norwood911t

Hello, we got a lot of snow recently in northern NJ and I had my car sitting outside under the car cover for a month.
I'm itching to take it out and planning on a drive this weekend. My question is:

Will the left-over salt on the roadways cause damage to the underbody and the paint of the car? Should I wait until the Spring to take it out?
Anyone take out their cars on such road conditions and experienced any damage to the car's body? Any input will be appreciated.

Thanks!

polobai

No firsthand experience here but the car is pretty much made of aluminum so I dont see much of an issue other than getting everything dirty. The turbo housings are probably already corroded along with the header bolts-other than that I dont see much of an issue. Now would I do it on my T....probably not (dont want to clean all under there) but go for it if you are game!

subwoofer

It is a modern car so worries about salt damage are probably wildly exaggerated but there are experts here who will dispute. I drive my 2018 C4S all year round in NH with snows of course during the winter months. Regular visits to car washes help keep the grit off the car. Only note of caution is, don't drive on summer tires when it is cold.

manifold danger

100% agreed on being aware of summer tires... less of a deal if it's just cold, but a huge deal if it's cold AND wet. You can't assume you won't hit some wet patches if there's lots of snow melting either.

On that topic- I take my car out here in Maryland (on summer tires) most days it's above 45 and sunny, but I will wait if there's significant moisture on the roads from the snow melting. Most of this is because I just don't want to deal with getting crud all over and under the car, not necessarily because of any fear it will rust out from under me.

Everyone will likely have their own tolerances, YMMV.

spiderv6

This makes me laugh every time it comes up. Your car will not disintegrate in the winter. If you drive it, you will not wake up one morning to a pile of fine dust after it melts.

For those of you that don't know, it snows in Germany in the winter, a lot, they know how to make cars that still work when it gets a bit cold.

F355bob

I drive my car in Wisconsin in the winter. It gets full of salt but I have a heated garage and it gets washed regularly and I clean the suspension and wheel wells a few times during the winter. The amount of salt put on the roads is ridiculous here in Wisconsin. The cars on the highway are literally driving in a cloud of salt dust. Snow is not a problem, it is the salt. Just rinse off the undercarriage yourself or bring it to a car wash. I just cleaned my suspension and wheel wells a few minutes ago. Car runs great on Michelin Alpines snow tires even in zero degree temps.

vanlieremead

Drive it but be prepared to see some rust, not necessarily on the body but on parts like the exhaust and fasteners. The only way to avoid is not to drive it but then why did you buy it? To sell it?

rangerfan94

What he said!

good2go

drive it! The value of your car is determined by how many times you fill the tank.

Bxstr

If you want to drive it, give it a good underbody rinse when you get home.

Personally I’ve chosen not to drive my 911 in winter because I’d rather keep it salt free. Having lived in Ohio, I’ve seen what salt does to cars. Both modern and older cars. German, Japanese, etc, it effects some more than others but they all rust.

If you’re not keeping your car forever and don’t care about potential rust 5 owners from you, which we probably shouldn’t, then drive it and get some smiles and miles. If you’re concerned with salt, don’t drive it. Or in the future apply a product like fluid film prior to winter. Then a good rinse after each drive.

No right or wrong answer.

Momentum Worx

The big thing is rinsing the salt off and not letting it sit in a humid environment with salt crust still present.

Do that, and you'll largely be ok. That being said, I still prefer to keep my fun cars out of the salt. Working on rusty fasteners is no fun.

Nathan_

They don’t break in bad weather!

theracer21

I’m in Jersey City and I’m daily driving my 991.1 c2s.... so go for it !

Lucky991

You guys said it all to me. I could be dead tomorrow plus I am sure even if it did disintegrate tomorrow I’d still have had more joy than if I just used it for the for 5-6 months of the year there’s no salt out there. I bet I’ll be able to afford a good rust cleanup for the fasteners and hardware one day; anything else I bet is fixable based on the numerous car restoration shows I’ve seen out there.

BTW my car is my “daily” and I have a smaller, older BMW coupe to use as the workhorse/truck Car is just enough GT while still being a sports car for me to accomplish. I’ve put 25,000 miles on it across two winters; the Michelin Alpin PA4’s shocked me at how good they are in dry, wet and snow. Haven’t tried it on ice yet.

pbon

If you drive regularly on salted roads, over time, rust will develop. As others have noted, modern rust proofing and paint protection will keep the body in good shape for a long time. The nuts and bolts and other metal parts will rust. The body can rust where there are crevices that retained the salty moisture despite the regular car washes. But it does take time. I have an 08 BMW on my lift right now with 160k miles that we have daily driven in NH for over a decade and the some of the exhaust fasteners were practically rusted away. On the exterior painted surfaces, there is almost no rust -- just a little bubbling in one corner of the hatch glass. Underneath, the steel subframes have rust but are sound and other metal parts like brackets have rust. Aluminum is great but not a complete fix since it corrodes where fasteners attach.

Our 21 Cayenne S has snow wheels on it. I am shopping for a 17 991.2 TT or TTS that will get snow wheels as well. You cannot escape rust, but you can try to minimize it. As others have said, enjoy your car rather than park it and drive something else so you can preserve it for its next owner.