winter with wrx or sti

[nostiyet]

Ok question I hear crazy stories about rust and all this other crap with NY winters. Im honestly afaird to drive a subi during the winter there, my wife has a scion TC but were not gonna drive that every single time to work and rack miles up.

Have any of you have issues like this with rust or anything. Im from AZ so never had to deal with salt or anything and im getting stationed at ft drum.

please help.

[poly_poly-man]

They're great cars for winter driving, if you take them out.

As for rust, yeah - you do run into some issues. However, my car that lived in NY all of its life until it got to me (and I think it was used mostly as a winter rallyx or ice racing car its last owner) isn't too bad. Everything is covered in rust underneath, so you get a nasty surprise in the face trying to ratchet things out, but stuff for the most part is staying intact. One of my control arms in the front rusted completely through and snapped in half, and it looks like the other side was replaced not long ago, but that's all that's on the brink, really (except maybe the swaybars).

Anyway, rustoleum is your friend, aluminum control arms are your friend (think sti), and really, don't worry about the rust for a few more years down the road.

[sti27cbrd]

subarus aren't more susceptible than other cars, really. if you clean the salt off occasionally during the winter, it will help. make sure you wash the undercarriage. upstate NY isn't as bad as PA or NJ when it comes to using salt instead of plowing, so you aren't in the worst area for it.

[Kesmo]

I would use the TC in a heart beat to rack up miles. I owned one myself and they are REALLY reliable - the engine is a camry or camry like engine and those are tried and true! Plus, a WRX has better resale value than a TC. I've never heard of one car being more susceptible to rust over another, but I usually sell me cars every 3-5 yrs. I would also think you have to drive the Subi during the winter b/c of the all wheel drive. You'll need to get at least All season tires to survive in the area - no joke, so plan on getting them for the Subie and don't piss everybody off when commuting in snow and drive a 2-wheel drive car, especially new yorkers!

[Eric05mx]

Rust never sleeps if you drive any vehicle in the winter. Some area's are worst than others. I live in western PA, right in the snow belt so after 5 years most vehicles have a good bit of rust. I have some friends who spray the undercarriage with thick oil before winter or have it undercoated.

[EJ257]

Click the CNYSubarus link in my signature and join. There are a lot of guys on that site stationed there.

[nostiyet]

thanks for the help. yea i was already thinking that i did need all season tires. this is gonna be a trip for me . were only try to stay for 2 years if we can. Not trying to make drum our home forever. CO is where i wanna be.
Ill join cnysubarus
thanks again guys.

[sti27cbrd]

depending on how stiff your suspension will be, all-seasons may be pretty scary in slush/ice. the same A/S tires I swore by for winter on my legacy were terrifying in my STi when all I had was lowering springs. if you can afford a second set of wheels, winter tires will be a good idea for NY and CO.

[nostiyet]

I more then likely get another set of wheels and put winter tires on them.
thanks for the input.

Chris

[teflon_jones]

All cars today are hot dip galvanized, so rust really isn't an issue on the unibody. It's just some of the other bits and pieces that can rust, and they all will rust with time.

The moral of the story is, don't worry about it. Just drive the car. I've been through almost 15 winters in the Northeast driving cars in salt and never noticed a bit of a problem with rust. The most I even noticed was on my old STi that lived on Martha's Vineyard for most of its early life. That salt air did a number on the exhaust, but that's about it. Never noticed rust anywhere else.