Don't hate me. You guys are gonna hate me...

[OKCBossman]

So I have been with ma lady Scarlet all summer/fall, getting used to her and such. Amazing car which is why this post exists.

Unfortunately, my Boss is a DD and with winter coming up I need advice. I cannot tell you how much I wish I could winterize and garage this beast. However, that is not a financial possibility for me right now.

Question is, what can I do besides get her detailed by a professional to protect from winter elements here in OKC? My guy does two coats of polish after a hand wash followed by rotary buffer. Then a coat of wax to finish up. Now Oklahoma doesn't have near the crazy winter some of you get up north, but we do have half a dozen snowfalls a year, some ice, etc...

Anyone have experience with these cars during winter driving? My 07 GT was a stick and actually did really well on snowy roads. Should I expect the same from the Boss? Stories/opinions are welcome!

Just want to do my due diligence and figure out a game plan. Advice?

Thanks all! This forum is a godsend!

 

[WinterSucks]

Like any other car I think safety will come down to tires plus some weight in the rear end.

I would think about buying a cheap temporary vinyl wrap for the bumper cover and lower body bits that will get blasted with sand/salt. I wouldn't even bother matching the color. People will forgive you since it is obvious what it is there for

 

[F.D. Sako]

I DD'ed my boss for 2 winters. I "tried" sealing and waxing before every winter, but having no garage is not very convenient so the car never got a full detail right before winters. But the only way I prepped for winter was swap to street pads and slap on my winter/snow tires (255/45 Pirelli Winter Sottozero II's wrapped around SVT 18x9 wheels). Other than that I used to go through the touchless car wash a couple of times a month mainly to get the undercarriage sprayed and the salt washed off.

 

[aircare84]

You won't get the same winter performance with the Boss as you had with your 07 GT. Mainly due to the tires. Get some winter tires/wheels, put a few tube sand's in the trunk & you have much better luck.
As for the wax/sealers you will have to follow the advice from the other posters here.

 

[OKCBossman]

Thanks guys, awesome replies. I do have a working garage (spent 2k converting my non functional garage before I bought this car) so the seal and wax plan seems to be the best bet for paint protection. I guess I will hit up a touchless car wash once a month as mentioned above. Just thought that was a bad idea with the graphics on the hood and sides? Guess not...

The tires are after market and rims are stock so I will just hope for the best with traction. Guess I will be utilizing Lyft services when snow does eventually fall

As always, any other advice is welcome. You guys are the only people I trust with my baby. Takes an owner to really appreciate the car!

 

[WinterSucks]

Just be careful on the edges of the decals with an orbital. And if you get wax right up to the decal you will have a white line of wax that is a pain to clean. I ended up lifting the edges of the decals in a few spots trying to clean them... You could use some 1/4" or 1/2" painters tape to protect the decal edges then peel it off and hit the leftover lines with a microfiber towel. I used a synthetic sealer and think that would be the best for a long winter instead of any natural wax. Claybar it first before putting on the synthetic sealer. I would look at the AutoGeek forums, I am sure someone has started an "OMG winter is coming what do I do for my baby?!" thread.

 

[F.D. Sako]

ya, be careful with the waterless carwashes as well. ive seen a couple of vinyls peel. the one I go to has weak pressure, so it won't hurt the vinyl... it won't clean as well either ;D

As for buffing, I tape all the edges of the vinyl with masking tape. I leave a 1/2" overlap, in case the buffer rips the tape off, it wont contact the edge of the vinyl as quickly. Once done with the buffer, I go polish/wax the vinyl and the edges by hand.

 

[Boss0960]

Use Turtle Wax Ice Wax and you can wax the whole car, stripes and all, without having to worry about white residue anywhere. You can also use it on your matte black spoiler, tail lights, glass, rubber, etc.

 

[So Boss]

Here in the land of Snow and Rally Drivers (Finland) we use Nokian Tires with studs. Studs bite the ice and driving is actually really fun. Actually, in order to get driving licence over here you must pass Ice Driving Tests.

But my important tip is to pay careful attention to rust proof hidden nooks and crannies. Like the bottom of doors where the door skin is bent and have 2-3 millimeter gap - excellent dirt and moist trap.
Does anyone know why it has such a bad design?

 

[TrakPak97]

a lot of people swear by the ceramic coat. Worth a try