Winter weather mod problems....

[justpassntime]

Are there any of you from the land of extreme weather that have had problems with certain mods during the winter?

What I had in mind specifically was wheel skirts and/or wheel well gap fillers. Air dams may also fall into this as well.

I live in eastern Washington and we have weather here like everyone else in the upper 48 ie Mn, Wi, Mi, In, Il, Oh, Ny, Me, Pa, and the other New England states.

The reason I ask is for the purpose or need of making some of the mods removable for seasonal reasons.

[Arminius]

Well, one thing's for sure: my front splash guards will go back on before the first snow falls. Yes, they decrease aerodynamics, but so do the big chucks of ice that form in the same location, not to mention the inevitable future rust and resulting holes in the body of the car that will occur if I don't use them.

Oddly, my lower grill is only held in place by tension due to the tight fit and the downward pressure placed upon it by the license plate holder. It hasn't fallen out yet.

[whokilledthejams]

I may end up pulling out my front undertray, because I fear it filling up with 100# of ice, and tearing my front bumper apart. We'll see once I get a couple of snowfalls under my belt, but I don't have a good feeling about it. That, or I could actually bite the bullet and get real fender liners. Time will tell.

[tasdrouille]

Here we have 4 seasons: before winter, winter, after winter and waiting for winter.

The airdam will definately be an issue this winter, and so are the soon to be skirts. I am considering not to drive the car after a storm until the roads are cleared. That is an option I have.

[wagonman76]

My Celebrity is my summer car so it does not get driven in snow. I know the airdam would not make it. I also fear a bellypan would fill up with ice, both from driving and from condensation. Wheel skirts should be removable in any season, what if you get a flat? My experience is that with less wheelwell clearance, the road boogers accumulate faster.

However some aeromods would be better in winter. Roof rack removal makes it a lot easier to clear snow off the top. Grille block would help it warm up faster. My Celebrity wiper cover will fit the Pontiac 6000 winter wagon since they share the same cowlpiece, but hard to say if itll work out or not. Narrower tires are better in the snow too.

[Daox]

My Paseo and Matrix are both lowered and I have never had a problem in winter. We'll see how the Matrix does this winter with the bellypan on it, but I don't think it'll be a problem. Skirts would be interesting to see how they hold up.

[azraelswrd]

I'm in the extreme warm end of the spectrum with about a month or two of downpours. I bet I can get away with tape until the rain hits. Just cleaned off all the paint tape (+1 month attached) so I could clean the car... no residue so no problems.

Still need to find some plastic for the rear skirts though.

[MetroMPG]

I've run the rear wheel skirts through two winters. No issues. I'd expect that front, hinged skirts would be more of a problem, and might need to be removed.