So I've driven about 50 miles since the last clean, and it's covered in salt again.

Going to be spending a lot on cleaning over the next few weeks I guess.

Anyone else hate the thought of salt on their scoobs?

 

Where would you be without it? Maybe in a ditch.

 

After all the critisism over the last couple of years, local authorities are slinging grit/salt over roads at the slightest hint of it being chilly.
Decided to wash the car yesterday but found the hose pipe frozen. I always hose the car first, to remove loose dust/dirt. yesterday I was going to foam the car but finished up pouring a couple of buckets of water over it before washing.

JohnD

 

They are piling it on around here,mind you its the underneath you should be most concerned about not the shiny paintwork.Mines garaged and done 48000 miles and would benefit from a waxoyling to keep it in shape.

 

Same here. It amazing how much damage it does to the underside of the car:

We have a Seat Altea that is mainly used in spain....Its just gone over 4 years old, and has seen plenty of wet roads, despite this not even the edges of the brake disks have rusted..its still like new underneath! As soon as it set foot on a satled British road, the discs started to get surface rust, along with the screw heads on the wheel arch liners!

I quickly washed off the under side with my jetwasher (with angle attachment ) and stuck in storage until its time to drive it back over.

My Golf which underneath is very similar (pretty much the same chassis but shorter and no AWD) looks twice as as old as the Seat underneath, yet actually its only about 10months older.

I think the only reason why my Ford Escort and IMpreza didn't suffer wheelarch rust was that I washed it off underneath every week or so during winter (weather permitting of course, and it was only using a hosepipe with a jet nozzle).

 

Theres a ramp and jet wash at my work for cleaning underside of vehicles and trailers, every now and then in the middle of night I run it up and clean off the underside when no one is looking

 

Hey, Matt2732, I bought my car from Peterborough last April. Do you remember seeing a 54 plate blue STi with the blue mudflaps, whilst driving around?

 

Not that I recall, did you buy it private or from a dealer?

 

I also hate the salt.Mine was going to be waxoyled yesterday but the waxoyl was too hard from the cold.
I've been bedding in my brakes today by just going round the block over and over because they never grit our estate.After an hour I got bored and put the car away.The neighbours are pleased.



Danny.

 

The underside of cars is something that often gets overlooked.
Road salt is really nasty stuff.I bought a brand new motorbike a few years ago & used it on salted roads for about 2 months,the mess it made was unbelievable.I took it to a local valeters & asked the to steam clean it which made it 10 times worse (apperently the hot water agittates the salt)
I discovered a brilliant product called acf50 (google it) mainly used for bikes but I sprayed the underside of my WRX with it the end of last summer & try to jetwash the underside of the car regular throughout the winter,I also get underneath every now & again & give it a good soaking of wd40.
If at all possible I just dont use my scoob when the salts about.

 

Washing your car in this weather is a bit like cutting the grass, pointless.

 

I'm deffo going to jet wash it on the underside. Anything I need to be careful not to hit?

 

Whats the point in owning one then?? The best time is in the winter & like now, the snow

 

Tiz a fair comment but I just cant stand the thought of my car being eaten.I do use my car but like to jet wash underneath,especially if Im not going to use it for a while.
The car is a 97 WRX & has only been in the UK 2 years & underneath is almost like new,Id like to keep it that way but dont want to plaster it in underseal either.

 

 

Grit what's that. Not been down our main road.

 

I was drivong home today and went past a gritter and it was dumping a shed load on the roads it actually went up and over my car ill definatly have stone chips on the roof and the grit chunks seem bigger than last years