Anyone seen any wheel corrosion or rust yet?

[Paulie68]

Hi all, I'm getting closer to the point where I'm ready to buy a used Cyberster, so would appreciate any input on the following.

Is anyone seeing any wheel corrosion starting at all as yet on the diamond cut GT wheels?

And, has anyone seen rusting anywhere else at all, around pressed holes under the bonnet for example or anywhere around/under the chassis?

These might seem silly questions to ask at this early stage, but my MG5 is rusting under the bonnet at just 8 months old and 5k miles. It has all the diamond cut wheels now showing corrosion too!! This was a cut priced run out bargain and is a workhorse, so although it's upsetting, I can cope with it, but need to know something selling for much more that is meant to be premium and I'll probably want to keep long term isn't going to give similar issues.

Look forward to hearing from you all.

 

[CyberNewbie]

I suspect you may not get many answers, the car has not been around long enough. I would not expect such corrosion on any car after 8 months unless you parked by the sea.

I have had my Cyberster GT for just over a month and love it, have driven several roadsters over the years and this is on a different level. My only (big) issue is that you cannot get replacement tyres in the UK.

 

[Paulie68]

I suspect you may not get many answers, the car has not been around long enough. I would not expect such corrosion on any car after 8 months unless you parked by the sea.

I have had my Cyberster GT for just over a month and love it, have driven several roadsters over the years and this is on a different level. My only (big) issue is that you cannot get replacement tyres in the UK.

I agree, but my MG5 is corroding after only 8 months!, so wanted to check to see if the Cyberster has any similar issues.

 

[tarbat]

No signs of corrosion or rust on my 10½ month old Cyberster Trophy (bought 1-Oct-24). Used occasionally on some very salty roads last winter (far north of Scotland).

 

[GranTurismoEra]

No signs of corrosion or rust on my 10½ month old Cyberster Trophy (bought 1-Oct-24). Used occasionally on some very salty roads last winter (far north of Scotland).

Did you wash the car regularly after driving on salty roads?

 

[salty]

Did you wash the car regularly after driving on salty roads?

Shouldn't have to on modern cars. But personally I definitely would. Mind you I wash the car regularly anyway, all year round.

 

[Alb]

I'm a stickler for that too.
Wash the car every year whether it needs it or not.

 

[salty]

I'm a stickler for that too.
Wash the car every year whether it needs it or not.

Whether it needs it or not.

 

[GranTurismoEra]

Shouldn't have to on modern cars. But personally I definitely would. Mind you I wash the car regularly anyway, all year round.

My previous car was every 2 weeks. Including jet washing underneath

 

[tarbat]

Did you wash the car regularly after driving on salty roads?

No. Just a wash in spring (around April I think).

 

[GranTurismoEra]

No. Just a wash in spring (around April I think).

Not sure about that. That salt is lethal especially with all the steel arms and suspension parts if left on for weeks. Nowadays theres hardly snow here in London. Hopefully there's less need to use salt going forward.

As I said to a former Cyberster hater. If the underneath is coated and protected should be ok.

 

[Data]

Paulie, I've noticed more & more manufacturers are relying on just the electrophoretic primer to hold rust at bay, with only the basic anti-stone chip protection on outriggers & chassis members under the car. There's little to no wax protection anywhere even in chassis box sections under the car.

My own new ZS EV looks beautifully made when you look underneath. It really does. All the chassis members & panel seams nicely put together. It's well designed. There was no rust or damage. And nicely finished in the grey electrostatically applied electrophoretic primer. Yet the anti-stone chip coatings are minimal & in one or two places could be a lot better. The suspension & axle cross members also look well finished in black. Many cars look like this when new but start to rust early without extra help to prevent rust. I've seen many cars like this including Citroens, Peugeot's, VW's, Skoda's & SEAT's & surprisingly Honda's where the rust protection is only reliant on the primer. After a couple of years the underneath seams can just start to show the formation of rust especially if the car is garaged or used in salty winter conditions without ever being gently hosed down underneath to remove salt. That's not a problem but when you look again at the 5yr mark it's progressed to the stage where you really need to do something to protect the car. If nothing is done by 8-10yrs the rust is sometimes becoming a problem requiring considerable intervention, without which the cars lifespan may be in danger of being cut short in just another two or three years.

Anyway, I'm sure many of you have seen this sort of thing. However, after carefully looking at my ZS I decided to give my car a head start & coated my car underneath with Jenolite Waxoyl. This is probably the very best Waxoyl you can buy for the money. Way better than Finnigans in my opinion. It flows & sprays incredibly well especially onto & into seams. I gave the car two coated paying specially attention to difficult to reach area. I also coated the suspension components & crossmembers. Keep it away from flexible brake pipes & brake discs & best not to spray plastic or neoprene rubber parts (including suspension bushes) or electrical connectors (they are plastic). I used Bilt-Hamber chassis box section wax with a lance to fan spray inside the chassis members. The lance comes with the aerosol spray. The spray cans are pressurised to 70psi so you get good coverage. It's a thin but incredibly powerful anti-rust wax treatment that is easy to apply. It will kill any existing rust. I did this to my last car & at 7.5yrs old there was not a single bit of rust anywhere underneath. Of course there are other products which can be used but this was just my choice because you don't need any special equipment to do the job & both products have previously shown total effectiveness. It was easy to do. I did the job on my driveway by driving the car onto some paving slabs that I have which raised the car up by a couple of inches. It made it easy to get underneath & was safe.

If I had just bought a new cyberster, I'd do this to it.

PS. My friends 9 month old MG5 has no rust anywhere on the vehicle at all & no wheel corrosion.

 

[Paulie68]

Paulie, I've noticed more & more manufacturers are relying on just the electrophoretic primer to hold rust at bay, with only the basic anti-stone chip protection on outriggers & chassis members under the car. There's little to no wax protection anywhere even in chassis box sections under the car.

My own new ZS EV looks beautifully made when you look underneath. It really does. All the chassis members & panel seams nicely put together. It's well designed. There was no rust or damage. And nicely finished in the grey electrostatically applied electrophoretic primer. Yet the anti-stone chip coatings are minimal & in one or two places could be a lot better. The suspension & axle cross members also look well finished in black. Many cars look like this when new but start to rust early without extra help to prevent rust. I've seen many cars like this including Citroens, Peugeot's, VW's, Skoda's & SEAT's & surprisingly Honda's where the rust protection is only reliant on the primer. After a couple of years the underneath seams can just start to show the formation of rust especially if the car is garaged or used in salty winter conditions without ever being gently hosed down underneath to remove salt. That's not a problem but when you look again at the 5yr mark it's progressed to the stage where you really need to do something to protect the car. If nothing is done by 8-10yrs the rust is sometimes becoming a problem requiring considerable intervention, without which the cars lifespan may be in danger of being cut short in just another two or three years.

Anyway, I'm sure many of you have seen this sort of thing. However, after carefully looking at my ZS I decided to give my car a head start & coated my car underneath with Jenolite Waxoyl. This is probably the very best Waxoyl you can buy for the money. Way better than Finnigans in my opinion. It flows & sprays incredibly well especially onto & into seams. I gave the car two coated paying specially attention to difficult to reach area. I also coated the suspension components & crossmembers. Keep it away from flexible brake pipes & brake discs & best not to spray plastic or neoprene rubber parts (including suspension bushes) or electrical connectors (they are plastic). I used Bilt-Hamber chassis box section wax with a lance to fan spray inside the chassis members. The lance comes with the aerosol spray. The spray cans are pressurised to 70psi so you get good coverage. It's a thin but incredibly powerful anti-rust wax treatment that is easy to apply. It will kill any existing rust. I did this to my last car & at 7.5yrs old there was not a single bit of rust anywhere underneath. Of course there are other products which can be used but this was just my choice because you don't need any special equipment to do the job & both products have previously shown total effectiveness. It was easy to do. I did the job on my driveway by driving the car onto some paving slabs that I have which raised the car up by a couple of inches. It made it easy to get underneath & was safe.

If I had just bought a new cyberster, I'd do this to it.

PS. My friends 9 month old MG5 has no rust anywhere on the vehicle at all & no wheel corrosion.

All very good advice. My preference is Bilt Hamber Dynax these days, both the cavity and underbody formulations. If and when I buy a Cyberster, I'll be going over it thoroughly. As for the 5, I'm not sure what I'm going to do as yet, as a workhorse, I don't want to go to the trouble of extensive rustproofing like I would on my classics or longer term daily drivers. The speed at which the under bonnet rust is spreading on mine after just 5k miles and 9 months, though, is making me think I'm going to get rid of it shortly. I might replace it with a few month old Audi Q4. I've had lots of Audi's in the past and they never rusted, ever, even after decades!

You're absolutely right on manufacturers backing away from cavity wax injection and more extensive underbody sealing. This was essential before zinc plated sheet steels as without at a car would barely make 5 years until scrap, but the more recent use of galvanised sheet steels, has minimised premature corrosion to such a point that manufacturers realised they needn't bother with much beyond just this and the primer body dip as the zinc alone will usually give 10 or so years before any serious rust issues creep in.

In the case of my MG5, the bonnet under panel appears to be ordinary steel with no galvanising at all as the rust is brown and fast creeping under the paint surface, unlike the much, much slower progress corrosion makes on panels with the sacrificial zinc layer. Maybe as the cars were on run out, they cheaped out on sheet steel supply. Of course, the other thing to note is the 5 isn't actually an MG at all really, it's a Roewe and made in a different factory I believe. Never initially intended to export outside of China, it was a shoe in, so may not be built to export quality as other MG's, Just some thoughts. I'm damned annoyed frankly, don't expect to have rust hassles on a brand new car for at least several years these days even doing nothing preventative to it at all!!

 

[Data]

I'd have a word with your dealer Paulie. I've had corrosion, even non penetrative stuff put right under warranty (not talking about my MG). As for the wheels that's totally unacceptable too. Remember the car has to be of good merchantable quality. I think corrosion at this stage isn't right.

 

[Paulie68]

I'd have a word with your dealer Paulie. I've had corrosion, even non penetrative stuff put right under warranty. As for the wheels that totally unacceptable too. Remember the car has to be of good merchantable quality. I think corrosion at this stage isn't right.

Dealer already have 4 new wheels in for me. They've been great. OK'd the bonnet too, suggested I might want to wait purposely for it to get a little worse, then they may replace rather than sand back and repaint. I just don't need the inconvenience!

 

[GranTurismoEra]

Great stuff. Makes sense protecting the underneath if you can. Id suggest getting the lowest mileage late 74 plate from the South of the country. Most likely never seen salt. Then coat underbody