wthrman2

Not to mention they look nice, almost too nice to be used as winter wheels (but they are 19 inches as you know)....But they ran about 450$ Cdn per wheel

AmbyBomb

Oh so that's why they fit. 19s mean more expensive tires.

vpar23

Does anyone rust proof the car? How big of a deal is it if I had to drive Sunday through salt and not be able to wash it till Saturday?

JOSERMDK

^^Kinda curious about this too. I know a lot of the major components under the car are aluminum but that might not be worth much in driving in Chicago winters.

vpar23

haha I am in Chicago too and drove through straight salt on Sunday for its first snow. River north had just straight salt in the middle of the road that actually hurt my insides. Has been hurting me a bit but plan to wash it Saturday when my mobile detailer gets a sec. I found a shop that does fluid film but done for the year. Let me know if you know of any good shops/ or good underside car wash places.

I got a comment on Facebook that I didn’t even think of but apparently cars that get rustproof oil have a tendency to fall off lifts when being worked on.

I think I’ll just try and avoid the super salty days? Not sure haha

Burrcold

These cars are driven year round for many people...I think one drive with salt will be okay lol

Bechtold

I don't miss Chicago or the road salt. I had to put the Supra away for the season starting from the first salting of the roads till sometime after the last one when some rain would wash the salt down the drain. It sucked! I don't do that anymore here in Texas and drive it year round now. My daily driven cars all got rusty underneath and eventually suffered accordingly.

vpar23

yeah you hear about salt eating cars but in reality this cars not my daily I WFH or commute via train intercity but it is my only car. It might hit salt 5 times or so in a winter season? I do want it to last 10+ years. No one really says how much salt will cause how much corrosion to the car everyone just says salt = bad. I just think I need to have a little faith in Lexus engineers with underbody protection and rust proofing and wash it when I can when it hits some salt.

Phresh2010

iTrader: (3)

I drove my IS250 in Chicago winters for over 13 years and I do mean drive (165k miles from new). It wasn't bad last time I saw it on a lift which was back in January. Subframe had minor rust spots but not bad all things considering and I was on coilovers. The IS500 is mostly covered up underneath so I am not worried.

I missed the first snow fall this past Sunday but actually looking forward to driving this RWD beast in the snow! My detailer does washes and he's local so I'm covered.

vpar23

that’s exactly the kind of feedback I would like to hear, thank you! Anything you plan on doing for maintenance like bi weekly washes or do you wash immediately after salt? Anyone in Chicago you recommend? Feel like it’s impossible to find someone with an undercarriage wash but I’m sure my mobile guy will hose it down.

honestly I anticipate some minor surface rusting even now approaching a year in but no big deal if it lasts for 10+ years without being a rust bucket

jct23

I'm in the Chicago area as well. I missed the first snow as I was driving my car back from FL on Sunday, but I did hit the salt. I'm in the western burbs and will be using Lyon Car Wash in Darien at least weekly when the temps are above freezing.

I think we have at least 4 IS500 owners on this thread in the Chicago area - time to restart the Chicago Area Lexus Group?

95bat

Do you have a driveway and pressure washer? If it's possible to do it yourself, buy a sprayer for the undercarriage. I think if the salt gets wrinsed off you'll be fine.

vpar23

would honestly be down for an is500 meet up in chi all with winters on 😎

i share a garage with other fellow plebs in Chicago. I’m not allowed to wash cars in there according to HOA unfortunately

JOSERMDK

The majority of hand car washes in my area have undercarriage washers and include it in their basic wash during winter months. Ruby's, Simon's Shine Shop (pricey), and Elston hand wash are probably the top places on the north side. For just a wash Ruby's is the best IMO.

GoPDemon

So was there any concensus on thinner tires or different tire sizes? I am going to pick it up soon but it’s still winter here and I can’t even find matching front to backs.
best I found was slightly different blizzacks.
i would prefer a top tire like blizzack , x ice, hakkapolita.