Questions for Seattle Owners
 

I'm looking at moving out to Seattle from New York in the coming months, and had a couple questions for our Seattle area owners.

1. Is ground clearance an issue? Out in the Northeast our hills are pretty gradual. Save for an odd irregular driveway curb, everything's fine. When you're in Seattle (especially downtown), hill entrances can be incredibly steep and sudden. Do any of you regularly bottom out or scrape with the stock ride height?

2. Rust is a HUGE issue here (mine stays garaged for the winters). What's the big regional car care issue for the Pacific Northwest? I know it's not rust just from the number of rust-free Tercels I see when I'm in town.

Thanks!

I'm lowered 1 inch and never had a problem. The only thing that scrapes is my mud flaps sometimes.

Hello TommyFive and welcome to the PNW channel.

I think your stock height BRZ will survive most Seattle streets without scraping.

Car care issue? Besides molds, mildews, mosses, and waterbugs growing all over and in your car ..... car care is a piece of cake. Why? Because it doesn't make much since to wash it because, for 9 months of the year, .... it will be raining before you finish the wash job .... :sigh:

humfrz

Unless your lowered to a crazy amount, you wont be scraping that much. Just avoid underground parking, Pacific Place in downtown is the worse. I high centered comming out of that mall alot.

Moss, mold and waterbugs? How do you guys regularly combat that?

That really only happens if the car sits for like a year..
If it's garaged you have zero worries but either way yea bugs will sometimes be on your car, rarely IN unless you have it open for a decent amount of time.

Seriously??? Maybe the cover was the problem..could've created a green house effect, that and I suppose the surroundings came into play. I had my old car out in the weather for a couple years and it had only a small amount of mold on the inside and zero moss. It sucked to clean that's for sure...

Well, you mix up a concoction of bleach, ferric sulfate and DDT in really hot water ..... then you spray the outside, under the car, trunk and under the hood .... and mist the interior ...... once a week ...... during the "wet" season (September - June). Also, be sure to check your feet and cut the webbing that will grow in between your toes......:D

Oh, @TommyFive ...... we are just ah messen wich ya ....:eyebulge:

It's a slow day up here in the PNW ..... ;)

humfrz

Seriously, your car will be just fine ....http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...ages/cloud.gif

according to q13, Seattle uses salt now (unfortunately).

http://q13fox.com/2013/12/19/crews-c...#axzz2pkluobUs

Haven't seen salt in the Tacoma area yet so hopefully just there! Sorry seattlites...

well the article lists it as a salt brine, so its sprayed in liquid form. probably not as corrosive as salted roads in the NE since its diluted before application, and potentially further diluted as snow/ice/frost melts but still... boourn.

its not that much of an issue here since it rarely snows.

Taking driveways and inclines at any sort of an angle greatly reduces any possibility of scraping, rubbing or anything.

Rust isn't an issue because our roads are rarely salted.

http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...ges/hijack.gif ........sorry

Especially my driveway ..... (car not lowered, no passenger, no luggage, 45 degree angle) ...... http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...images/cry.gif

humfrz

The local brine solution is a salt *technically* but it's not straight rocksalt (NaCl) that's typically used elsewhere.
The brine goes mostly on freeway hills and overpasses. The side streets generally just get plowed or we wait until it melts (shortly).

We don't normally get the extreme rusting.
I had a Civic for 11 years and a minivan for 18 without serious rust problems.

There's a Mk1 RX7 I've seen around with serious algae on the exterior, but he parks under a maple tree and doesn't wash off the pollen.
I think it's some sort of life challenge for him. "F-YOU Nature"

Brine isn't any better for your car: http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/loca...hnique-4826238
http://www.boston.com/business/gallery/brinesolution/
23% salinity is not good news for your car, and it more readily sticks to metal since it's liquid. Not to mention when roads are wet, you're catching salt mist on everything from cars ahead of you.

What I typically do when I know they've brined the roads to prevent black ice (a frequent problem with rain freezing overnight) is I take my car to a touch free car wash with an underbody wash. They're not hard to find.

Also, the freeways are rough here because of high traffic volume, and there's more road debris than any other state I've been to. You'll take a LOT of rock chips on your windshield and paint year round because the rain makes loose gravel stick to the roads (which also accelerates road wear and breaks loose more gravel), and thousands of trucks like to go mudding and wear it as a badge of honor, fucking over every other driver behind them. Luckily I learned this in a used car before I bought 2 new ones and got venture shield. I would highly recommend that and opticoat. Also, avoid traveling too close behind trucks, SUVs, and semis.

And to echo everyone else, I've never bottomed out on Seattle and Tacoma's steepest streets.

Tommie,
Take RUST off your list of concerns. Though it may rain 200+ days a year, the rain doesn't produce the rust. The northeast has ten times the rust on cars that the northwest has, due to all the chemicals and salt put down every year. I think the salt air also is much more corrosive in the northeast. My dads cameras wouldn't last more than two years if he took them anywhere near the ocean in Jersey. They would corrode and eventually stop working. You'll see countless thirty year old cars in the northeast with fenderwells rusted through, but rarely see them in Seattle.
Pete

Yeah, one of the frequent uses of my winter beater during the summer is for rainy days - those sticky pebbles and gravel pieces can do a real number. I have XPEL Ultimate on my whole front end, but might consider doing rockers, A-pillars and roof before my move. Opticoat and Rally Armor mud flaps help out on the rest of the vehicle.


Otherwise it sounds like I'll be all set for my move as I stand! Now that my car's taken care of, anybody know any industrial design jobs in the area? :D Employment details come second to transportation.

I'm low and don't scrape on anything. I have curbed a wheel on some construction "uneven pavement" but thats anywhere. You'll be fine.

Just yesterday I got stuck behind a gravel truck that just freaking pelted me with crap. How they aren't forced to cover their load is beyond me. Thankfully there was no damage thanks to the 3M film.

Rear fenders are a must too, I've taken a few rock chips there for some reason.

As far as industrial design, Boeing is the major employer up there, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord is the big one just south of Tacoma about 45 minutes from Seattle.

Moving to Seattle?

My prescription is 7000 IU's of Vitamin D. Trust me, it will keep you from killing folks (metaphorically speaking).

i just moved here less than a week ago and i love it. took delivery of my car this morning, so much fun driving in downtown bellevue hahha

WELCOME to the PNW and CONGRATULATIONS on your new car ..... http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...mages/wave.gif

If your car came with "summer tires", I recommend you stay out of the mountain passes til spring.

Come spring, I suggest to chart a course around the North Cascade Loop.

http://www.cascadeloop.com/

humfrz

oh thanks, haha I've had my car since april i meant like i got it off the semi from when it was getting transported. i really wanted to get to meet some people maybe grab coffee, small frs meet or something cuz i don't know anyone hahah
the cascade loop looks like a lot of fun but before i do that I'm going to need new tires cuz I've been getting to side ways and my tires are gonna be bald soon

me and a couple of people are planning on meeting up tomorrow, join us if you want.

yes that would be awesome, where would this be taking place :burnrubber:

Not during the Seahawks's game. Right?

nope.