[NorCalAthlete]

My truck had some coating on the entire frame and everything underneath straight from the factory to protect it from corrosion as I live on the coastside. I don't know if my M4 has anything similar though? I do want to drive it up in the snow in Tahoe, but aside from getting separate wheels and tires - any of you guys and gals driven yours through full winter seasons and had any issues? Any of you in northern Europe have any tips for keeping the underside clean?

[vasillalov]

I wouldn't do it. Get a winter car

[brinkmann]

Originally Posted by NorCalAthlete

My truck had some coating on the entire frame and everything underneath straight from the factory to protect it from corrosion as I live on the coastside. I don't know if my M4 has anything similar though? I do want to drive it up in the snow in Tahoe, but aside from getting separate wheels and tires - any of you guys and gals driven yours through full winter seasons and had any issues? Any of you in northern Europe have any tips for keeping the underside clean?

Some people are super precious about their Ms, others are not. Guarantee if you bought a used one that was properly maintained and washed in regular intervals, you'd never be able to tell if it had been driven in winter conditions. I think all modern cars are much better protected from this stuff, particularly higher end makes.

[ChrisM4]

I drive mine year round in Canada.

Just spray it off once a week underneath or use a good touchless car wash and you would never be able to tell it was driven in winter. Doing a spray off under the hood as well occasionally.

These cars are a blast to drive in the winter with good snow tires.

[Humdizzle]

modern bmw's are built well and will be fine mechanically. also, corrosion doesn't happen in cold temps. the salt + water + metal reaction speeds up alot when the temps warm up. So be sure to spray the undercarriage every so often.

i dont drive if there is salt on the road because its basically gravel and will destroy your paint. i tried in my 335i and my ppf film only lasted 1 season before it needed replacing. i do alot of highway driving though.

[Znomorph4theWin]

I know if I chose to drive my M3CX in the Toronto winter, it would be perfectly would be fine. Though my nerves and OCD would take the beating instead. Hence why I chose to store her and buy a winter beater instead.

[forza1976]

Do people forget that it snows in Germany?

It's just a car, I drive mine year round in the snow. No big deal.

[forcefed]

Touchless car wash with under car spray is the solution.

[Forzanerazzurri]

Good thread. If you drive the car in the winter the steel underside components will rust. Its pretty obvious to see cars that are driven in winter vs ones that aren't. Road salt absolutely destroys cars. You can wash it underneath all you want but it will still happen. My e46 m3 never sees winter (or rain) and its pretty clean underneath for a 20 year old car. It is what it is.

[Joachim]

Drove all my BMW cars through Black Forest winters for weekend trips and also for staying 14 days there in above 1,000 m regions. Mostly no chance to wash it until home in the low lands. For example, last one, Alpina B4, has been sold after 8 yrs and the underbody didn't show any rust nor stain.

Also during 25 winters of commuting 85 km / 53 miles on the autobahn to and from job didn't matter any BMW I drove.

Dealer even told me pleadingly not to treat the underbody of any modern car with a lance or according wash programs at the car wash, it would do harm in this region more than benefit. Driving half an hour in the rain would treat the underbody cleaner and more gently. So I never took care of a special treatment, and we never found anything of damage nor corrosion underneath the body.

Don't wash below zero degrees, and, when above 0, wash gently with the lance at the holiday resort, if available, but only the visible areas.

[Art__Vandelay]

I'm actually pretty surprised how hesitant many here seem to be when it comes to driving in the snow or generally in winter. Here in Switzerland, snow and salted roads in winter is common and I know almost no one who doesn't drive his car in winter because of that (or gets a separate car just for that). Exceptions are super sports cars or oldtimers.

I never had any problems with winter/snow driving with my BMWs.

[Tag]

Most of the suspension on M cars are all aluminum and when it oxidizes forms a chalky surface layer that protects the rest of the aluminum underneath it, unlike steel/iron which continues to rust. The rest of the undercarriage for the most part is covered with panels. It'll be fine.

[Forzanerazzurri]

Originally Posted by Tag

Most of the suspension on M cars are all aluminum and when it oxidizes forms a chalky surface layer that protects the rest of the aluminum underneath it, unlike steel/iron which continues to rust. The rest of the undercarriage for the most part is covered with panels. It'll be fine.

Exactly. Its the subframe components and the fasteners, jacking points, sills seams, etc that will rust on these cars.

[vasillalov]

Originally Posted by Forzanerazzurri

Exactly. Its the subframe components and the fasteners, jacking points, sills seams, etc that will rust on these cars.

And THAT is exactly what I see on 10 year old cars in the Midwest. EVERY SINGLE fastener gets rusted out. No, galvanized fasteners are not any better.

[osteome]

I opted to store my former E93 over the winter when we lived in Germany and Kansas. My G83 is stored while we are currently in Germany, but will likely not be after we move to Texas this summer. I don't think that it would be an issue to drive the car year round, but I have other cars to drive and I did not want to deal with winter tires on the M.

[Lakeside]

Threads like this make me just consider driving a beater all year round.

I bought the car to drive and my garage holds 2 cars. I've already got to supply 2 more cars for kids, so no extra vehicles for me. Heck there was even salt all over the roads when I picked it up.

[vasillalov]

I have a RAV4 for the winter and the grunt duty. I live in Chicago. I will use the M3 I have on order as a weekend fun car during the days when there is no salt on the roads.

[BrikM]

You’ll be fine

[brinkmann]

Originally Posted by Lakeside

Threads like this make me just consider driving a beater all year round.

I bought the car to drive and my garage holds 2 cars. I've already got to supply 2 more cars for kids, so no extra vehicles for me. Heck there was even salt all over the roads when I picked it up.

I'm not sure why that would be your conclusion if you read through the inputs.

[maverick618]

No issues so far this winter, just stop by the touchless wash for a rinse when it's warm enough. This car is a blast to drive in the snow, I would highly recommend driving it year round

[playswcars]

Inwas actually looking forward to driving my M3CX in the snow!

What we got instead is one of the mildest winters in recent memory. Rain, rain and nothing but rain so far.

[Mark Kez]

G83 here in Syracuse NY, no issues, I wash it weekly.