Exhaust Rust
 

I have been noticing a good chunk of surface rust forming on my exhaust and I was was wondering if others were having the same issue? I know exhausts are usually very prone to rust but this seems a little quick for the amount of rust that has developed on a new car. Some info about it:

I bought the car in April 2013
30,000 km
It is my daily driver and I drive it in a winter climate
I had it rust proofed

Curious to know if anyone else is having this issue and what, if anything, that they did about it?

Aftermarket exhaust opinions also appreciated since I plan on getting one next summer and I'm sure many people have them.

Thanks

Well, I bought my car in April of last year and it's a DD.

There isn't any rust on the mid pipe and wasn't any on the OEM muffler when I replaced it.

However, although we get quite a bit of moisture down here, very little salt is used on the roads.

humfrz

Just make sure you wash underneath the car at least once a month and multiple times during winter. If you want to polish your exhaust you can do that too.

Rust proofed? What type of treatment was this? I bought several new cars when I lived up north and never had any dealer offer to rust proof anything.

That's what happens with 409 stainless steel. It takes on what appears to be a surface rust appearance but still lasts for many years. Nothing to be concerned with. If you really want a shiny exhaust finish you'll need a good grade (non-Chinese) of polished 304 SS and re-polish it as needed.

The stock exhaust isn't stainless at all... it's definitely just steel, and they rust like crazy.

When I took my stock front pipe and cat back off this past summer they looked 5+ years old despite being barely a year old. It's currently in my mom's shed, but I'll grab pictures of just how bad it is next time I'm at her place.

As for aftermarket options, I'm running the Perrin 2.5" catted front pipe and resonated cat back if you ever want to hear it in person.

That's exactly the system I was planning on getting as well. Not to side track but how have you liked the system so far?

As for the rust proofing situation, I just went to a local shop that had an oil based spray (Krown). As for washes I usually wash it every 7-10 days at most, sometimes quicker depending on the amount of salt and grime buildup.

No complaints about the exhaust at all, install was dead simple. You'll NEVER get the tips aligned properly by yourself, but with one helper it's easy with a bit of fiddling.

It's definitely louder than stock inside, but not obnoxious at all (except maybe on cold starts for a few seconds, but even fully stock it was loud).

If you want to hear it in person just let me know, keep in mind mine will be louder than just the cat back since I have the front pipe as well.

We have a lot of FR-Ss at work, and all of the ones I've checked, the mid pipe/front pipe tends to rust fairly poorly. The traditional undercoatings you guys use in Canada (i.e. Krown or Rust Check) are too thin to stay on the exhaust and from my experience, burn off quicky.

I'm trying the AMSOIL HDMP on the underbody this year, I'll let you know in spring how well it keeps the stock exhaust from rusting :)

6 month and it was brown and completely rusted. Totally normal.

Cast iron, wat wat.

Speaking of which, how does everyone go about doing this? I generally just spray the undercarriage with a hose and then wash the visible parts of the exhaust with a mit. These cars are very low, even from the factory, so it's difficult to really get under there with a hose.

You can either get down and dirty or go to a car wash place and get an under carriage (cleans underneath your car) car wash.

Nothing to worry about and completely normal.