Underbody materials
 

Hello everyone. I am new to these forums and tried to search for this answer but could not find what I was looking for...I may just not be searching properly.

Anyways, what materials are used for the underbody panels? Is it a composite material that is resistant to corrosion from salt and water, or is it a metal that is susceptible to corrosion?

If the latter type of material is used, is there a coating or cover that people like to apply to the panels to help resist corrosion?

Thanks in advance for the help!

According to the manual underbody components are coated with an anti corrosion material. They recommend spraying with clean water every six months to remove corrosive elements but state not to use cleaners as that could remove the anti corrosion coating. We’ll see how well it works.

I know Ford is awful with this as my 2017 mustang rusted quite a lot on the underside. There was no mention of anti corrosion in that manual if that says something.

Maybe the video will help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoc9...annel=doctv2up

That’s the Gen 5 that was built in Canada. Probably a little different process than the Gen 6 built in Lansing. It is an interesting video!

There is a similar, 44-minute video about the 6th gen from 2017, but I don't recall it discussing the underbody or coatings specifically. The video itself is a concatenated set of episodes in the "Supercar, Superbuild" series, and had been viewable on youtube until a 2 or 3 years ago, someone must have complained and it got pulled.

Car companies have been zinc dipping (galvanize) for years. I know they used to wax dip truck frames. They also squeeze sealant on certain areas.

However unless you are driving a Delorean, any nicks, scratches, and trapped corrosive materials will cause rust. Best prevention is to do regular under body washes and paint any deep nicks.

Or, take the Joshinator99 method: never drive it in rain, snow, salt or anything other than a gloriously nice day. That said, I really don’t drive my car enough. :smiling1: :bonk:

all cars rust underneath imho. you want it to stay nice avoid winter driving.

Thanks for the information everyone. I understand it would be ideal to not drive it in winter/bad weather to avoid the salt, but my situation does not really allow for a second car right now (mostly due to space).



For some context, I am deciding between a camaro and a corvette and read that the corvette under body has composite body panels that are resistant to corrosion so I figured I would find out if the camaro under body was similar.



P.S. I know many of you are probably cringing at the thought of either a camaro or corvette being driven in snow, but I would rather have a sports car and drive it year round than not at all.

No cringe whatsoever, I lived in northern NJ with 4 months of winter each year, and many drove their Camaros in rougher weather, too. Since this is my forever Camaro, I decided not to do that, but the wife has a 2016 Traverse (so another GM vehicle) as a daily, and the salt and brine did a number on its underbody.

It's definitely not as bad as a car from the 90s or early 2000s, the underbody is protected, but wherever the coating got damaged from road debris, rust has started on the frame.

If you're concerned about the underside, you might look into getting an Underwasher. I use mine after one of our cars has been through snow or mud, and for at home use, it's pretty effective.

https://www.theunderwasher.com/