Winter driving: dry days only?
 

Wanted to get some ideas from the community here who might subscribe to driving in the winter but only on dry days. This question came to mind as I decided to store the car this year but I've been getting fairly impatient for spring already. There have also been quite a few decently warm weekends (above zero, dry) that I wish I had at least waited longer before storing the car away at the end of November.

Are there any club members here that run the car during winter but only on dry days?

1) what tires are you running?
2) is it worth it (insurance, subjecting car to cold starts) - any regrets?

I ask as it seems like a good opportunity to take it for a spin while still protecting from rust (I'm most concerned about underbody and suspension rust). I definitely cannot be convinced to drive this car when it's snowing but perhaps when it's dry.

No need for "just drive it all the time!" type of replies, I know it's a lot of fun to drive through snow!

Thanks!

There's still salt on the roads, even when dry. You can feel the lack of grip from it too.

No harm in cold starts, just make sure you drive it long enough to get fully up to temp. Starting it for few minutes and putting it back in storage is the worst thing you can do to it.

IMO, if you're storing it for the winter, leave it be.

if you want to baby the car, I say keep it indoors until it officially clears up.


yesterday I was driving up a freshly salted Yonge street and cringed the whole way there, all that salt banging against the bottom of my car. Urg.

I don't expect my car to survive in prestine condition. I figure in another 4 years or so i'ma turn it into a drift missile/track only car while getting something more family-class.

right now it's salty, it's dirty, it's wet, and unpredictable. So wait just a few months longer for best results.

I'm currently driving my BRZ only on snow free weekends, with the caveat that the roads are not salted to death. At the end of the weekend I give it a wash and put it back in the garage. Grip is low on the stock tires so no crazy stuff.
It definitely scratches the itch though you know, enough to keep me going until spring when I can drive it full-time.

I don't agree...I store my Subaru for 7 years now and always do cold starts and let it run in the garage for a few minutes and turn it off and I have never had any issues. Doing the same with the FRS.

@Mr.Impreza I think what @wparsons says makes sense, if you don't run it long enough, as in get the entire engine up to temp, you'll have condensation as the the block will cool too quickly. If you run it up to temp for a while, the heat capacity of the engine will likely boil off most of the moisture.

That salt is powdered on every 400 series highway like no tomorrow....

If you want to drive it, consider rinsing that underbody nicely

(thank you Petro Canada for the glide pass)

@drewbot yeah, that pass is pretty key, almost all car friends have one.

I personally don't see the point in buying a daily-driver car that you can only drive for 3 months out of the year (excluding exotics, muscle cars, classics etc.). We live in a part of the country where this climate is a reality.

At the end of the day, let's be honest; we don't drive Ferraris. The lure to store is tempting. I drove a 400HP+ BMW 335i before this car, and I even drove that year-round, although I turned the tune down a bit on the slippery days. Do I feel guilty sometimes driving my car in these conditions? Yes. But I think I would feel even more guilty paying car payments and insurance on a car that was sitting in my garage from November to April every year.

But hey; to each, their own!

That's the absolute worst thing you can do to a car in storage. Starting it up without getting it fully up to temp brings out condensation/moisture, and if you don't drive it long enough to fully boil that out it just sits when you shut it back off. Everywhere. Inside the engine, inside the exhaust, everywhere.

Google it, EVERY single winter storage guide will tell you the same thing.

I was driving my car until I left for Alberta for work at the start of January. Got my parents driving it once a week. And getting it washed when they take it out so its not sitting with grime all over it.

Got a set of Michelin X-ice 3 tires for it, and it's easily the best handling car I've driven in the inclement weather.

I dislike this comparison.

What is so special about Ferrari? That it's fast and expensive?

You can argue the exact same thing with Ferrari owners. The people who buy 300,000 cars have lots of money so why store it? Drive it and then buy another right?

The FRS and BRZ are special cars to some people, especially those who love jdm cars :party0030:

p.s not targeting you directly, you just happened to bring up ferrari haha. I also owned a 335i and drove it year round but that's because it was just a daily car, like my accord now. Some could argue, i should of stored that instead but that car wasn't special for me. It was just a car. The FRS for me is more than that :)

Calls the car by the USDM name, but then mentions JDM lovers lol

I don't really have a choice in the matter. Gave my dad my lancer so I have to drive my BRZ to work even if its snowing; the alternative is the TTC.

I'm running Michelin X Ice Xi 3's and they seem decent. I don't like the feel of winter tires but hey, safety first right?

The salt is horrible; like the above poster said I cringe when I drive around town especially around the yonge area. I leave my car in the TTC parking lot during work as well since my work place doesn't provide cheap parking. There's usually a salt truck that sprays salt everywhere at night. I usually try to get to my car before it arrives but that isn't always possible. Usually I'll come to my car and see that there are random salt pellets all over the roof etc.

I go to touchless car washes without rails like the one at the ESSO at Finch and Kennedy once or twice a week to rinse off the salt and the underbody. If I have time I go to a coin operated car wash and clean it myself.

But unless I leave my house and notice that I'm plowing the snow on the floor, I'll still be driving the car in snow. In the case that it does plow the floor then I'll just take the bus lol.

Cold starts aren't a big problem for me even after I leave it in the cold for more than 8 hours due to work.

Drive or not to drive it's up to you at the end of the day. lol

Why don't you guys get your underbody coated if you guys are so worried about rust on the underbody. My 91 miata which I still have got zero rust under the body and the whole car. almost 25 years old car. Just get it under coated yearly and you guys should be fine for at least 30 years

I actually got rust proof done on the car but the idea of driving in salt still makes my head hurt.

The roads in Northern Ontario are literally a cesspool of salt, sand, ice and snow; there's no way my car would ever dare touch the roads during the winter and I have zero regrets making payments on it as it sits in storage. Factor in drivers around here are idiots during the winter time, I'm contempt on waiting until the snow goes away to take my car out :)

I just got the dealer installed rust inhibitor. With a lifetime warranty, totally worth it. Don't need to worry about it until it starts to rust then I'll take it to the dealer to get fixed

Did you get the rust module? I got it to but not sure if those things work. I'm going to get the car rust proof as well for extra protection.

Yeah. It's the module. Whether it works or not doesn't matter. It's got a lifetime warranty so even if it doesn't work, I get the rust fixed.

I would read the wording in the paperwork for that closer, there's lots of ways for them to get out of repairing anything. I know people that have tried to fight a dealership and lost.

My FRS has been in storage since November 1st. I can't bare to drive such a pristine car on salt covered roads. My WRX keeps me pretty happy through the winter months but I've had the itch to drive it since mid-November. lol.

This all depends on your plans with the car. I plan on keeping mine forever and making it into a track car. If I had leased it or was planning on getting rid of it in a few years I would drive it. It would be a blast.

It's something along the lines of yearly check-up on rust and rust module. The Toyota guy tried selling me that

Note to other buyers, cathodic protection IS NOT EFFECTIVE for automobiles. It is used in other industries quite well, but cars is not one of them

See short article from a very well known corrosion institution: http://www.nace.org/StarterApps/Wiki...taxonomyid=225

-your friendly neighbourhood engineer

Sorry to say, but you got duped on the module. We've talked about in past threads, especially last winter.

They'll also only cover the cost of repairs for rust that is perforating from the inside to out? Might have been the other way. In any case, you also need to perform some other duties, and the fact that the module cannot possibly work in a car.

I guess the point is, don't be complacent on doing paint and body preventative maintenance because you are relying on the module and a sham warranty.

Modules are a scam.

I work at a dealership and can say this with all certainty.

I know how CP works. Currently doing CP surveys in Alberta. Also, funnily enough, I'll be getting NACE CP1 next month.

For the price I paid, and the peace of mind it gives me, I'm happy. That's it, that's all. If it works, great, if it doesn't, that's fine. Only a couple hundred bucks I'm out. It's not like I'm solely replying on it. Plus the warranty is quite clear on what it covers, and again, I was comfortable getting it given the terms on the warranty.

I drove mine last winter and am driving it again this winter. I dont put too many KM's on it but I still feel like I could be treating it better with washes more often...I think I will go wash it after work. I think next winter I may pick something else up for a beater.

Put my car on stands last night to check out some brake upgrade stuffs but noticed that my camber bolts are absolutely covered in rust... My whiteline front sway bar is also showing some rust and its less than 6 months old, but unsurprisingly my oem wrx rear sway bar is perfect. I also was surprised to see that my rocker panels showed no rust even at the holes where I had to drill and mount the skirts.

Im really hoping this car isnt a rust bucket but as soon as I hear a mention a twin starting to rust badly I'm dumping mine and picking up a used ISF, I cant bare to store a car I love so much even though I have another beater...

@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!