NYC: Salt-coated roads

[Talk2meg00se]

I'm guessing that this has probably been discussed 100x over already, but what risks, if any, are associated with driving your E9X on wintertime salt-coated roads?

Obviously, I'm primarily concerned with the spray effect; i.e. the coating of the undercarriage of the car (by the tires) with salt fragments.

Is rust / corrosion a real concern here?

I'm going to have the car hosed down at a luxury autospa in the near future - this will most likely wash away most, but not all, salt (esp. underneath the car). Invariably, residual salt will remain.

Needless to say, a bit worried about it as the roads are literally white with salt.

[Kurohouou]

I wish we could sue the cities and counties for salting roads this much and any damage it causes to our property... why is it the east cost is the only place that does this? I mean the roads are literally white for months from salt not snow.

[Mahmood07]

I feel bad driving on these salt covered roads. Especially for my wheels. After driving on salt i sometimes go to the self washing booths and spray the underside of the car with soap and water then slowly drive home.

[gixxer_kidd]

Originally Posted by Mahmood07

I feel bad driving on these salt covered roads. Especially for my wheels. After driving on salt i sometimes go to the self washing booths and spray the underside of the car with soap and water then slowly drive home.

+1 I do the same.

[MDyDinanM]

I wish we could sue the cities and counties for salting roads this much and any damage it causes to our property... why is it the east cost is the only place that does this? I mean the roads are literally white for months from salt not snow.

really?

cities can't predict the severity of snow despite forecasts and want to ensure roads can stay open for motorists, emergency vehicles, etc

just wash your car or get a beater car

[audioMeth]

doubt you have to worry about your car eroding...

[audioMeth]

Originally Posted by mdyaman

really?

cities can't predict the severity of snow despite forecasts and want to ensure roads can stay open for motorists, emergency vehicles, etc

just wash your car or get a beater car

same guy that would sue for an icy sidewalk. never happy.

[Mahmood07]

Salt is not as bad as the sand mixed with small rocks they sometimes lay down.

[shendrick]

In the last 20 years they have changed their thinking on how to deal with snow. The old thinking was to use plows to kep the snow under control. However, roads that became snow covered turned to ice and additional snow would not melt as fast. The new thinking is to never let the snow build up on the road. This means using lots of salt, especially on the higher volume roads like 84, 87, and 90. Its better this way but more car washing is required.

[getalot681]

Originally Posted by Mahmood07

Salt is not as bad as the sand mixed with small rocks they sometimes lay down.

Yeah - we don't get a ton of snow in the Portland area, but out here they put down rocks/pebbles as 'salt is bad for the environment'. They dump it down and then it's there for the entire winter so you constantly have rocks flying up and chipping your bumper/hood and putting small cracks in your windshield. Pissed me off pretty badly when I first moved out here - you don't need a beater/4x4 in the winter here for the snow/ice, you need it so that your m3 doesn't get smashed up with all the rock pebbles.

[KJM3]

Salt makes a mess of everything, rock salt will sandblast the paint as well if you drive over it before it dissolves.

We have had the most snow here in 15 years this winter and I think they dumped all 15 years worth of old salt on the raods to get rid of it. Luckily I have a couple other cars so its no big deal, but a lot of driving on the salt will start to corrode the aluminum suspension parts, heat shields, fasteners etc on these. Worst thing you can do is give it a salt bath and let it sit in the garage fir a while, condensation will keep the salt active for a long time.

Best to drive it in a couple good rain storms to rinse all that crap out, a lot of newer 'no touch' car washes have the big jets that rinse of the bottom when you drive over them.

I used to live in Chicago and used to watch 70s and 80s cars rust away in a few years, not to mention making it impossible to do any suspension work without a torch. Luckily most new cars have well plated fasteners and treated sheetmetal so no longer do they rot away in a couple years or rust to the point you cant disassemble chassis parts from rust.

+ 1 on the sand/gravel being the worse, they use it in the mountains here and after one or two snows it looks like someone shot the front of your car with a shotgun. Luckily I dont have to drive in the mountains when it snows.

[Echo M3]

I think I'm in the same predicament as a lot of you guys. Is it worth spraying off the underside/sides of the car? I have a bit of salt/snow on the side of my car (not a lot, but it's noticeable). The problem is that the car wash is more than 3-4 miles from my place, so by the time I get back home, it'll probably be even WORSE than it was originally!

[BobsM3Coupe]

Originally Posted by Kurohouou

I wish we could sue the cities and counties for salting roads this much and any damage it causes to our property... why is it the east cost is the only place that does this? I mean the roads are literally white for months from salt not snow.

One of my friends who now lives in the northeast and works for a large city DPW said he and his co-workers (all teamsters union) love it when there is a forecast for snow. If it's after 4 pm weekdays and on the weekends/holidays, they get time and a half for treating the roads. He also gets double time when it's on a Sunday. He and the rest of the overtime vultures (as he calls them) make sure they dump plenty of salt, etc. so the public knows they were out all night treating the roads.

Glad I live in an area that never sees any of that white stuff.

[Echo M3]

And just to top it all off, it looks like Snowpocalypse II outside at the moment. Snow's coming down hard - stay safe NYers

[Kurohouou]

Mdyaman, I wouldnt sue a city for a icy sidewalk. Unlike most people I take responsibility for what I do, if I go out on a snow covered road it's my own risk. Hence me buying snow tires. The problem is most people driving are idiots when it comes to driving in bad weather around here... Maybe that's why they salt so much! I just wish they would be more conscious of the environment, the roads, and the cars driving on the layers of salt. It seriously only snowed maybe 1/4 of an inch here, yet they were out in full force salting . I mean any weatherman could have seen we weren't going to get hit (Washington dc). I was making a left turn coming home from work today and the cars driving by were kicking up enough salt that it was pelting the left side and front of my car... That's seriously to much salt. It's like rock salt too, not fine salt. They are all like nickel size pieces of rock bouncing around

To the rest of you north of here be safe though, your getting the worst of it.

[Rshane]

The car wash I go to has an underbody wash that is pretty good. I try to wash it at least once a week, which sometimes means being outside in freezing weather with a bucket of hot water. It is a PITA because the water freezes to the car, but it gives me peace of mind.

I don't think you have to worry too much though, there is pretty good plastic covering under the car, and steel isn't used too much, mostly aluminum. Besides, I think the car is warranted for 10 years for corrosion (I think it's 10 years)

[Kyoshi71]

Originally Posted by Mahmood07

Salt is not as bad as the sand mixed with small rocks they sometimes lay down.

Agreed.

Also, strangely in Nassau County, they havent laid down any sand this year at all. I always thought they avoided salt because of the well water and only used sand. Salt is better for our windshields.

[Talk2meg00se]

Does anyone have a recommendation for car wash in the NYC area with a good undercarriage blaster / washer? The autospa that I took it to last week did a good job of cleaning the car generally, but they only gave marginal attention to the undercarriage of the car (despite my request).

Anyway, I'm looking for a wash that will really hose down the underside of car - with the fresh snow, yet another layer of (@#$@#$@#@!) salt has been dispersed. A wash with a legitimate undercarriage blaster is desired.

Any recommendations appreciated; haven't been able to locate one via Google.

[TRY...M3]

Yeah the salt sucks but how many of you actually plan on keeping your car 10 plus years? Most of us only keep cars 2-5 years. You should be fine

[midlifecrisis]

For the Central Jersey folks, Showroom Hand Wash in Scotch Plains does a great job, and they'll do an underbody wash. They use the old conveyor and apply the detergent automatically, but they stop the line and hand wash the car with mitts, then start it again for the rinses and underbody. The underbody spray nozzles look like they get pretty good coverage. After going through a blower, they blow out the seams with air, then hand dry and do the windows. Lots of owners of premium cars use it and the results are great.

[cmk227]

Originally Posted by TRY...M3

Yeah the salt sucks but how many of you actually plan on keeping your car 10 plus years? Most of us only keep cars 2-5 years. You should be fine

I plan to.

[ihyln]

a few days? even weeks worth of salt won't do anything harmful to the car. I rinsed mine a few days ago and I've learned to become a lot less anal. Just enjoy the car.