Rust protection (undercarriage) and winter daily driving

[Jmtoast]

Wisconsin is a beast also. For all the same reasons. Plus my car sits low. I would never make it over some of the snow drifts. I park it in the winter like most of us here. Not ashamed.

yeah I'm feeling you. Mine has an inch drop, 20" wheels, and track coil overs. No thank you.

Sponsored

 

[FreePenguin]

Why not buy a $2000 beater and put the mustang away for the winter?

That’s what I do. I garage the beater for summer and garage stang during winter.
I let the beater drive through it all.

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

Meh, I think I'd rather enjoy driving year round, than to struggle in a POS for 3-4 months out of the year. Just like someone else pointed out, you still need tires, maintenance, etc., especially on a beater.

Basically I'd be adding another vehicle and arguably for a set of tires and rims ($2,000-2,400), I think I'd have a hard time trying to find something that's at least a little bit reliable.

I understand people have them as garage queens and summer rides, but I bought it to be my daily, which includes OH winters, which arguably aren't horrible (knock on wood).

 

[Fly2High]

I must say that I guess we are all lucky that car reliability is where it is. It wasn't so long ago that a 'beater' would not be reliable to do what many are doing.

I also must say that most of your beaters were better, performance wise, than any car I had before. 0-60 in 8 sec was the best I could do in the best of them.

I think it makes it easier to drive a beater in the winter when you can afford a second car and that you can get a reliable vehicle.

When I think of a beater, I think of a 10+ year old car with questionable reliability. You guys have basically new or nearly new second cars. to me, a less than 4 or 5 year old car is not a beater. It is a second car. To me, a beater is not a second car but a car with rust, questionable reliability, things that are starting to go, etc. Maybe we should indicate if we have a real beater or if we really have a very reliable second car. I feel those are two very different things.

f I had an extra $10-30K plus ownership cost, maybe I would think twice about driving the Mustang daily. Then again, I might just get a second Mustang and drive THAT one in the winter! A base GT or PP1 has a ground clearance of 5.75". If I get winter tires a little bit bigger, I might get that up to (maybe over) 6" of ground clearance. My Wife's 2009 RAV4 only has 7.5" of ground clearance. How much do you really need?

I just find it so hard to go to any other car which has less than what the Mustang has, even in winter, that I am just not sure I can find that in another beater car.

For me, maybe I can think of my wife's RAV4 4WD as my backup. Yeah, I hate its lousy pick up and really hate all aspects of it being an SUV (ride height, seating position, handling, braking, weight, etc, etc, etc) but if she is home, I can always take her car out.

Also, on Long Island, if we get 6 days of falling snow, it is a lot. When it snows, they usually have the major roads clean within 24 hours. Sure, there can be snow on tertiary roads for more than that but the Mustang can be driven slow enough to handle that. Plus snow mode is your friend. I guess much of my opinion is also based on the conditions that exist where I live. Really not that bad in the winter. IMHO.

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

I must say that I guess we are all lucky that car reliability is where it is. It wasn't so long ago that a 'beater' would not be reliable to do what many are doing.

I also must say that most of your beaters were better, performance wise, than any car I had before. 0-60 in 8 sec was the best I could do in the best of them.

I think it makes it easier to drive a beater in the winter when you can afford a second car and that you can get a reliable vehicle.

When I think of a beater, I think of a 10+ year old car with questionable reliability. You guys have basically new or nearly new second cars. to me, a less than 4 or 5 year old car is not a beater. It is a second car. To me, a beater is not a second car but a car with rust, questionable reliability, things that are starting to go, etc. Maybe we should indicate if we have a real beater or if we really have a very reliable second car. I feel those are two very different things.

f I had an extra $10-30K plus ownership cost, maybe I would think twice about driving the Mustang daily. Then again, I might just get a second Mustang and drive THAT one in the winter! A base GT or PP1 has a ground clearance of 5.75". If I get winter tires a little bit bigger, I might get that up to (maybe over) 6" of ground clearance. My Wife's 2009 RAV4 only has 7.5" of ground clearance. How much do you really need?

I just find it so hard to go to any other car which has less than what the Mustang has, even in winter, that I am just not sure I can find that in another beater car.

For me, maybe I can think of my wife's RAV4 4WD as my backup. Yeah, I hate its lousy pick up and really hate all aspects of it being an SUV (ride height, seating position, handling, braking, weight, etc, etc, etc) but if she is home, I can always take her car out.

Also, on Long Island, if we get 6 days of falling snow, it is a lot. When it snows, they usually have the major roads clean within 24 hours. Sure, there can be snow on tertiary roads for more than that but the Mustang can be driven slow enough to handle that. Plus snow mode is your friend. I guess much of my opinion is also based on the conditions that exist where I live. Really not that bad in the winter. IMHO.

Yeah, well put, and honestly I agree with you.
I guess what one imagines in the word "beater" is different than others. We do need a 4x4 pickup in our family for wife's LLC, but I don't know if we can pull the trigger right now on it, plus a decent one runs at least $5-6k. Anything below that has more rust than actual body, is filthy (I know some can be cleaned) and generally look like crap. If I were living on an unpaved road and worked a job where i have overalls or outdoor clothing, that would be perfect.

But, I work in an office, so I have to wear dress pants, etc. So I guess I'd want a winter "beater" that is clean enough for me to drive like that. So we are talking good amount of money.

Not to mention, I love driving stick and don't want to put the Mustang away for the winter. I'm getting the rust treatment done on the bottom tonight, have jacking rails in the mail, am ordering wheels probably today.
Overall the "winterification" is running me roughly $2,500. It's a lot, I get it. But, for something that'll last a few winters and provides ton of fun beats out hating my morning/afternoon commute for the next 4 months due to driving a POS...

 

[Fly2High]

Yeah, well put, and honestly I agree with you.
I guess what one imagines in the word "beater" is different than others. We do need a 4x4 pickup in our family for wife's LLC, but I don't know if we can pull the trigger right now on it, plus a decent one runs at least $5-6k. Anything below that has more rust than actual body, is filthy (I know some can be cleaned) and generally look like crap. If I were living on an unpaved road and worked a job where i have overalls or outdoor clothing, that would be perfect.

But, I work in an office, so I have to wear dress pants, etc. So I guess I'd want a winter "beater" that is clean enough for me to drive like that. So we are talking good amount of money.

Not to mention, I love driving stick and don't want to put the Mustang away for the winter. I'm getting the rust treatment done on the bottom tonight, have jacking rails in the mail, am ordering wheels probably today.
Overall the "winterification" is running me roughly $2,500. It's a lot, I get it. But, for something that'll last a few winters and provides ton of fun beats out hating my morning/afternoon commute for the next 4 months due to driving a POS...

Agreed.

I love driving stick. Not too many AWD or 4WD vehicles with a stick.
Also, that price, most of what you got for it can be used for the next 5-6 years. Only the coating will need to be done each year. A second car costs much more than that.

I agree on the job comment. What do you do if you must drive around with business associates or customers? For some, the car you drive does matter.

Then again, not sure how many are driving customers around in a Mustang. I have a feeling if the car is needed in this regard, they would be driving some form of luxury car.

 

[GP2017GT]

I have a truck for a second car. It gets 25 plus miles per gallon, I can throw leaves, and dirt in it and haul around my jetski. I can move friends furniture and when I want to have fun I break out my Mustang for fun. So call it a garage Queen if you like, but it works for me. I drive my truck in the snow. Not my Mustang. To each his own.

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

Agreed.

I love driving stick. Not too many AWD or 4WD vehicles with a stick.
Also, that price, most of what you got for it can be used for the next 5-6 years. Only the coating will need to be done each year. A second car costs much more than that.

I agree on the job comment. What do you do if you must drive around with business associates or customers? For some, the car you drive does matter.

Then again, not sure how many are driving customers around in a Mustang. I have a feeling if the car is needed in this regard, they would be driving some form of luxury car.

Right, I am not saying I need to keep up appearances, not necessarily, to me it is 99% about having fun while driving. I had a loaner 2020 Escape hybrid, loaded, nice ride, but still, it was painfully boring to drive. I don't want that. Since I'm from Czech, maybe I should buy a used AWD something there and import it. Even 2020 RAVs come in stick. I miss that in the US.

I have a truck for a second car. It gets 25 plus miles per gallon, I can throw leaves, and dirt in it and haul around my jetski. I can move friends furniture and when I want to have fun I break out my Mustang for fun. So call it a garage Queen if you like, but it works for me. I drive my truck in the snow. Not my Mustang. To each his own.

Sorry if I offended you by the term "garage queen," I guess it does carry a sarcastic undertone.
I totally understand your reasoning.

I think what really makes this 2 different discussions are these:

Situation 1 (which seems you're in): You have more than 1 car per person in the household potentially. If you feel like it, you take the Mustang. If not, you take a truck, but the wife still has a ride of her own.
Not me. My wife has a Niro and I have the Bullitt. That's it. I don't have another option, so for me winter tires are just about a must and dailying my Bullitt through the winter is too. Which I'm fine with.

Situation 2 (which I'm in): You have only one car per person. For me to not drive my Bullitt daily even through winter, you need a backup ride.
We are looking for a truck in the future, but for right now it's something I can't (without much research) and budgeting do quickly and expecting at least $5-6k for that.
What I can do quickly, is a $120 rust treatment, $70 jacking rails and $2,100 set of rims and winter tires (which will last more than one winter).

That's something I guess I would consider in these comparisons and some saying they won't daily their Mustangs.
I don't have a choice. Short of spending serious money on a third vehicle in the household, I just about don't have a choice.

 

[givemeadollar]

YMMV when buying cars off sketchy craigslist dealers but my beater is a 2000 toyota camry le it was bought for $1600 with 106k miles and 3 door handles. I've owned it for 2 years and I haven't had to touch anything but flush the fluids, buy it a set of all season tires and do a brake job. It is now at 144k and will probably outlive my mustang that has 11k.


Although I will say the best parts about the beater are when new friends that don't know about the mustang see it for the first time. And when I go out I can park up front without having to worry about the car being damaged.

 

[K4fxd]

Just get some good all seasons. I'm just south of you and for the avg 4 times a year when the roads are snow covered they work just fine.

I, like you, drive my mustang year round. Screw the people who tell you not to. It's your car, enjoy it your way.

I have Eagle F1 all seasons and find them perfectly suited for southwest Ohio winters.

 

[Fly2High]

I have a truck for a second car. It gets 25 plus miles per gallon, I can throw leaves, and dirt in it and haul around my jetski. I can move friends furniture and when I want to have fun I break out my Mustang for fun. So call it a garage Queen if you like, but it works for me. I drive my truck in the snow. Not my Mustang. To each his own.

It may seem like I am singling you out and forgive me. I really mean this more generically but you do bring up some good points. Unfortunately, I am not good at generalizing so I apologize up front.

Do you do those things on a regular basis?
I see so many people on LI driving the huge vehicles carting nothing and no one most of the time. They claim they need it to do so many things but in reality seldom do. I can see farmers, manual laborers (plumbers, landscapers, sprinkler guys, etc) and others needing a truck since they are daily carting their tools and such around. In my family there is a long running joke. My father purchased a 2002 Honda Odyssey mini van because he wanted to cart sheet rock and bring his model aircraft to the airfield. He purchased a new home in 1996. He has no need to cart sheet rock. He also never learned to fly and rarely goes to the airfield at all. By and large, the vehicle was a waste of money. This was also when the Odyssey was the hottest thing and he paid over sticker price for it. I completely agree if your daily job requires a SUV or truck but I find, in my area, most drive them for status and fear than need.

I can respect that in those northern mid states, you guys get some crazy winters.

Also, it is wonderful that you can do all that and help out a friend.

For me, I would do the following:
I have no leaves to haul. The town picks them up at the curb. Properties are only a 1/4 acre so not much to pick up. Also, I have no trees left on the property to pick up.

I need dirt. Have none to spare. Have had to have topsoil delivered so that cost me like $90 delivery fee.

Do not own jet skis. If I did, do I need a vehicle to tow them or can any car with a hitch do it? Also, have you seen the waters around Long Island and NYC? Not sure I would want to be on a jet ski in them . For any watercraft, you need a vehicle for transport unless it can remain at dock and those prices are nuts. Not everyone can afford to own watercraft.

As for moving furniture, a rental van or truck is pretty cheap and if I ever purchased new furniture, they deliver it. Why would I want to scratch up my truck moving stuff? Also, how much can you move in a truck these days when their beds are often short? I also can rent a Home Depot truck for $20/day with a longer bed. How often have you used your truck to move furniture? I think I would rather have a friend own the truck and help me than owning one myself for that. If everyone has a friend with a truck like you, then few would need to own it themselves. If most people will move at least once in their lives, does this mean that we all should drive a semitruck so we can move all our stuff to our new home? Maybe you will help a few move too. Yeah, extreme example but no less valid for anything someone does rarely.

As for fuel economy, none of us bought the Mustang for its fuel economy. Of course, you could have purchased an Ecoboost for weekdays instead of the truck and had similar economy. Could also have purchased a myriad of other cars that do even better. With what you have, I doubt money and fuel savings was a primary motivator. Regardless of the sticker, EE (Youtube) showed that actual fuel usage based on speed can be determined by 4 numbers required to be reported be each manufacturer. These show drag. I really wonder, at what people drive on the highway, if the drag of the Mustang is better or worse than all those huge trucks and SUVs?

Simply put, a person's location and lifestyle warranted the truck. What I am getting at, if a person did not have all those things you have and rarely did the other things( or saw that the alternatives were cheaper or just as reasonable), would someone still need the truck?

This is the question we must all individually contend with. For me, money and expenses plays too big a roll. I wonder if we posted our income with whether we own a second car if there would be a tendency that the richer will have a second car and the poorer don't. Also, location plays a big part. If you live where it never snows, you might be less likely to need an inclimate weather car.

What I am seeing is that location, job, finances and lifestyle really dictates if you have a second car. The fact that we all drive a Mustang is largely irrelevant.


What if you did not have the discretionary money for a second car? Would you own a Mustang?

I am envious of those who can own a car as a weekend hobby. When the Mustang first came out, it was meant to be a daily driver for the most apart. Go to work during the weekdays and race on weekends all with one car. For many, it would seem, this car turned into a weekend car. For many others, like me, they are still living as the car to go to work and have fun on weekends.

You are completely right in saying to each their own. We all have to live within our means, what our job, lifestyle and location demands. It seems, this thread can be viewed as bragging that I can afford all these things rather than if you want a second car? For many, they cannot afford it. What you do in winter is based on these few factors. Often, desire doesn't come into play. Necessity requires what we do or not do.

Either way, I am glad you have a Mustang and I hope you get lots of chances to drive it as well.


Also, LOVE Wisconsin cheese!! You guys rock in making that!

 

[Fly2High]

Just get some good all seasons. I'm just south of you and for the avg 4 times a year when the roads are snow covered they work just fine.

I, like you, drive my mustang year round. Screw the people who tell you not to. It's your car, enjoy it your way.

I have Eagle F1 all seasons and find them perfectly suited for southwest Ohio winters.

Here is where cost plays in again.

It is true that all seasons work but I think we also can agree that they are not better in the summer than a summer tire and are not better than a winter tire in the winter.

If he can afford it, having two sets of tires is the best way to be safest.

but you are right, it is an option.

 

[K4fxd]

The issue is snow tires are not needed in Dayton OH. We don't get enough snow for them to be worth while. Most of our winters are dry roads, just cold.

If in Northern Ohio, sure snow tires would be best.

If I had cup 2's for the summer I'd still use A/S for the winter where I live.

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

YMMV when buying cars off sketchy craigslist dealers but my beater is a 2000 toyota camry le it was bought for $1600 with 106k miles and 3 door handles. I've owned it for 2 years and I haven't had to touch anything but flush the fluids, buy it a set of all season tires and do a brake job. It is now at 144k and will probably outlive my mustang that has 11k.


Although I will say the best parts about the beater are when new friends that don't know about the mustang see it for the first time. And when I go out I can park up front without having to worry about the car being damaged.

Right, totally get the benefits of this. But, how often do you think "oh I wish I had my Mustang today for fun or whatever." I reckon I'd feel that way every time I'd took the beater anywhere.

Just get some good all seasons. I'm just south of you and for the avg 4 times a year when the roads are snow covered they work just fine.

I, like you, drive my mustang year round. Screw the people who tell you not to. It's your car, enjoy it your way.

I have Eagle F1 all seasons and find them perfectly suited for southwest Ohio winters.

I definitely am enjoying it for sure, yes. But, I think I'm going to go with winter tires, so I can have good traction all winter and pop the stocks back on it.
We had our first snow (as you probably know), but I want to be ready. Especially it being my first RWD vehicle, and that much power, I wanna play it reaaaal safe.

Here is where cost plays in again.

It is true that all seasons work but I think we also can agree that they are not better in the summer than a summer tire and are not better than a winter tire in the winter.

If he can afford it, having two sets of tires is the best way to be safest.

but you are right, it is an option.

Comparing all-seasons and winters, it's comparable-ish in prices and I think I don't want to use stock rims for the winter anyway. I got a place to store them, so it's a winter set for me.

 

[Fly2High]

The issue is snow tires are not needed in Dayton OH. We don't get enough snow for them to be worth while. Most of our winters are dry roads, just cold.

If in Northern Ohio, sure snow tires would be best.

If I had cup 2's for the summer I'd still use A/S for the winter where I live.

That is a common misconception. The tires are really winter tires, not snow tires. When people think of snow tires they think they are only for handling snow. Winter tires are still high performance tires but have compounds that remain soft in colder temps. They also have more channeling and sipes to bite and catch snow so that it will build a layer of snow on the tire. Snow grabs snow and ice better than rubber.

Summer tires tend to start to get hard and lose traction when cold at around 50F and tend to be useless under 40F.

All seasons are a merging of the two. They are a bit softer at colder temps than summer tires but will not grip in summer like summer tires. They do have more channeling and sipes than summer tires but not as many as winter tires. So in winter, they might not work as well as a true winter tire in all winter conditions.

There is really no such thing as snow tires. Only winter tires. That is just how marketing called them. Just like all season, there are some winter tires that handle snow or rain better than others. There are some that are really just cold weather performance tires and do not do very well in snow.

It was not that long ago that we all were swapping tires in the winter.

Sponsored