How To Treat Your Car In the Cold
[ January 10th, 2009 ] By: Charles Smith Posted in » Tips and Tricks
Internal combustion engines are not cold (funny, since the acronym is ICE) and when cold they do not work very well. Oil is thicker and more viscous and that puts more strain on the engine. So while this is normal in every day operation (unless you’re a truck driver and never shuts the engine off), this is when the engine is most vulnerable so there are some things you can do to help.
Drive like a grandma - Full throttle isn’t a great idea for a few a reaons. First it should be avoided until the car’s oil and water is up to normal operating temperatures (it will get there) as wear is increased. Second, the colder the weather the worse the traction. Rubber gets brittle(r) and grips thing worse, not to mention ice and snow. That means stopping distances are increased and turns cannot be taken as fast. Bonus for driving like a grandma: better gas mileage. Because of my shenanigans in the snow my gas mileage for that week was about 13mpg (well below my 30mpg highway and 22 or so city).
Expect the worst - in traction at least. Just the other day I was turning left from a stop and WEEEEEEEEEEE, the car suddenly loses the back end. Ice was in the middle of an intersection. Sometimes you cannot see ice/sand/marbles/oil slicks from james bond/etc… so expect the worst for traction.
Remove Ice and Snow buildup - I cringe everytime i see people with huge sheets of snow on the roof of their car driving around. Not only have I been hit by chunks of snowice when driving behind someone (they suddenly go air born at 40-50mph), but if they slam on their brakes what is to stop all that from coming right down onto their windshield. My rule of thumb is just that, more than a thumb width on the top and I remove it. Brooms are really useful for the removal process, especially on a miniva… *ahem* tow vehicle.
So driving like a grandmother really does sum it up. Be nicer to your car while it warms up, it’ll repay you with many many more miles of like-new driving. Also be careful out there, statistically speaking if you’re between age 15 and 24 cars and other motor vehicles are the biggest risk of death.
Side note: if you’re between 25-44 AIDS, cancer and heart disease beat out car accidents (1996).
Side note2: watch out for your ‘friends’ and window strength.
