Ideal winter garage

I'm thinking of driving my 09 Miata into part of the winter. The car
has a PRHT which should help, but I noticed the mirrors have no
defrost capability (even though it came with heated seats). The rust-
proofing is an electric module, and the wheels will be winter tires on
steel rims.

Winters here involve lots of snow for about 4 months, and salted
roads, so in the interests of preservation (accidents) and in
consideration of the ground clearance, on the worst days I'll be using
another car.

It's a single car garage, insulated door, unheated. My plan is to
install an electric heater (to keep the garage just above freezing),
drill some holes in the floor (to drain off melted snow) and to cover
the floor with cedar 5/4" boards. Sound like a good plan or am I
deluding myself?

Net

Salt is a body killer!
Previous (NB) models had a clear, somewhat sticky, plastic/ coating to
protect the underside. I don't know if the NC has the same coating.
In any case, regardless of what you do--
The garage will need to be insulated if you wish to keep things above
freezing.
Snow melt may evaporate , due to the normally low humidity in cold
temperatures.
A key to minimizing rust is to remove the salt residue from the car as soon
as you can.
A slightly acidic flush may help neutralize the salt.
I grew up in the Midwest, and although we had lots of snow and ice in my
hometown, the Chicago area put us to shame in terms of the amount of snow
and the deep cold temperatures. I had a plastic door panel split, due to
the very cold temperatures on a Buick that was just a few months old. And,
this was in an unheated closed garage. My father in law's 70's GMC P/U had a
body that turned to lace in less than five years due to the salt.


"NetMax" > wrote in message
...
> I'm thinking of driving my 09 Miata into part of the winter. The car
> has a PRHT which should help, but I noticed the mirrors have no
> defrost capability (even though it came with heated seats). The rust-
> proofing is an electric module, and the wheels will be winter tires on
> steel rims.
>
> Winters here involve lots of snow for about 4 months, and salted
> roads, so in the interests of preservation (accidents) and in
> consideration of the ground clearance, on the worst days I'll be using
> another car.
>
> It's a single car garage, insulated door, unheated. My plan is to
> install an electric heater (to keep the garage just above freezing),
> drill some holes in the floor (to drain off melted snow) and to cover
> the floor with cedar 5/4" boards. Sound like a good plan or am I
> deluding myself?
>
> Net
>

On Aug 14, 8:49*pm, NetMax > wrote:
> I'm thinking of driving my 09 Miata into part of the winter. *The car
> has a PRHT which should help, but I noticed the mirrors have no
> defrost capability (even though it came with heated seats). *The rust-
> proofing is an electric module, and the wheels will be winter tires on
> steel rims.
>
> Winters here involve lots of snow for about 4 months, and salted
> roads, so in the interests of preservation (accidents) and in
> consideration of the ground clearance, on the worst days I'll be using
> another car.
>
> It's a single car garage, insulated door, unheated. *My plan is to
> install an electric heater (to keep the garage just above freezing),
> drill some holes in the floor (to drain off melted snow) and to cover
> the floor with cedar 5/4" boards. *Sound like a good plan or am I
> deluding myself?
>
> Net

I'm no expert, but I do recall once reading a magazine article on the
subject that said that keeping a car that's been subjected to salty
slush and road chemicals frozen is less damaging to it than repeated
thawing and freezing. In other words, you might consider whether it's
better to let the garage stay below freezing rather than thawing the
car (and whatever is stuck to it) out each night. Just a thought....

Tim

In article
>,
"Tim M." > wrote:

> I'm no expert, but I do recall once reading a magazine article on the
> subject that said that keeping a car that's been subjected to salty
> slush and road chemicals frozen is less damaging to it than repeated
> thawing and freezing. In other words, you might consider whether it's
> better to let the garage stay below freezing rather than thawing the
> car (and whatever is stuck to it) out each night. Just a thought....

You beat me to it, Tim. Salt does no harm at subfreezing temperatures.
But once the accumulated snow starts melting, it carries dissolved salt
into every nook and cranny, and that's when the potential for rust
begins. If you must drive the car on salted streets, best to leave it
frozen, then wash the undercarriage when the weather warms.

Dunno about the NC, but older Miatas were not particularly prone to
rust, as long as their body drains worked properly. It's good practice
to flush the drains every time the car is washed, and unclog any that
seem blocked.

--
Lanny Chambers
St. Louis, MO
'94C

Lanny Chambers wrote:
>Tim M.wrote:
>
>> I'm no expert, but I do recall once reading a magazine article
>> on the
>> subject that said that keeping a car that's been subjected to
>> salty
>> slush and road chemicals frozen is less damaging to it than
>> repeated
>> thawing and freezing. In other words, you might consider
>> whether it's
>> better to let the garage stay below freezing rather than
>> thawing the
>> car (and whatever is stuck to it) out each night. Just a
>> thought....
>
> You beat me to it, Tim. Salt does no harm at subfreezing
> temperatures.
> But once the accumulated snow starts melting, it carries
> dissolved salt
> into every nook and cranny, and that's when the potential for
> rust
> begins. If you must drive the car on salted streets, best to
> leave it
> frozen, then wash the undercarriage when the weather warms.
>
> Dunno about the NC, but older Miatas were not particularly
> prone to
> rust, as long as their body drains worked properly. It's good
> practice
> to flush the drains every time the car is washed, and unclog
> any that
> seem blocked.

When I lost my 1990, she had one tiny bit of rust in the right
side rocker panel, about the size of a 50-cent piece - and that
was after 12 years of her of sleeping outside in the winter here
in Eastern PA. She spent her last 5 years in an unheated
garage. Our area of PA relies heavily on rock salt and brine
sprayed on the roads in the winter. I did not wash the
undercarriage separately *ever*.

YMMV of course.

Iva & Vixen
2004 Classic Red
No more winkin' Miata