@Dezoris identified that the whiteline / SPC bolts are pretty bad for rust. I'll be removing mine when I put in my coils.

I kind of regret not switching it back to oem with all my other suspension stuff in the fall but i figured it would last at least one winter especially because I get my car washed every second day

Just do adjustment with those beautiful Raceseng CasCam's :bonk:

Exactly, with the drop I'm sure I can get my desired range with just the raceseng plates.

Sums it up.

I think salt and rust are more of a mental thing than anything else. The car is going to function just fine even with all the rusted suspension parts. Although, trying to remove rusty bolts is such a bitch. You'll probably sell the car before it even gets that bad anyway.

If you have a lot of emotional attachment to the car, then store it. Drive a beater for winter. You won't like the rust. Just know that you'll be paying for a car that gets driven half a year, and the value of your car will continue to fall even though you're not putting any miles on it.

If you can get over that emotional attachment, then drive it all year and wash it often. There are a lot of gas stations that offer touch free with underbody unlimited car washes for about $30/month.

This is my first year with the unlimited wash, and I wash the car pretty frequently. I don't know if it makes a difference or not, but it's only $30/month for 6 months. Only time will tell. If it still gets rusted to shit, then whatever. I don't have enough emotional attachment to care. :iunno:

Yep, bolts will rust, untreated steel parts will rust and rotors will rust. Body panels not so much anymore.
Many people (especially us Canadians) seem to think car bodies are all made out the materials that were used in the 80s where a tipped over salt shaker meant a hole in about a week. This is not the case for almost 20 years now and gets better all the time. The "steel" used on modern car bodies is well treated to prevent or at least slow down rust. My 03 Lancer Rally is now owned by a guy down the street and after 12 winters it still looks pristine. Now, not too sure how easy the bolts would come out but the body is fine! Looking at the 20 or so cars I can see from my window (from 2 too 15 years old) I can't spot any obvious rust on any one of them.
Now of course there are exceptions to any rule and my son in laws 05 Mazda 3 looked like it spent 10 years on the bottom of a lake after only 6 years.
I have a couple of stone ships right down to bare metal on my car and I purposely left them as an experiment to see how these body panels stand up. To date I am glade to announce there is zero indication of any rust at all not even surface on the exposed metal.
I am optimistic!!!!!

I store my BRZ but take it out for a good drive on nice days where there is minimal salt on the ground and VERY dry. I currently still have my summer tires on and get zero traction at cold temps so I take it very easy, at least on the corners :P

Reason why I store it is to protect my Coil-overs, BBK and Wrap. I also still have my first car so storing my BRZ was a no brainer.

I did winter the car last year though (before everything was installed) and it seems to have stood up to the salt well.

Sometimes the persons situation can play a big factor into whether they store their car or not. Everytime I see a FRS/BRZ I wish I can see them in their summer mode though lol

Nothing mental about the fist-sized hole in my old Pathfinder's fender. Wasn't even that old.

That said, I'm driving my oil-coated FR-S all year round until it dies or I do, whichever comes first.

Should have painted over the exposed metal before it got worse. That's pretty reasonable to ask from a typical car owner.

There isn't always exposed metal to paint over!
My 91 Talon (not just mine actually pretty much all of them) had both front fender upper corners rot from behind. There wasn't even a bubble in the paint until one day holes!