Snow scraping the undercarriage

[daftpunk]

So after the massive snowfall a few days ago, I found myself out doing more work than the plows, to and from work. The snow was often higher than my clearance and I could hear the undercarriage dragging through it. Went to check the undercarriage last night and I noticed that the paint on the lower edges (behind the front wheels) had been rubbed off by the dragging.

My concern is that driving through more snow will worsen this and eventually rub through to the metal. I was just wondering if anybody has had the same issue, and what you did to remedy it.

Im thinking maybe cleaning up the spots and hitting it with some Bedliner. Jdm underbody panels would've prevented this as well.

[Jegan_V]

I was worried about that especially with this car being lower than anything I've owned before and thus did get the underbody panels. I don't know why it didn't come from the dealer with those especially when the coverage they provide is superior to the ones the cars actually came with.

[SLVRSRFR]

Oh shit...

I should probably check mine too. The snow in my subdivision was higher than the bottom of my front bumper. I was literally plowing my way out. I actually can't believe I even made it out to be honest, but yeah I heard a lot of these sounds too and now you have me worried.

[AVodka14]

Snow will will not rub through. Unless it's more a solid form of snow/ice mixture. That's why I would put on JDM underpanels.

[daftpunk]

I didn't mean THROUGH the metal lol! But through the primer you see there, to the metal which would cause corrosion issues. Im not surprised that it had rubbed through the paint... On the underside it's little more than a light misting. I'm thinking something like Bedliner or rocker guard would withstand the snow better than the tar undercoat and paint.

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by AVodka14

Snow will will not rub through. Unless it's more a solid form of snow/ice mixture. That's why I would put on JDM underpanels.

JDM underpanels will also trap salt, which could lead to under body rot much faster. That's probably the reason north american markets didn't get the under panels.

[daftpunk]

So just to follow up, today I ended up just wiping down the area with degreaser and alcohol, then reapplied a layer of rubberized rocker guard as a sacrificial skid plate. Might not have been a good idea to have done it in this wet weather but I am expecting it to rub off again after the next crazy snowfall. We'll see how it goes.

[krayzie]

Originally Posted by wparsons

JDM underpanels will also trap salt, which could lead to under body rot much faster. That's probably the reason north american markets didn't get the under panels.

The Aozora Edition here gets them. In Japan only the top trim gets them along with the rear spoiler together as an Aero Package.

On another note my BRZ front bumper traps leaves, maybe they don't have stray leaves on the roads of Japan.

[VirUzxZ]

I've been plowing roads for... this would make it my 3rd year. So after 2 years of "plowing" and standard underpanels I saw nothing out of the ordinary for the underside. the reason I know theres not much going on down there is I picked up a set up jdm underpanels from Alphamotersports and installed them myself before the powder hit.


2013 Daily driver, winter driven btw...

[Tcoat]

HMMMMM Are you sure those areas were originally painted? The edges look like overspray and the lines are all really straight for wear. That coating is tough to get off and I don't see how some snow (no matter how deep) would do that neat a job in just one day.
Too dark to check mine but it is lowered and I have driven through a pile of snow already this year.

[daftpunk]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

HMMMMM Are you sure those areas were originally painted? The edges look like overspray and the lines are all really straight for wear. That coating is tough to get off and I don't see how some snow (no matter how deep) would do that neat a job in just one day.
Too dark to check mine but it is lowered and I have driven through a pile of snow already this year.

Yep! for sure there was paint that rubbed off with the abrasion along with some of the tar undercoat, but I'm not surprised - the paint underneath is just a light misting. Some of it even came off onto the cloth I used to wipe the area before I reapplied the undercoat! I was just worried that additional abrasion would wear the area down to bare metal, but from what I can tell, the protective coating on the metal there is pretty strong, and has not been compromised at all.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by daftpunk

Yep! for sure there was paint that rubbed off with the abrasion along with some of the tar undercoat, but I'm not surprised - the paint underneath is just a light misting. Some of it even came off onto the cloth I used to wipe the area before I reapplied the undercoat! I was just worried that additional abrasion would wear the area down to bare metal, but from what I can tell, the protective coating on the metal there is pretty strong, and has not been compromised at all.

Thanks! Good to know. Will certainly check mine now.

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by krayzie

On another note my BRZ front bumper traps leaves, maybe they don't have stray leaves on the roads of Japan.

Go look how much salt Japan uses in the winter vs here...

Leaves getting trapped won't rot out the underbody, salt will.

Search online for info on ~2005 altimas rotting out at the front seat mounts. Didn't happen in Japan, only in North America.

[krayzie]

Originally Posted by wparsons

Go look how much salt Japan uses in the winter vs here...

Leaves getting trapped won't rot out the underbody, salt will.

Search online for info on ~2005 altimas rotting out at the front seat mounts. Didn't happen in Japan, only in North America.

Yup my friend's 2006 Maxima while living in Montreal developed a big rust hole below the front passenger seat which needed patch work.

My old Golf GTI came with plastic runners for aero at the bottom (found out when changing the fuel filter), drove the piss out of it and no issues after 6 winters. Same thing with my friend's Porsche. But I do wash my car upto 3 times a week.