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Car Winterization (Click to select text)
Car Winterizing 1.If your car needs a tuneup or is due for its regular service, get it done now. Bad hoses, belts, water pump, spark plug wires, distributor cap, etc. can leave you stranded in the winter. Better to fix them at your convenience than after you've been sitting in your stalled car for three hours waiting for CAA. (Just kidding No one has ever had to wait three hours for one of your tow trucks, have they? Naahh!) 2.Make sure your battery and charging system are up to snuff. Your mechanic should check the battery, charging system and belts. If you find that you need a new battery, get the biggest, meanest, ugliest battery that will fit in your car. Two things to remember about batteries: First, the battery that started your car easily in the summer may not have enough oomph to do it in winter, when the oil isn't as "fluid" as it was last July. And secondly, batteries lose power as the temperature drops. So, not only do you need MORE power to start the car in winter, you also get LESS power from the same battery. Batteries are rated by a measure called "cold cranking amps" (CCA), the maximum number of amps that the battery can deliver at zero degrees (F) for 30 seconds. Good, powerful batteries are rated at or above 600 CCA. We've never really liked this CCA thing because some batteries rated at 600 CCA can just barely make the 30-second criterion, and some can pump it out much longer--clearly better batteries. Along come our pals at Consumer Reports. When they rate batteries, they do the CCA test *and* report how long the battery puts out the 600 amps. So, take a look at the October 1997 issue of Consumer Reports to get the ratings of the really good batteries. 3.Check the cooling system, making certain the antifreeze will protect your car to the winter temperatures you'll experience in your area. For most areas, you'll need a 50-50 mix of coolant to water. You can check this yourself with a little device that you can buy in auto parts stores for a couple of bucks. You suck up a little of the anti-freeze from the radiator--or the overflow container and see how many of the little balls float. It's cute. If this is beyond you, most real gas stations will do it for you in a couple of minutes. By the way, this is very important. If the stuff freezes, it expands, and it's bye-bye engine block. If your coolant hasn't been changed in several years, get the cooling system flushed. The rust inhibitors in antifreeze break down over time and need to be renewed. Plus, draining out the coolant and refilling the system removes dirt and rust particles that can clog up the cooling system and cause problems in winter and summer. For you real cheapskates out there, yes, it is true that you can remove and "strain" it to get out the junk that's accumulated while saving the coolant. We've even heard that a loaf of Wonder Bread works great for this, although I have never actually tried it. 4.If you have leaks in the cooling system, get them taken care of now. While many people think of overheating as a summer problem, cars can overheat in winter, too, if they run low on or out of coolant. And overheating can cause expensive engine damage whenever it happens. Plus, if you have no coolant--or low coolant--you have no heat! 5.Make sure your windshield wipers are in good shape. Winter wipers--with the rubber coverings that keep ice from collecting on the blade--have become very popular. They're great in the winter, but make sure you take them off in the spring. Winter wipers are heavy, and if you use them all summer, you'll eventually wear out the wiper motor. 6.Keep your gas tank close to full, for a couple of reasons. In the summer, you can take a chance and run down to fumes. In the winter, if you do get stuck or stranded, the engine will be your only source of heat. And you don't have to worry about conserving fuel and saving the planet right at that moment...you want to stay warm. (And make sure you keep a window open a crack if you're sitting there with the engine running. We can't afford to lose any listeners or visitors to this Web site from carbon monoxide asphyxiation.) The other reason for a full tank is that warm daytime temperatures will fill the empty space in the tank with moisture, which will condense during the cold night. This water will sink to the bottom and, sooner or later, rust out your tank. 7.Make sure your windshield washer reservoir is full. On a snowy or messy day, you can easily go through half a gallon of fluid trying to keep your windshield clear. For that reason, it's also a good idea to keep some extra fluid in the trunk in case you run out. And make sure you get the good stuff--stay away from the half-frozen blue stuff outside your local gas station! Even though it may say "Good to Minus 30!" some of these cheap blue fluids freeze around zero degrees. If you live in a very cold area, you also may need to supplement your windshield washer fluid with some concentrate. 8.A lot of folks ask us about carrying sand in the back of the car. If you have a rear-wheel-drive vehicle that needs help in the snow, you can put a few bags of sand over the rear axle--that would be somewhere in the trunk. It won't do as much good at the very back of the trunk as it will right over the axle, so line it up with the center of the rear wheels. In fact, you can make things worse by putting too much weight too far back. In essence, by weighing down the rear end too much, you "lift up" the front end and lose some steering and braking ability. On a front-wheel-drive car, don't bother with sandbags. An enormous weight (the engine, that is) is already over the wheels that are powered. 9.If you live in western Siberia, Saskatchewan or some place like that, think about adding a block heater to your engine. That's a small electric engine heater that plugs in at night. And for less than a hundred dollars you can be virtually guaranteed that your car will start, even on the coldest of mornings. A side benefit of this is that you'll have instant heat in the morning. Actually, this might be the main benefit as far as your tush is concerned. 10.Make sure your rear window defroster works. 11.Know your car. Every car has different handling characteristics. You should know what your car can and cannot do in the snow. You should know if it has antilock brakes and traction control, how they work and how they help. In fact, you should practice using these features in an empty parking lot before you have to use them on the roads. See your owner's manual for details. 12.If you really have to drive in the snow--that is, if you can't call in sick or tell the boss you'll be in later--and if you live in an area where it snows a fair amount, you should get four--count 'em, four--good snow tires. Nothing will make a bigger difference than four good snow tires. Because it's such a pain to get your snow tires remounted and balanced every year, splurge and get yourself four steel rims while you're at it and mount the snows permanently on those rims. That'll make the changeover in the fall and spring a snap. By the way, lots of tire shops will offer to store your regular tires over the winter and then store your snow tires in the summer. This is a great deal. The only potential problem is that when they file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, they'll have four of your tires in the basement. One question commonly asked is, "If I have a front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive car, do I need to have snow tires?" The answer is yes. If you really, truly need to get around in the snow, four snow tires are the single best thing you can do. And the reason you'd still want them on a car with decent traction is because they not only help get you started, they also increase your traction when you're braking and turning. 13.Make sure you have some basic supplies in your car in case you do get stuck. Invest in a substantial snow brush and an ice scraper (using your jacket sleeve and credit card isn't all it's cracked up to be). It's good to have a shovel, a bag of sand or kitty litter (unused) to help with traction, and the aforementioned extra windshield washer fluid. A blanket is a good idea--just in case. If you have any winter clothes you don't wear anymore, especially an old pair of boots, throw them in the trunk, too. There are two other things I like to keep in the trunk. One is a bag of Doritos. Why keep Doritos in the trunk? Well, if we keep them in the glove compartment, my friends will eat 'em. Plus, getting stranded in snow always makes me hungry. (By the way, did that Frito-Lay advertising contract come through yet?) The other item we carry is Robert A. Caro's biography of Lyndon Johnson. It's 900 pages, so it's sure to keep us occupied until help arrives, and beyond. 14.Winter driving emergencies are among the few legitimate uses for a cellular phone. So, if you're cellularly inclined, and you promise not to use it to chat while you smash into other innocent people, a cell phone is certainly a plus if you get stuck. 15.If you're in an area that permits or requires tire chains, they should obviously be in the trunk, too. And be sure you've practiced putting them on before you need them. Trust me--applying tire chains is much harder when you're knee-deep in slush in the dark and other cars are whizzing by you. If chains are too much, you may want to throw one of those ladderlike devices in your trunk. They unfold to provide a steel surface for the tire to grip if you're stuck in snow or ice. These are for sale under several different trade names, one of which is Tiger Paws. 16.You can't see through snow, so make this "preflight check" before every winter car trip: Once snow or ice does arrive, take some extra time to make sure your car is clean and your visibility is good. Clear off the entire car, not just a little peephole in the windshield. First of all, you need just as much, if not more, visibility in poor conditions, because you have to keep your eye peeled for every other knucklehead on the road. Make sure every glass surface is clear and transparent by using a snow brush and/or ice scraper. Your sideview mirrors and all lights should be brushed and cleared as well. Now, if you haven't been smart enough to do so already, clean the snow off the rest of the car. Why? Because the rest of the snow will either A) slide off the roof and cover your windshield as you're slowing down; or B) fly off onto someone else's windshield and cause him or her to smash into you. 17.When driving in the snow, do everything slowly. Even with good coolant, snow tires, traction control, all-wheel drive and the bag of Doritos in the trunk, keep in mind that driving in snow, sleet and ice is very treacherous. And even if you maintain control of your car, not everyone else will. So, don't ever get lulled into a false sense of security. Do everything slowly and gently. Remember, in the snow, the tires are always just barely grabbing the road. Accelerate slowly and gently, turn slowly and gently and brake slowly and gently. To do this, you have to anticipate turns and stops. That means, what? Going slowly and leaving plenty of distance between you and other cars. Rapid movements lead to skids and loss of control. Drive as if there were eggs on the bottom of your feet--step on the gas and the brake pedals so gently that you don't break the eggshell. If you're nervous about driving in winter, consider spending some time practicing. Go to an empty parking lot and try sending the car into a little skid on purpose. Slam on the brakes, then practice turning into the skid and see what happens--and practice until you're comfortable regaining control of the car. Doing this in a large, empty parking lot allows you the luxury of skidding without ending up flat on your back, looking up into the eyes of seven different EMTs. The more comfortable you are maintaining control and regaining control, the better a winter driver you'll be.
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