Ferox International Blog

Since the Fall season is about to come to a close and the Winter season is fast approaching, it’s time to start thinking about winter driving.  Many drivers dread the winter months.  Nobody likes standing in the freezing cold, scraping inches of snow off of their cars.  However, there is much more to winter driving.  Here are some helpful tips to prep your car for winter driving.

1.  Check your antifreeze.  Antifreeze is your best friend during the winter.  It keeps your engine from completely freezing over.  Check to see if you have enough antifreeze available.  Do this while the engine is cold.  Usually, a 50/50 ratio (50 percent distilled water and 50 percent antifreeze) is strong enough for most climates.

2.  Check the charge.  Take your car to Advanced Auto Parts and have the charging system checked.  Most times, this service is free.  Make sure that your battery has enough life left to keep working when the weather starts getting really cold.

3.  Oil and Oil Filter.  Your engine performs much better with clean oil and a clean, unclogged oil filer.  Before winter really hits us, make sure you change your oil filter and the oil.  Clean oil will also help protect your motor from really cold temperatures.

4.  Lights.  Check every light in your car: both tail lights, the third level brake lights, headlights, driving lights, marker bulbs, etc.  Visibility during the winter is drastically compromised.  Make sure that other cars can see you by keeping your lights in good shape.

5.  Visibility.  Let’s keep talking about visibility.  Your headlights may be the only thing that saves you from an oncoming car in a blinding blizzard.  Similarly, you need to make sure that your visibility is not in jeapordy.  Check your wiper blades.  If they need to be replaced, do it.  Try using a window washing fluid that has de-icer as well.  You can also use Rain-X on all of your windows to prevent as much build up of ice on your windows at night and in the morning.

6.  Tire Tread.  Tires need more traction than ever during the winter.  You will be much safer on snow and ice if your tires have good tread.  Also check your tire pressure often.

7.  Belts and Hoses.  Make sure that your engine’s belts and hoses are in good shape.  You won’t get very far in cold weather with frayed, cracked or worn out rubber belts and hoses.

8.  Cabin Air Filter.  You may not know what this is, but you need to check it anyway.  Your cay may not have a Cabin Air filter, but if it does, you need to replace it before the winter hits.  This filter helps keep contaminants out of your car.  During the Summer, the filter traps pollutants in the air.  If you run the heater on high without replacing the cabin air filter first, these particles will go flying all around your car.

9.  Paint.  Winter is not very kind to your car’s paint.  Snow, rain, and especialy salt make the life of your paint much shorter.  Put some high-quality wax on your car to add another layer of protection to your car.

10.  Emergency kit.  Make sure that your car has an emergency kit ready to go.  In the kit you need to have: a flashlight, batteries, a blanket, food (protein bars), water bottles, a cell phone, flares, Fix-a-flat, a HELP sign, a first aid kit and jumper cables.  You never when you may need one or all of these items.

Follow these tips if you want to be prepared for winter driving this year.