What bothers me is that they ignore the salt problem

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
12/07/2018 at 17:39 • Filed to: None

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I always love the idea of taking a fun car out in the snow and enjoying it all year round. But it really is a myth to blame the reason people put them away for winter is for the purpose of staying safe and that the car would be no fun in the cold or snow. It seems that the article comes to the conclusion that a Corvette or a 911 is more fun than your typical econobox in the winter. And that it is reasonably safe to do so with modern winter tires. But then it is proposed that people still dont really do it and maybe some day technology will get us there.. The issue is not technology, it is SALT. Road salt ruins everything made out of metal and is generally not very fixable without becoming a “full restoration project”. So anyone in their right mind who spent a fair bit of money on said fun car is going to want it to not rust away so avoiding winter driving is a must.

Sorry if I am salty (no pun intended) but it just seems stupid that often times journalists seem to gloss over the whole salt thing. I for one would rather the roadways be giant ice rinks but then again I now live somewhere that doesnt ever drop below freezing and rarely precipitates , so I guess my problem is solved. I probably would be engine shopping instead of whole miata shopping though if salt were not a thing.

Google image search but approximately what mine look like

DISCUSSION (24)

HammerheadFistpunch > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/07/2018 at 18:02

Freakin salt. I HATE the stuff. It’s bad for our air, it’s bad for our water its actually bad for the snowpack (there are good studies that show that airborne salt builds layers in the snowback that accelerate early season melt causing flooding and poor water management).

I get that its a necessary evil as a cheap freezing point modifier for places that get cold and stay cold BUT UTAH ISN’T ONE OF THOSE PLACES!

The cost of salt is hardly worth the benefit (or not at all) in the best cases. use aggregate that doesn’t ruin water, make air unhealthy and kill any and all metal PLEASE!

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/07/2018 at 18:02

I feel as though salty people (yourself included) tend to forget how far rustproofing and corrosion resistance on vehicles has improved since the 50s...

It’s also really easy to go to a quarter wash and spray the underside of a car as long as it isn’t below freezing out.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
12/07/2018 at 18:05

Someone needs to remind Mazda how rustproofing works lol

Kinja'd!!!

But yeah it just makes buying used cars near impossible anywhere in salt treated areas. Sure you can keep a brand new car alive now but I am not a fan of newer car weight. Generally rust is the only killer of older cars which is my problem. Everything else can be fixed reasonably with some effort.

HammerheadFistpunch > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
12/07/2018 at 18:07

Y ou need to come and visit Utah to find out how effective those modern techniques are (hint: not very)

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > HammerheadFistpunch
12/07/2018 at 18:11

I like that in California they seem to just toss some gravel on the road and then say good luck! But thats also why chain restrictions are more stringent and the roads will just shut down when there is too much in the way. I think its also very elevation dependent here and its often sunny and warm most days so it melts quickly. I’ve always wondered why the Northeast/midwest are so obsessive over salting the roads though. I guess just because of population density and average temperatures? The fact that you cant just have every city between Boston and DC shut down for weeks because it still hasnt melted.

HammerheadFistpunch > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/07/2018 at 18:15

In Utah there is almost no point in salting because the plows get the surface clear and it warms up most days to keep the roads clear. In hammerheadfistpunch’s utopia we’de have a rule - Residential streets are UNPLOWED. City streets are plowed and gritted. If you can’t make it to a main road you SHOULD NOT be driving. If you do make to a main road they will be safe enough to permit travel.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > HammerheadFistpunch
12/07/2018 at 18:21

I feel like I need to apply some vaseline to bottom of my subaru before I drive there this winter

HammerheadFistpunch > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/07/2018 at 18:22

fluid film The hell out of it

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > HammerheadFistpunch
12/07/2018 at 18:23

The part that annoyed me was that in NJ the roads would be salted to hell and still many residential streets would be impassible without a 4x4 for days just because that costs the town money. Like sure the toll roads are immediately plowed but everything else is secondary. Kinda makes me wish all roads had tolls on them.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > HammerheadFistpunch
12/07/2018 at 18:37

I am thinking that I dont really have to worry about just a month long trip though. A few washes at the coin-ops focusing on the undercarriage and a more thorough cleaning when I get home.

dogisbadob > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/07/2018 at 18:37

Yup! That particular car was only 3 years old at the time :(

dogisbadob > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/07/2018 at 18:40

Salt needs to be banned

There’s something called calcium magnesium acetate (CMA) that works just as good and doesn’t do any damage. It costs more than salt, but less than the damage salt does. CMA is effective at the same temperatures that regular road salt is.

HammerheadFistpunch > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/07/2018 at 18:46

probably so. id still spot treat a few areas that aren’t fully painted or coated it’s easier for salt to get tricky spo ts than it is to wash out

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > HammerheadFistpunch
12/07/2018 at 18:51

Good point, I need to see if there are any downsides to just spraying it all over the place. Looks like its something like $10 a can at Lowes, I can just buy a couple cans, put the car on a lift, and go hog wild with it. But Id like to know if I should be more careful with it lol.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > dogisbadob
12/07/2018 at 18:53

This is one of those things I would happily pay more tax for. That and roads that arent broken. Its insane sometimes how low taxes are and then cheapo things like that happen which just cost more than the tax would have in the first place...

AestheticsInMotion > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/07/2018 at 18:55

Oil leaks prevent rust. Just saying

MM54 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/07/2018 at 19:00

Agreed. There are even plenty of dry and near-dry road days in the winter, but it’s the salt that keeps me home. It ruins everything.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > AestheticsInMotion
12/07/2018 at 19:16

This would explain why getting my exhaust off to change out the cat was so easy as well. And why my transmission looks so nice. They are nicely oil coated! Only reason most of the motor is rust free too!

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/07/2018 at 22:32

It’s almost like the toll roads generate more revenue than streets in a residential area.

His Stigness > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/08/2018 at 00:14

I have a can of Wurth undercoating. I have NO idea what. But I have some.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > His Stigness
12/08/2018 at 00:21

Me: sees username

Me: checks website

Me: checks username again to be sure

You've come back from the dead!!

His Stigness > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/08/2018 at 01:33

Kinja'd!!!

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/08/2018 at 07:53

I bought my 996 with the intention of putting winter tires on it and running it year round. It would be great in the snow. Then I started wrenching on it and the complete lack of rust changed my mind. NH salts the shit out of everything, I can’t subject this 18y/o rust free car to that garbage now when I have a new car daily driver that will be gone in a couple years.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > His Stigness
12/08/2018 at 22:37

U have ig? I wanna talk to u to figure what the hell I missed and what's going on....I'm so lost. Tell me if u have contact with BlueMazda2 as well