Driving over compacted snow and ice - Can I damage anything on the bottom of the car?

[romnation]

Our alleys don't get plowed here in Chicago, and I often hear the snow/ice scraping on the bottom of the car as I drive through them. Do I need to worry about anything being damaged from this?

[a4nut]

Mostl likely just hitting the belly pan. And I'd hope the snow is less solid than the car

[10"]

not usually a big deal....UNLESS it has solidified into ice.

[Tommm]

No. Since global warming the consistency of the snow and ice plus the makeup of the snow and ice will absolutely destroy any substance that it comes in contact with. Think about it for a minute. Lets apply logic.

Back in the day when people drove rear wheel drive solid axle cars without belly pans they plowed through snow and ice and the only thing that killed them was salt getting into crevices and rotting the car from underneath, or salt getting into a chip in the paint and eating through.

Now with bio degradable polymers and CAD design that eliminate many of those crevices, the mere contact with snow will be like the wicked witch and water. Don't do it. walk (barefoot both ways uphill)

[minirips2]

romnation- You should be fine, as long as the snow/ice isn't too deep. My biggest concern is driving across intersections where the plows leave piles of snow. that stuff re-freezes hard as ice, and I don't want to damage my front valance or fog lights. The scraping sound you hear is most likely the plastic engine bay undertray. I would go slowly, but not worry too much about it. kinda chilly this AM, huh?

[JimD]

It's been a long time since I had to drive on frozen water but I did it for several decades. The risk is from chunks of frozen ice. Snow plows can create piles of this. It is normally at the edges of the road, sometimes across side streets.

Snow won't hurt anything. If it is deep enough, your car rides up on it and the tires don't have traction because they aren't getting to the surface. You get stuck but your car doesn't get damaged.