I live in New York and commute to school and now that winter is coming im dreading what my car is going to look like after road salt, heavy snow, etc.

What do you guys think is worse for my paint, going to car wash or enduring the weather?

 

Snow and salt will eventually destroy your G, and I've seen some pretty crazy things happen at car washes....take the subway.
Gary

 

FML
ill drive with the car cover on

 

I drove my car during the winter just fine.

What I usually do is give it a nice detail claybar and all
then use a good pure carnuba wax like double wax.

When it gets warm enough I take out the hose wash it down and hose off all the stuff
on the bottom off the car during winter and you are good.

 

OP - I am having the same issue myself. I can't take the subway or train to work as I live/work in NJ and just not possible.

I also heard that your G's are F*in Terrible in the snow (I just got my car 3 weeks ago)

Dont know what to do

 

I usually wax my car with chemical guys brand once a month till winter
Haven't tried claybar yet


And I drove in snow last year its not terrible with winter tires but you really have to crawl when it starts to come down

 

Salt isn't that bad on your paint, its the sand they mix in with the salt that does the damage. Modern paint is almost like plastic, salt has little to no affect on it. The sand will cause pitting, the most you can do is make sure you have a good coat of wax on it before they start salting/sanding the roads.

Its the exposed metal that the salt will eat away at, try and make sure you wash exposed metal as much as possible, and make sure you don't wash it then leave it to dry.

Water + salt + metal = rust

 

I claybar and wax my vehicles atleast 4 times a year. Always once right before winter. Im going thru the carwash all the time but the touchless ones(hate them but obviously Im not gonna wash my car by hand in 0 degree weather), then Ill wipe it down really good in the garage.

I literally live 30 seconds from work so thats the only time my car will be out in winter... taking the gf's car everywhere else, she's getting a new one this spring anyways

One thing I wouldnt mind doing once I buy a house is to rip out the garage floor and repour it with a 6" drain in the floor so I can drive in in winter and hose it off everytime I come home.

Good thing the gf and I are planning on moving to San Diego in '10 so I wont have to deal with winter anymore!

 

They alwasy mix sand in with the salt here=(
Its like 60 degrees in NY today so ill probably give it a coat of wax this weekend

 

I would do multiple coats. There's a waxing thread around here somewhere thats really conclusive about waxing for the winter to save your car. I would do 2-3 coats of wax, or as much as you can fit in during the weekend before going insane. I'm on the verge of picking a g35, driving in the winter is gonna be a real downer though in upstate ny.

 

I refuse to go through an automatic car wash with my OB G35.

I'll just live with the salt on it until the first half decent day and then hand wash it. Just fill the buckets up with hot water from the tap and it's not so bad.

 

Every time you drive your G on snow and salt, at the end of the day you need to get a hose and rinse the G from top to bottom. Road salt will corrode and rust your G's exposed metals. You need to rinse that sh*t clean, no need to wipe down unless you don't have a garage to store her in. In that case, you're SOL.

 

I've washed my car in -15

Suck it up! lol

Get the car oil sprayed and give it a very good sealant as many times as possible until snow comes down. You'll be fine.

 

Would be nice to do, but not always practical when it's 10 degrees out or there is snow on the ground. Plus the minute you get back on the road, your undercarriage is coated in salt again. Basically from the first major storm (Dec) until the first heavy rain of the spring (april) the roads stay coated. Any water on the road from snow/slush/rain or melting snow and you might as well be driving through sea water.


The effects of salt are slightly exaggerated. Yes it does corrode metals, but it's not an acid that will do so in the first year. I've worked on plenty of vehicles driven in the snow that aren't rusting away. My G35x has been driven heavily in snow for 4 years and the underside still looks good. Other than rusted exhaust bolts, there isn't any real corrosion. The fast majority of the suspension and subframe is Aluminum. All the Al parts have a light oxide and all the steel is painted up or has a factory undercoating type of material on it. But all the bolts still look relatively new and such. Usually the biggest casualty is non-SS exhaust, but mine still looks fine. Usually the cars i see with actual rust and undercarriage rot are the 80's and early 90's cars. I'd chime back in 15-20 years and let you know how my G35 is doing then...but chances are it will be long gone as I'm sure most here won't have theirs as well.

 

How do you wash your car in -15 temps? Won't the water freeze before you even get it on the car?