anyone drive their sti in the snow? of couse with snow tires, or even all season tires. just want someones thoughts. i dont know if i want to get her all salty and what not.

as far as the rust question. i come from a long line of hondas. and we all know they like to rust on the rear panels. is there a certain spot on a subaru to watch for rust?

thanks.

Subarus are made for driving in all weather! Get some winter tires(or all season) and enjoy the experience. As long as you take care of your car and clean the salt from it every so often during the winter, it shouldn't rust faster than any other car.

Mick

have you lived in IL a long time? if not ask some lifers. seems to me it would be impossible to get ALL the salt off, let alone it's sitting there for months anyway during the winter. i wouldn't risk it

Subaru paint is notoriously thin and chips VERY easily. I've got small rust spots in just about every small stone chip on my hood, but thats about it.

Danny Boy

have you lived in IL a long time? if not ask some lifers. seems to me it would be impossible to get ALL the salt off, let alone it's sitting there for months anyway during the winter. i wouldn't risk it

i have lived here all my life. i was just wondering if there is a certian spot to watch for.

the sti hood wont rust :)

the sti hood wont rust :)
True dat.

the sti hood wont rust leave it to subaru to figure out how to make it happen...

I thought that the hood was aluminum- it cannot rust.

Get snow tires, not all season, if you really plan to drive in the snow. The sti sucks with all seasons ... and make sure you set the dccd to "lock". That seems to be the best setting for snow.

Krown rust control is your friend. The only place I have seen body rust on an Impreza is the wheel arches. You can expect the underside to rust on all suspension components and brackets. It will be many years until problems arise.
VWGrk1 - GC8 stock hoods are steel

With LSD front and rear diffs, couple that with good snow tires...the STi is unstoppable other than high centering. It goes like stink in the snow.

I thought that the hood was aluminum- it cannot rust.

Aluminum does not rust... but it still corrodes, flakes off, and turns to dust... in certain pH levels, temps, etc. it will corrode faster than steel.

I wouldn't worry about it though.

You could get some mud flaps for the winter. I plan on taking down the plastic wheel well covers in the spring and do a thorough cleaning up in there. Hopefully that'll prevent any wheel well rust. :)

I had my old car undercoated and it helped tremendously. The car was in NY state which is notorious for extreme salt use. The only problem i had is if the paint had a big chip. If it wasnt taken care of it would start to rust. Have you seen that clear film that you can put on your car to prevent chips?

You could get some mud flaps for the winter.
+1 on the flaps, sexy as hell lol

Make sure to clean out the space between the rear fender and bumper. Like on Hondas, or any other cars, that's a popular spot for salty road grime to collect and start eating away at the car.

Subaru's used to be notorious for rust. They've gotten much much much better.

True dat.

WRX hood is aluminum also.

Go to www.counteractrust.com they work i dont ive in the north but i have seen them make heavy equipment not rust.Brad

Any car will rust. It's just a matter of keeping the metal covered. It can be a time consuming process - going over the whole cars underbelly looking for nicks or scratches, but that's what it takes to prevent rust.

I've actually silicone (RTV) gel to cover the paint when I was pressed for time, and since it just peels off it's a good quick fix to hold you over until you can primer and paint.

I live in upstate ny with tons of snow, they also put salt and sand on the roads, which kills cars. I have a 99 RS and there NO sign of rust yet! could'nt be happier! :)
Scooby2.5RS

the only cosmetic rust damage i have is where the rear bumper meets the wheel well. I did get it fixed but it came back in a few months, the guy said he would fix it for free the second time. "It rusted above where he put in a new piece of metal" to bad it rusted in the same spot 3 times. wont be going back there again. now ive got a decent size air bubble because of the rust. :confused: The rear bumper beam also has rusted fairly bad on my car.