Car Winterizing And Snow Driving Preparation Tips
Before winter gets here, drivers should have their brakes and coolant checked, and make sure tires, windshield wipers, defroster, heater, and exhaust system are OK.
It's especially important to check tires for wear and air pressure.
All drivers should have a good snow-and-ice scraper, and extra windshield washing fluid in the car.
Drivers who may face serious winter driving should have the right-size chains in their trunk, along with sand and a shovel.
Other items of value in an emergency include flashlight, gloves, blanket, and flares.
In remote areas, drivers should keep a sleeping bag, an old pair of boots, and warm clothes, including hat, gloves, and an old winter coat, in the car.
It's always good to practice handling a car in snow, and the best place to practice is an official driving course. Next-best place, and the one most often chosen, is a local parking lot after hours when no other vehicles are around. Practice starting, stopping, turning, and getting out of skids.
Drivers should program the number of the American Automobile Association into their cell phones, if they are members, or the number of a road service company.
They should have updated road maps of the areas they will be driving through.
Getting stuck is always a pain; in winter, it also is dangerous.
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When renewing antifreeze check that the dilution is correct. As a rule of thumb, it is 50:50, but some mixes can be a little stronger for extremely low temperatures. Check with your dealer or the handbook.
Make sure that your engine oil is the right mix for the projected temperatures. There are various multi grade options depending on the temperature. The options should be shown inthe handbook. Where appropriate, use a semi or fully synthetic oil. Their extreme tmeperature performance is much better than theodler mineral oils.
Brake fluid is often ignored. It is a hygroscopic fluid, which means that it absorbs moisture. Under very heavy braking, excessive water content can boil, which means you suddenly have no brakes. Under very cold conditions, the water content can freeze, with much the same result. Most manufacturers recommend changing brake fluid every two years. Please do so.
Washer fluid is also worth considering. I generally use a 25% mix inthe summer, which is enough to clear the grime off the screen without the cost becoming too high. In the winter, I will increase this to 50% and if it is going to be really cold, will consider using the concentrate neat. I always carry a full 5 litre container of concentrate. However, washer fluid is rarely successful much below -20C, so it is worth hunting around for somethign a bit more specialised. NEVER use anti freeze in your washers because it attacks the paintwork.
An Achilles heel of the window washer system is the actual jet nozzle. Cold air over the nozzle will quickly freeze the tiny amount of water inside, forming a very effective plug. If water does nto come out at once, stop trying or you will burn out the pump. It is possible to buy heated washer jets and retro fit them. If this is a course you are tempted to follow, and it is very sensible, make sure that you understand enogh about auto electrics to use the correct guage of cable, fuse, switch and relay. It is very easy to start a vehicle fire by using the wrong cable. If in doubt, get the system installed professinally. Some vehicles have headlamp washers which always freeze because they do not benefit from under bonnet heat from the engine. Consider either removing the fuse if it only runs that pump, which is unusual or disconnect the power supply to the pump.
Always carry a long handled scraper and window squeegy. If the wipers freeze up and the washer water is frozen, you will have to clean the screen with snow and squeegy it clean.
Ensure that wipers are in good order and the rubber is not starting to split. It is good practice to fit new blades at the start of the winter season. Avoid pulling blades from a frozen screen This can damage the rubbers. There are some clever new blades around which do not use the familiar frames with hinge points, which tend to block with snow and then freeze, but rather a tensioned steel insert to maintain contact with a curved screen. Because there is nothing to freeze, these will give a much better wipe. Unfortunately, they do nto fit all vehicles, which is a great pity.
Tyres are of course important. Switch to snow tyres in good time. Be aware that some snow tyres are of a softer compound and will overheat if left on in the summer. Check with the manufacturer. An excellent product is the Green Diamond tyre. This is a directional winter pattern with a fairly hard tread that has silicon carbide impregnated into the rubber. The result is that on ice, the tyre acts a bit like sandpaper and provides better grip. These tyres are excellent for variable conditions such as weekend skiing when one needs the best of all worlds. They are also quite happy in ambient temperatures of up to about 20C, so there is plenty of lattitude.
If you live in an area where roads are ploughed but not salted for an appreciable period of the year you will have to cope with very icy roads on an almost permanent basis. Under these circumstances, it is worth considering studded tyres. Some dealers can inset studs into existing tyres, partiuclarly if they have the holes pre-drilled. However, if you can afford it, buy proper studded tyres. These are always of a soft compound to provide the best grip in very cold conditions.
Studs work fine on paved roads for short periods, but be aware that prolonged use will wear away the studs, reducing their efficacy, which apart from anything else, becomes horribly expensive because the studs cannot be replaced. If the tyre has plenty of solid rubber, then new ones can be fitted, but if hte tyre has lots of sips, which are little cracks in the blocks, there is insufficient meat for new studs to hold, so you have to replace them.
Chains are as valid on studded as non studded tyres. Chains are super aggressive and ideal for new or softish snow. They are extremely uncomfortable on ice and will tend to wear quicker. On paved roads they will wear very fast indeed. A set can be destroyed in about 20-30 miles.
Always check the weather and err on the side of caution. Be very realistic, even pessimistic about the cpabilities of your vehicle. If you do have to go out, take lots of warm clothing, blankets, food and water. Always start with a full tank of fuel and never let it get below half full.
A note four wheel drivers. All cars have four wheels, and each wheel has a brake. However, the majority of cars only have two driven wheels. Therefore, while four wheel drive will get you moving where perhaps two wheel dirve will not, once you are in motion, you are in the exact same position as a two wheel drive vehicle. Neither of you can stop quickly. Whilst tyres will play a major role in braking performance, there is a tendency for 4WD drivers to think that they are inviincible. Alas, the same laws of physics apply, which is why one often sees 4WD vehices stuffed into ditches and hedges after the first snow falls.
When driving on any slippery surface, leave lots of room from the car in front and then a bit more for luck! Travel slowly, use the gears to slow down and contorl the vehicle rather than the brakes. This is nearly impossible on old fashoined auto boxes, but the new sequential shifts allow you manual control. Learn how to use it in slow time, not once the white stuff has smothered everything.
Finally, take yur time. If you do come off the road, unless you are seriously well equipped for self rescue, you arein trouble. In times of bad weather, the advice is to stay in and quite a lot of people pay attention. Therefore, there are fewer people around to help or even find you. Leave plenty of time for the journey and if in doubt, slow down. Ignore the ill manners of arriving late. It is even worse to arrive in good time on a stretcher or worse.
Good luck!