discouraged... RUST....
 

Rolled my Z out of the garage yesterday to run it for a little bit in the decent March weather we've been having in the Boston area.

I have done a great job taking care of my Z so far, she has not seen winter or any salt at all.

I drove it in the rain maybe once or twice last season.....


I took a look underneath..... BOOM..... wtffffff...... RUST


I guess there is just no avoiding it... no matter how careful you are.

The exhaust pipes and some of the hardware (clamps, etc...) are gathering some rust... no clue how....

very discouraging just sharing my grief.

FI exhaust is going on in a few weeks anyway... hopefully that fights off corrosion a little better

Its an OEM exhaust system - they rust. Assuming the FI exhaust is Stainless steel or Titanium you won't be feeling discouraged after it is fitted.

If you're referring to rust other than exhaust, it's really hard to avoid.
Like you I winter store my Z ( live in Mich. ). In the fall before storage I put it up on the lift and toatally wipe down the under carriage. There are suspension parts that get the finish chipped off from loose gravel and sand blasted from every day driving, even when you only drive it 4/5000 mi.a year! Winter thru spring any big temp. swings the car sweats and the vulnerable parts begin to corrode, yeah it sucks, but we are doing all we can do to keep it to a minimum! It would really look like sh*t if we drove our cars all winter!

Don't mind me I'm just rattling on .......:tup:

I love Arizona....

It's stainless. Took this picture just now of my Fast Intentions Exhaust. My Z is daily driven, those are my snow tires on it, so it sees plenty of salted roads here in Ohio.

http://www.cdmfabrication.com/bbpics...fiexhaust3.jpg

It'd say it's much better than the factory exhaust I removed at 5000 miles.

It's pretty much impossible to avoid surface rust on unpainted/uncoated steel parts, especially on the bottom side. See old guy's comment above. Many of those parts will need to be replaced before rust becomes a problem.

It is a Nissan at the end of the day. Rust buckets

I really can't agree,
Been driving Maximas since 95 ( on my third ) 5/600,000 mi.and I can't say they're any better or worse than any thing else out there!
If you want to talk about rust buckets ....... And you lived through the 70s, & 80s then you know rust buckets!

My dad had a story of I think a 57 something in Montreal. Probably a 5 year old car at the time. Hit the brakes and his foot went through the floorboard. Fixed it with a piece of plywood. Those old cars had crappy steel and no rust inhibitors. My 96 Tacoma has virtually no rust. Man, I can't believe that thing is over 20 years old now. Pretty soon I can register it as a Historic Vehicle. I think it needs to be 25 for that. LOL It's amazing how much better the newer cars are.

My dad had a 56 Chevy 2 door. That car had major rust over the headlights, the floors had been replaced with tin and it would vapor lock on a warm day going uphill. I think he got $75 when he sold it in the early 70s. :icon14:

I bought my '13 leftover on '14 with only 6 miles as New Englanders do not like rear wheel drive cars for Winter drivers. I learned how to drive in the snow back in '74 with snow tires rear wheel drive and never had an issue. My Z is driven all year round, just change all 4 tires to snow tires. Everyone here told me that it would rust and it would have an early terminal illness aka as cancer/ rust. I will take pics of the undercarriage when it's time to another oil change or get my Summer tires back on and see how rust I have...so far minimal. I bet you get more rust living in a sunny place next to the Ocean as the salt in the air doesn't discriminate. I also know that some of my friends bought aluminum / stainless steel exhausts but what they don't know is that the brackets are steel and rust likes them...good luck..Oh BTW there are sprays that slow down the rust. Used by boaters kind of like a coating used on beds for pick up trucks...do the research one day I will but you need to sand down the rust before you apply it..

Your rear stub axles will be rusted anyway along with your OEM exhaust. It is just like your brake rotors, a little bit of moisture, they are going to rust. Inevitable.