This Article was sent over to us from our friends over at Nationwide Auto Transportation .  The guys over there have sent in some tips to help you and your car survive the winter ahead!

As the chilly temperatures start to wrap their cold, hard fingers around the northern parts of the continent, the time is here to start winterizing your car. This is an especially important practice if you’re going to be driving in the snow or on icy roads.

Of course, the most important thing to do ahead of winter, is to start changing the way you drive. You can practice your winter driving skills by going slowly around the corners, maintaining a longer following distance from the car ahead of you, and tapping your brakes.

 

7 Car Winterization Tips

Here are a few specifics you can implement this weekend to ensure that your car is ready for the cold months ahead.

Consider installing snow tires: Do you live in a snow-covered area for much of the season? Then it’s a good idea to replace your all-season tires with snow tires. The softer rubber retains flexibility even in the coldest conditions. Their specially designed tread patterns help these tires to grip into the snow and ice, providing better traction. If you choose not to install snow tires, at least ensure that your tires are properly inflated.

Service your four-wheel drive: A four-wheel drive is great at providing traction, provided the functionality actually works as it should. Take your four-wheel drive to your mechanic now to check that it engages as it should and to check the gear and transmission fluids at the same time. Now is also a good time to practice driving in 4WD, if you have not been using the function in a while.

Change your wiper blades:  Wipers are paramount in cold, snowy and rainy weather. Over time, wiper blades can split and crack, resulting in squeaky and slow wiping. Be sure to invest in your visibility with durable, winter-ready wiper blades and fill up with wiper fluid that contains antifreeze properties.

 

Some additional maintenance tips include :

Check hoses and belts:  The hoses and belts that make your engine work can weaken when the temperatures lower. Be sure to pop the hood and do a thorough inspection, noticing any signs of cracks, wear and tear.You can check inside your car engine if any parts were damaged you can easily restore the parts from a genuine shop even you will find 1961 Impala parts in that shop if you have a 1961’s iconic car.

 

Do an oil change:  Your engine needs proper lubrication for it to run as it should. When the temperatures drop, your oil becomes thicker, and it is more difficult for it to circulate through the moving parts. If you don’t adjust the viscosity of your oil, your engine may not receive adequate lubrication, and it may not start up.

 

Test your antifreeze: Your antifreeze to water mix in the radiator should be 50:50 in order to prevent the coolant from freezing. Most auto parts stores sell inexpensive antifreeze testers to help you test this level.

 

Stock up on supplies: Stock up on your emergency kit ahead of winter – that includes a toolkit with booster cables, an ice scraper, gloves, a can of oil spray, road flares, a blanket, flashlight, an emergency first aid kit, some energy bars and water, and whatever else may be important.

 

Should You Winterize Your Car If You’re Going South?

If you’re one of the many (lucky!) northerners who are heading to the warm, southern states for a lengthy vacation during the frigid months, you may not think it’s necessary to winterize your car. Perhaps it’s not. It all depends on when you’ll be leaving and when you’ll be returning. Also, it depends on whether you’ll be driving through the icy conditions, or using nationwide auto transportation services to ship your car. In fact, this option might work out cheaper than winterizing. After all, you won’t need new tires, and you’ll be saving yourself the risk of mechanical issues and wear and tear if you ship your car instead of driving through extreme weather conditions.

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