3. Heating your car
An investment of an hour or two to have your vehicle checked is all it takes to have peace of mind and help avoid the cost and hassle of a breakdown during severe weather.
You don't want to be stuck with an unprepared car ! Check out our tips, some are pretty straightforward and some pretty outrageous, but they WORK !
Make sure heaters and defroster works properly. If your car heats up slowly in Winter or it's not heating at all, don't worry there is a simple and cost effective tip.
There is this new technique we've learned from our Canadian and Russian friends. Apparently /as shown on the picture/ you cut a cardboard box and put it in front of your radiator. Less cold air that goes into the radiator equals more heat.
Plus sides, your heater will work properly and you will be able to focus on the road instead of trying to warm yourself. Your fuel consumption will fall, engines burn more when cold. When you stop the car the engine will stay warm for longer and the start up will be easy.
Potential hazards, what you're doing is you are restricting your car cooling system from cold air, so be careful to check that temp gauge from time to time or you might overheat !
4.Body protection
Winter times are harsh on the car's body work and panels. The cold weather can make the moist between the panels in your car to freeze causing your doors to stick. When you apply force to pull the doors the rubber seals can easily break apart. Same goes for the window wipers.
How can you go around this problem ? Oil it. Oil and silicone have a much lower freezing temperatures. Spray your car all over with a silicone based product, every rubber component must be oiled well! Don't use engine oil as it will eat through the rubber.
If you live in an area where chemicals and salt are used to get rid of the snow on the streets it is important that you wash your car after every trip. The chemicals and the salts are very corrosive and can damage your undercarriage!
5. Start and go
Diesel owners that's for you. Diesel freeze easier than petrol and it can damage your engine. What the cold folks do is this, to every 10 liters of Diesel they put 250 ml of petrol and mix it. This will ensure a proper start every time until it gets so cold that petrol freezes too.
Do this if live in are where temperatures fall bellow -25 C.
The best engineering devices come from laziness - the remote control, the car etc. Russian engineering in the house yo !
It might look funny but this cardboard technology will save you lots of time in the morning ! Cardboard on the windshield, bags on the mirrors and wipers, damn space age technology ! It seems like a joke but it really works and saves time.
( 2/3 )
Source: @topcarrating; @cheatsheet
