the previous owner hasn’t used it in all conditions and neglected to clean it. In that case the damage would already be done ?
Easy to check on a ramp or simply looking at arches and at suspension components.IMO it's no different to mechanical sympathy. And certain cars require more attention than others. Modern car on lease? Don't care. My 25-year old JDM import with no underseal other than a coating of BiltHamber UC? I prefer to be careful.
Unless you’ve got a classic car this is more of an OCD question. This isn’t the 90s, your car won’t dissolve. Keep it clean (ish) and regular maintenance.
I’ve driven and ridden my (modern) weekend toys all though the winter, never had any bother other than a few discoloured bolts and fixings.
I’ve driven and ridden my (modern) weekend toys all though the winter, never had any bother other than a few discoloured bolts and fixings.
Edited by JAMSXR on Friday 28th January 19:31
JAMSXR said:
Unless you’ve got a classic car this is more a of OCD. This isn’t the 90s, your car won’t dissolve. Keep it clean (ish) and regular maintenance.
Depends what you define as a "classic"?I've seen plenty of relatively modern cars, especially Jap stuff, that are completely rotten, 05 and 06 Imprezas and Evos for example.
I have my cars professionally cavity waxed then just use them. Make sure they are cleaned every 2 weeks in winter, including under arches etc.
Get the body shop to check it in the summer. Never had any significant issues.
Life's too short to drive s
t cars for 4+ months of the year. When it is crap outside and miserable, you need a fun car in your life..
Get the body shop to check it in the summer. Never had any significant issues.
Life's too short to drive s
t cars for 4+ months of the year. When it is crap outside and miserable, you need a fun car in your life..mike74 said:
JAMSXR said:
Unless you’ve got a classic car this is more a of OCD. This isn’t the 90s, your car won’t dissolve. Keep it clean (ish) and regular maintenance.
Depends what you define as a "classic"?I've seen plenty of relatively modern cars, especially Jap stuff, that are completely rotten, 05 and 06 Imprezas and Evos for example.
I think the worst time is when it has lightly rained so that there is a kind of salty layer on the road to get flicked up into all the seams etc etc - I think that’s what happened when I took my Harley out a few years ago - the salt / rain solution coated it and after a few weeks the chrome was all pitted. Is it not so bad on a cold, dry day ?
mike74 said:
Depends what you define as a "classic"?
I've seen plenty of relatively modern cars, especially Jap stuff, that are completely rotten, 05 and 06 Imprezas and Evos for example.
Yes, in particular if you have something that was a Japanese market car (either a grey import, or only a very limited official import), the corrosion protection can be rather lacking.I've seen plenty of relatively modern cars, especially Jap stuff, that are completely rotten, 05 and 06 Imprezas and Evos for example.
I saw watching Harry Metcalfe's videos that he uses ACF50 underneath some of his cars to winterise them a bit, and motorcyclists seem to speak well of the stuff too.
From my experience living and working in Japan - the cars produced for up north are more expensive as they are made to a better standard due to the snow, are treated underneath etc etc.
Whereas down south they do not have the prep done for snow. If you have a choice you’d want a northern market car - but having said that, they can have a hard life in the snow. Most Japanese families I know up North have one older / rougher car on snow tyres for the winter and a newer one for the summer.
I don’t think much salt is used on the road though, they rely on decent snow tyres instead
Whereas down south they do not have the prep done for snow. If you have a choice you’d want a northern market car - but having said that, they can have a hard life in the snow. Most Japanese families I know up North have one older / rougher car on snow tyres for the winter and a newer one for the summer.
I don’t think much salt is used on the road though, they rely on decent snow tyres instead
It probably depends who you’re ultimately likely to be selling the car to at the end of the day, or if you even own it in the first place.
If it’s on PCP, or you’re probably going to trade it in for a new one, or sell it into the trade because a private sale is going to be stressful in its own right (e.g. something pretty expensive), then it’s probably a non issue. Any damage, if it exists, will be in places you can’t see - out of sight, out of mind.
That said, I have a bit of an OCD about it as well. I try and avoid any unnecessary driving at the moment. Despite my best efforts I have been unlucky enough recently to drive past a gritter coming the opposite direction twice, and been one car back from one going in my direction. Just bad luck. I make a point of washing the car ASAP after these encounters, with a jetwash, even if the weather isn’t particularly good while I’m doing it.
If it’s on PCP, or you’re probably going to trade it in for a new one, or sell it into the trade because a private sale is going to be stressful in its own right (e.g. something pretty expensive), then it’s probably a non issue. Any damage, if it exists, will be in places you can’t see - out of sight, out of mind.
That said, I have a bit of an OCD about it as well. I try and avoid any unnecessary driving at the moment. Despite my best efforts I have been unlucky enough recently to drive past a gritter coming the opposite direction twice, and been one car back from one going in my direction. Just bad luck. I make a point of washing the car ASAP after these encounters, with a jetwash, even if the weather isn’t particularly good while I’m doing it.
I only have a lease right now. I clean the panels once in March to get all the winter grime off, and when it's serviced in September they jet wash it which gets most of the summer insects off the front end. Beyond that I just keep the lights and glass clean, which usually means cleaning them before every trip at this time of year.
I remember being at a car meet, where one of the attendees had a lovely looking metallic blue Caterham which looked really well kept. He said he used it in all weathers. I had a look underneath, and it was absolutely rotten with rust. (Powder coating does not seem to do so well at stopping rust)
My everyday driver is fully sheathed with plastic panels underneath, and stays (and goes) out in all weathers, and is still generally OK but even with this, the fixing screws which hold the protective panels in place have corroded, and have had to be replaced.
If some one has a classic car, or a car they want to keep for a long time, I can understand how taking it out in crap conditions (which they may not `have' to do) would not be too appealing to them and would detract somewhat from the pleasure of owning and driving such cars.
There is also the idea that even where a really nice car is concerned, if a person had to drive it day in day out, its specialness /appeal would be lost, to the point they would just get rid of it, and would want to try something else.
What always amazed me was how (in the `old' days) manufacturers often used the same paint for the underbody, and inside the wheel arches, that they used for the body topsides. That seemed to be asking for rust problems to develop.
My everyday driver is fully sheathed with plastic panels underneath, and stays (and goes) out in all weathers, and is still generally OK but even with this, the fixing screws which hold the protective panels in place have corroded, and have had to be replaced.
If some one has a classic car, or a car they want to keep for a long time, I can understand how taking it out in crap conditions (which they may not `have' to do) would not be too appealing to them and would detract somewhat from the pleasure of owning and driving such cars.
There is also the idea that even where a really nice car is concerned, if a person had to drive it day in day out, its specialness /appeal would be lost, to the point they would just get rid of it, and would want to try something else.
What always amazed me was how (in the `old' days) manufacturers often used the same paint for the underbody, and inside the wheel arches, that they used for the body topsides. That seemed to be asking for rust problems to develop.
swanseaboydan said:
I think the worst time is when it has lightly rained so that there is a kind of salty layer on the road to get flicked up into all the seams etc etc - I think that’s what happened when I took my Harley out a few years ago - the salt / rain solution coated it and after a few weeks the chrome was all pitted. Is it not so bad on a cold, dry day ?
This is pretty much my approach, it's not the salt on its own that causes the problems, it needs water as well to dissolve it and get it stuck to your car. I'm fairly cautious about my E46s, but have no problem with using them on salted roads if it's dry. Both of them were supposedly summer cars according to the previous owners, I'd like to keep them nice, and they are prone to rusting in visible places, so across the pair in over 18 months they'll have been out on wet roads no more than once or twice each, taking them to MOTs and the like when I've had no choice. One of them I plan on keeping indefinitely, the other I want to sell on condition to someone who will care about this stuff. The Merc, which I figure on keeping for another 4 years and trading in for whatever replaces it, gets driven in whatever, but I have just bought a cheap TT and some winter tyres as a winter hack, not so much for corrosion concerns but more because tiptoeing around on slippery roads isn't a great fit for a big, heavy, powerful RWD estate. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff