As the days get shorter and colder it’s a good time to get your vehicle ready for the winter. Here are some simple tips and tricks to help you car survive the cold winter months.
1. Check your Battery
As cold weather comes your battery will be the first thing to leave you stranded at work or unable to leave home. While some might suggest that you can test a battery with a simple voltage meter, you really need a tester to give you a good idea how strong your battery is. A battery load tester will actually put a load on your battery and give you a gauge of the life of your battery. With that said, some simple things like loose and corroded battery terminals add resistance that reduces the amount of power your car’s starter receives from your battery. An old trick that we’ve used for years in order to help prevent corrosion on battery terminals is spraying some white lithium grease on the terminals. AMSOIL sprayable white lithium grease is perfect for this application.
2. Change your Oil
While oil doesn’t freeze, it does thicken as the temperature drops. As demonstrated in the video below, we can see the difference between AMSOIL synthetic oil vs conventional oil. In the same time it takes the entire AMSOIL container to flow out, the conventional oil has barely moved. Not only does AMSOIL’s cold flow ability help ensure oil is able to flow throughout your engine, thus keeping it lubricated; it also makes it easier on your battery and starter to start your car.
3. Test and/or Change your Antifreeze
While your car’s antifreeze acts as a coolant during the summer, it earns its name during the winter. Ensuring your antifreeze is still able to protect your car at low temperatures as you expect it to is something many people take for granted. While the basic antifreeze hydrometer (picture below) has been around for years, today’s modern cars utilize ethylene glycol and propylene glycol antifreeze that can only be tested with test strips. We do offer test strips that will not only test the freezing and boiling protection of all antifreeze types, but also tests the pH of your antifreeze as well. Monitoring your antifreeze’s pH is a great way to ensure your motor/coolant system isn’t eating itself away from the inside out. In addition to the test strips mentioned above, AMSOIL also sells Antifreeze products that come in concentrated and pre-mixed formulas as well as a coolant booster. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions about which products are right for your car.
4. Check your Tires
Your tires are the bond between your car and the road. As a result, we all want that bond to be as good as possible. Taking some time to ensure your tires are at the proper pressure and full of tread will go a long way in keeping the bond between your car and the road a close one. To do this, I recommend using a tire tread depth tester like the one pictured below. Something else to consider if you are routinely driving in snow and slush is getting snow tires.
5. Wash and Wax
Salt and other road treatments can be harmful to your car’s finish. Giving your car one last wash and wax before it has to live in a salt coated world for months is one of the best gifts you can give your car’s paint. Giving your vehicle a regular bath through a car wash or with AMSOIL Waterless Wash will keep the salt off your paint. An extra bonus to using AMSOIL Waterless Wash is that it helps your wax last longer as it is also a spray wax. Something to keep in mind when using a waterless was is that you should only use microfiber towels. I’ve found the best bang for my buck with The Rag Company through Amazon.
Bonus Tip! Lubricate Locks and Doors: Keeping your door hinges and locks lubricated can help keep your doors from being frozen shut. AMSOIL Metal Protector is a great metal lubricator for hinges and locks. Keeping your door locks lubricated can go a long way in keeping them moving on those cold winter mornings. Also, if you’ve ever had a door freeze shut to your car’s door seal, try AMSOIL Silicone Spray. Spraying AMSOIL Silicone Spray on the rubber door seal will not only help keep it from drying out and cracking, but locks out moisture and, as a result, helps protect doors from freezing.
One Comment
Comments are closed.