Cars and snow

[chrismu2004]

I'm from southeastern Wisconsin and I do know that in some areas of the state, particular the northern areas, they use sand instead of salt. I think the sand might be cheaper and it also doesn't cause corrosion quite like road salt. My truck is a 1984 Chevrolet Silverado and I purchased it from a gentleman originally from Northern Mississippi, though he had lived in Wisconsin for a few years before selling the truck to me. While visiting family down south, he took his truck to a local shop for some repairs and the mechanic asked him "what happened to the underside of this truck?" By Wisconsin standards, this truck is clean...with rust holes only on one rear fender and small ones in the cab corners.

Following the "cleaning guidelines" from other posters will help out a lot. Keep a good coat of wax on the car too, but be careful not to plug the drain holes on the door bottoms. At the very least, the wax will provide some protection to chipped areas and make the winter dirtiness wash off a little easier.

A very important topic that I didn't see brought up was the rust's effects on certain systems in the car. The most notable being the brakes. I know someone who had a 1996 Dodge Ram that had a rusted-through brake line when it was less than 8 years old. I have blown brake lines on 4 out of the 5 vehicles I've owned, including the Chevy truck that has only spent about 10 winters in Wisconsin. I should also note that the fuel lines and tank are important to look out for as well. I know of someone who has a 1979 Bronco on its 3rd gas tank and the 1991 Mercury Tracer is the only vehicle I have owned that has not had a leaking gas tank, however it has some worrysome rust up by the front struts. At 195,000 miles and 16 years on the road, I expect it, though that car was washed, waxed, and very well maintained since it was purchased new by a family member. I have junked one car, a 1988 Plymouth Horizon, due to structural rust issues...and it only had about 115,000 miles on it.

On the upside, your interior will fare a little better here in Wisconsin...not nearly amount the damaging UV rays like Texas gets. The previously mentioned '91 Tracer has no interior cracks, no seat seam splits, and no interior fade.

[msmash]

Thanks for advising me of that. My husband wants to look at Volkswagens before we move. They have a really good corrosion warranty. They state that the metal is galvanized. We have a Toyota Corolla and it has no ABS, and when he drove it up there last time, he said it was all over the road. Plus, the drums rusted bad after a month. And did you know that it is really hard to get true all weather tires here? When I went to Firestone, they said that they could not even order them. We also have a Mustang, but that one will not see snow! I doubt it would be very fun to drive in snow anyways!

[chrismu2004]

Galvanized metal will help with the corrosion. Back in the late 70's/80's, AMC models like the Eagle and Concord had galvanized body panels and I still see most of them with good bodies when I drive around Kenosha (where they were made). I wonder how many of them are still owned by the people who put them together at the factory in Kenosha. Sounds like VW is trying to make up for all the old VW Rabbits that rusted in half. No, I am serious, they did rust in half back then! VW's are good for rust-resistance now.

None of my cars had ABS...but I do wish I had it. I've dealt with "understeer" on my FWD car plenty of times. Just allow a little more stopping distance, pump the brake pedal to simulate ABS, turn *into* a skid... typical driving advice you'd hear from anyone here.

A word on tires... Snow tires are another option, if you have room to store a whole extra set of rims and tires. Not only are snow tires typically better than all-weather tires in the snow, they will also help aluminum wheels not get that ugly white oxidation under the clear coating...especially by the wheel weights and center caps. That oxidation is even worse near the bead where the rim meets the tire. Eventually the aluminum or alloy can become so pitted that the tire will lose air and the rim will become nothing more than a doorstop or plant stand. Most "snow tire packages" you see in magazine ads will come with steel wheels and hubcaps anyways. Studded snow tires work great, but are illegal in Wisconsin because they can damage the road surface. I know I could legally buy and use them in Iowa, but they have more gravel roads.

You wouldn't want to ruin that Mustang with winter driving anyways! And it takes particularly honed skills to drive a rear-wheel-drive car like that in snow. Even if it has a limited-slip differential.

[pharmtech]

I hope it's ok to ask my question in this thread rather than start another. If there is ice/snow completely packed underneath the car (from driving into a ditch). What is the best way to clean this out. My mechanic mentioned leaving the car in a heated garage overnight. He also mentioned that I could take it to a particular car wash to have the snow flushed out over the weekend. Can this still be done if the temp is below freezing(it has been below freezing for some time already.)

[LML]

Buy a Saturn. Plastic doesn't rust.

[yo vanilla]

Originally Posted by msmash

Thanks for advising me of that. My husband wants to look at Volkswagens before we move. They have a really good corrosion warranty. They state that the metal is galvanized. We have a Toyota Corolla and it has no ABS, and when he drove it up there last time, he said it was all over the road. Plus, the drums rusted bad after a month. And did you know that it is really hard to get true all weather tires here? When I went to Firestone, they said that they could not even order them. We also have a Mustang, but that one will not see snow! I doubt it would be very fun to drive in snow anyways!

they do salt the heck out of the roads up here, but most of today's cars won't have the rust problems of the past. as far as driving in the mess, your car slid all over the road because of the tires, not the lack of abs. the only reason for abs to kick on is if the tires slide.

now i dont believe for a second that firestone could not order all-season tires for you. if they said that they probably don't WANT to. they can order anything they want and they probably wanted to sell you whatever was in stock that day . you can also buy anything you want on the internet and have it shipped. further, i've got $10 that says your corolla had all-season tires equipped from the factory anyway.

and dont bother with any kind of aftermarket "rust-proofing" or "undercoating" all the new car dealers want to sell you (when it comes time to buy that vw). it wont do you a bit of good on todays cars, and further it will void some manufacturers own corrosion warranties.

[yo vanilla]

Originally Posted by chrismu2004

I'm from southeastern Wisconsin and I do know that in some areas of the state, particular the northern areas, they use sand instead of salt. I think the sand might be cheaper and it also doesn't cause corrosion quite like road salt. My truck is a 1984 Chevrolet Silverado and I purchased it from a gentleman originally from Northern Mississippi, though he had lived in Wisconsin for a few years before selling the truck to me. While visiting family down south, he took his truck to a local shop for some repairs and the mechanic asked him "what happened to the underside of this truck?" By Wisconsin standards, this truck is clean...with rust holes only on one rear fender and small ones in the cab corners.

Following the "cleaning guidelines" from other posters will help out a lot. Keep a good coat of wax on the car too, but be careful not to plug the drain holes on the door bottoms. At the very least, the wax will provide some protection to chipped areas and make the winter dirtiness wash off a little easier.

A very important topic that I didn't see brought up was the rust's effects on certain systems in the car. The most notable being the brakes. I know someone who had a 1996 Dodge Ram that had a rusted-through brake line when it was less than 8 years old. I have blown brake lines on 4 out of the 5 vehicles I've owned, including the Chevy truck that has only spent about 10 winters in Wisconsin. I should also note that the fuel lines and tank are important to look out for as well. I know of someone who has a 1979 Bronco on its 3rd gas tank and the 1991 Mercury Tracer is the only vehicle I have owned that has not had a leaking gas tank, however it has some worrysome rust up by the front struts. At 195,000 miles and 16 years on the road, I expect it, though that car was washed, waxed, and very well maintained since it was purchased new by a family member. I have junked one car, a 1988 Plymouth Horizon, due to structural rust issues...and it only had about 115,000 miles on it.

On the upside, your interior will fare a little better here in Wisconsin...not nearly amount the damaging UV rays like Texas gets. The previously mentioned '91 Tracer has no interior cracks, no seat seam splits, and no interior fade.

i hope the original poster doesnt get the wrong idea from this post. keep in mind that every car mentioned here is really old. modern cars fare much better.

i've got a question about the RAM though, was it a plow/salt truck by chance?

[Wellstone]

Originally Posted by miaomimi

Hi there,

We are relocating to Madison, and is planning to rent before buying a house. We are 30+ couple with a 1 year old, looking for a place between UW campus, where i work, and Verona, where my hubby work. After searching online, we found an apartment in the area surrounded by Raymond Rd and Mckee road, very close Verona Rd,( to be exact, Smithfield Dr at Norfolk Fitchburg). Does anyone knows that area? Any information is highly appreciated, for we couldn't go there before the actual moving, and have to rely on the information gathered here to book the apartment.


Thanks!

that area is nice. as you get closer to verona road it gets quite a bit worse. there's a hill by the old wingra pit and once you are over that hill it's all pretty much good. but there are a couple of large apartment complexes right on verona road that are crappy.

the other area you want to stay clear of is around hammersley road

that area you talk of has exploded in population, about 10-15 years ago there was absolutely nothing there but farm fields.

[Wellstone]

most newer vehicles have adequate resistance to corrosion caused by road salt. if you wash your car often you shouldn't have to worry much about rust. my vehicle is 8 years old, i hardly ever wash it in the winter and there is barely any rust at all. if you are buying a new vehicle it helps to have it rust-proofed for a few hundred bucks. most will warranty it to be free of rust for 100,000 miles.

the bigger thing to be worried about if you do any highway driving is to keep a lot of the blue juice (windshield washer fluid) on hand. some people from the south don't realize that you need the blue stuff that won't freeze in the cold weather, instead they use plain water which won't cut it around here.

[Hntr]

You have will have much more problems if you live in one of the bigger cities, like Madison or Milwaukee. They really go nuts with the salt..

GM cars are build with galvanized metal too.