keeping the salt off the undercarriage
-
pakizzie2015
- Posts: 73
- Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2015 8:52 pm
After driving my car for the first time on salted roads. Keeping the salt off is no issue on the outside as I am making sure it is washed off everytime I drive it.. But how do I do this under the car.. I know I have read about the rust resistant bottom but with this zinc coated steel. but really???? my explorer , as much as I tried rotted from all the salt. I kept washing and waxing the outside but the frame really took a beating.. I looked on Youtube and saw some really interesting things.. one I actually thought of myself last winter.. was the lawn sprinkler.. the one that goes back and forth and you would put it under the car and move it around from time to time to get clean water everywhere .. anyone else have ideas I do NOT want this car to rust!
I have trouble keeping the pieces under my Kizashi attached......
Suggestion: Once a week, weather permitting, take it to a self-spray wash and simply rinse the undercarriage.
This is what I do.
Further choices might be a rust-proofing undercarriage treatment (some use asphalt, some use an oil-based product, and some use synthetic adhesives).
Suggestion: Once a week, weather permitting, take it to a self-spray wash and simply rinse the undercarriage.
This is what I do.
Further choices might be a rust-proofing undercarriage treatment (some use asphalt, some use an oil-based product, and some use synthetic adhesives).
-
Speed_Racer
- Posts: 383
- Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2012 7:58 pm
- Location: Salt Lake City
Some car washes (non self-serve) include undercarriage sprays - find those and give it a weekly wash.
'12 Kizashi,'03 SV650,'04 DL1000
-
RedGeminiPA
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Tue Jan 05, 2016 4:38 am
Yep... that's what I try to do. Major downfall is many carwashes only bundle the undercarriage wash with the high packages, which any touchless carwash is pretty much a waste of money to begin with. I wish we still had a good feather touch carwash around here.Speed_Racer wrote:Some car washes (non self-serve) include undercarriage sprays - find those and give it a weekly wash.
2011 Sport GTS FWD CVT Nav
Altoona PA
Altoona PA
Waiting for the rain this week to get mine before I bother with a wash. My car is hardly ever dirty most of the time (save for brake dust) so I'm 'savoring' the look atm. Haha
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
2012 Platinum Silver Kizashi GTS, 6SP
Yes, the Kizashi has a fully galvanized underbody according to Suzuki press materials I've read. They claim 100% of the underbody chassis is galvanized and something like above 80% of the top portion of the car.
Regardless, it's a good idea to rinse off the salt. What I do is get a car wash nozzle attached to a garden hose and spray car wash soap under the car. I let it work and then rinse off with water. I pay particular attention to the wheel wells. I avoid public car washes because I hate that they are often crowded after the snow, the facilities are timed causing you to rush, and things like the brushes are often dirty and can scratch up your finish.
I use the following product I bought at HFT and think it's great for washing the car yourself in the driveway. A simple turn of a knob will have the nozzle going from spraying car wash soap to only water for the rinse.
http://www.harborfreight.com/car-wash-nozzle-60773.html
Regardless, it's a good idea to rinse off the salt. What I do is get a car wash nozzle attached to a garden hose and spray car wash soap under the car. I let it work and then rinse off with water. I pay particular attention to the wheel wells. I avoid public car washes because I hate that they are often crowded after the snow, the facilities are timed causing you to rush, and things like the brushes are often dirty and can scratch up your finish.
I use the following product I bought at HFT and think it's great for washing the car yourself in the driveway. A simple turn of a knob will have the nozzle going from spraying car wash soap to only water for the rinse.
http://www.harborfreight.com/car-wash-nozzle-60773.html
2025 Mazda CX-50 Preferred Hybrid
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Sold)
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Sold)
This is such a timely thread as I was going to post about my experience with fluidfilm.
After reading about fluidfilm on here, I bought a bottle and in a rush used it instead of two coats of wax on our winter set this year. In addition, I coated the underside in areas that had already started to get rusty. The results have been quite nice--the wheels don't have a hint of rust on them. The exposed axle nuts are not rusting like crazy like in previous years, and I believe the underside components seem to be faring better as well. I'll inspect the underside in the next 24hrs when doing an oil change and post with some more detailed findings, but for now I highly recommend fluidfilm.
After reading about fluidfilm on here, I bought a bottle and in a rush used it instead of two coats of wax on our winter set this year. In addition, I coated the underside in areas that had already started to get rusty. The results have been quite nice--the wheels don't have a hint of rust on them. The exposed axle nuts are not rusting like crazy like in previous years, and I believe the underside components seem to be faring better as well. I'll inspect the underside in the next 24hrs when doing an oil change and post with some more detailed findings, but for now I highly recommend fluidfilm.