Preparing your car for winter (Renault Symbol 1)

All the tips and recommendations below do not necessarily have to be done by yourself. If you do not want to mess around, there are service stations and professional mechanics. But you should imagine what exactly needs to be done with the car, clearly explain it to the mechanic, and sometimes make sure that everything is done properly.

Tires

You can't walk on snow and ice in sandals - your car needs to be changed for winter too. Much has been written about winter tires, so we'll just briefly recall the main points.

Tires with the following markings are intended for winter use: "M+S" ("Mud+ Snow" means dirt+snow), "W" ("Winter", or winter). These inscriptions are sometimes accompanied by pictograms in the form of a snowflake or cloud.

It is better to choose tires that are somewhat narrower than those you use in the summer – naturally, within the acceptable size range for your car. The tread should be able to push through the snow and mud slush to the hard surface; narrow tires cope with this task better.

In winter, it is not advisable to use all-season tires - those marked with indexes "AS" ("All Seasons" - all seasons) or "AW" ("Any Weather" - any weather).

their "winter" capabilities are weak; they can be considered all-season in the full sense of the word only if we are talking about Europe with little snow, and not about Russia.



Studded tires hold on ice and snow better than non-studded tires. But on clean asphalt, when braking with studs, the probability of wheel locking, skidding, and braking distance increases: steel studs slide well on asphalt. The danger is also that drivers blindly believe in studs and, when braking on asphalt, expect them to have the same dead grip as on ice. By the way, new generations of non-studded winter tires behave no worse on slippery surfaces than studded ones.

Some drivers in winter put studded tires only on the drive wheels. And on the driven wheels they leave... summer tires. Don't do this, it's dangerous. On a slippery road, the probability of a non-studded pair of wheels slipping is very high even in relatively harmless situations - the coefficients of adhesion and resistance to lateral slip are too different.

Engine

The main problem in winter is starting a cold engine. It most often occurs with carburetor engines, but in severe frost it can also be encountered by the owner of a car with an engine equipped with an injection system. The reasons are known - thickened oil, a drop in battery capacity and poor evaporation of gasoline. We will consider oils and batteries separately, but for now a few words about the experience of countries with cold climates, where pre-start electric heaters are widely used, a kind of "boilers" in the engine cooling system. You drive up to your home or office, plug the plug into the socket, turn on the timer... By the right time, the engine will be warmed up, and some heater designs also provide heating of the interior.



Electric heating devices have been presented on the Russian market for several years now. The most popular are Finnish heaters, which can be equipped with timers.

The main disadvantage of electric heating is that you need a special panel with a socket at home or office. The solution is an autonomous heater on liquid fuel, which is also built into the engine cooling system and works on the principle of a hot water boiler. Its fuel is gasoline or diesel fuel, depending on what your car engine runs on.

Another benefit of heating systems is that their use increases the engine life. Each cold engine start at -20°C is equivalent to a run of 800 km. By the way, according to modern views, the engine will reach operating temperature faster, and its wear will be less, if after starting you do not stand still, but start moving as quickly as possible, avoiding, of course, excessive load on the engine.

Oil

Oil change is usually done depending on the car's mileage, not the season. The vast majority of modern motor oils are all-season to one degree or another. It is believed that you need to fill in what the manufacturer prescribes in the car's operating instructions. But winters are different - both warm slushy and frosty. And it is completely unclear whether the manufacturer assumed that his car would be used in Russian winter conditions and that it would need "colder" oil.

If you decide to deviate from the instructions, when choosing oil, you can use a simple method of determining its temperature suitability - for insurance. Let's call this method "rule 35".



The motor oil marking must include the designation of its viscosity class according to the SAE scale. For example: 15W-40. This means that this oil meets the requirements for winter oils of class 15W in terms of viscosity at "minus" temperatures, and for summer oils of class 40 at "plus" temperatures.

Remember the number "35". If you subtract the "winter" viscosity class index from it (in our example it is "15"), you will get a value called the maximum pumping temperature, i.e. the temperature at which the oil still retains fluidity: 35–15=20. This means that 15W-40 oil can be used at temperatures down to –20°C.

Accordingly, the lower the "winter" viscosity class index, the "colder" the oil: 10W - up to -25°C; 5W – up to –30°C.

This is the "rule of 35" - simple and useful.

Battery

The frost hit, and the battery, which just yesterday was cheerfully turning the starter, flatly refuses to do so. No wonder: when was the last time you charged it?

If the battery is relatively "young" (up to 3-4 years), then before winter it is enough to wash it from the outside, clean the terminals and fully charge it (if the car was constantly used in the city, the battery charge is probably far from the nominal). If the battery is old and does not charge to its nominal capacity, change it without hesitation, otherwise it will let you down in winter - the capacity already drops significantly with decreasing temperature, and then there is also increased energy consumption: heater, heated seats, lights, windshield wipers, rear window defroster...



According to experts, the average lifespan of a battery is about 12 months, after which it gradually begins to "wither". And the peak sales of starter batteries, according to sellers, falls precisely in the fall.

The times when a car owner would run off his feet in search of a new battery are long gone: the variety of brands and models on store shelves is mind-boggling. Which one to choose is a personal matter. Let us just note that there are two price groups on the market now: batteries costing over $60 (usually up to $100), such as Bosch, Steco, American, Fiamm, and batteries priced below $60 (Mutlu, Inci, Centra, SAEM and etc.).

Higher prices for batteries of the first group are determined by their more advanced production technology. These batteries, as a rule, are categorized as maintenance-free. Special types of electrolytes and hermetically sealed design of such batteries increase their service life and provide high starting currents, which guarantee cranking of the engine crankshaft even in severe frosts. Leading manufacturers now use the technology of plate packaging, as a result of which it is possible to avoid short circuit of the battery in case of their destruction.

Cheaper batteries require periodic maintenance - checking the density of the electrolyte and measuring its level.

Often, when buying a new battery, people try to choose a larger capacity, just so that the battery fits into the space allocated for it. But capacity is not the main thing. What is much more important is the starting current that the battery provides. After all, even a high-capacity battery has this indicator (due to high self-resistance) may be lower than that of a smaller capacity battery. In addition, a large capacity battery requires a higher charging current, which your car's alternator will not provide, and the battery will discharge more and more during operation, which will have a deplorable effect on its service life.



When buying a battery that is different from the standard one, pay attention to the location of its terminals: there are batteries with "reverse polarity", the terminals of which your car's wires may not reach.

Ignition system

Before winter comes, don't forget about high-voltage wires. After a couple of years of driving on our "salty" roads, it is advisable to replace them, preferably with wires with a silicone sheath, which are less sensitive to temperature changes. In addition, frost does not form on them, which is often the reason for the lack of spark. A banal cause of problems in the ignition system can be corrosion or poor tightening of the battery terminals.

Separately - about spark plugs. Usually they are changed every 15-20 thousand km, i.e. once every year and a half (some ultra-modern spark plugs can last 100,000 km or more). Save on candles (anneal, clean and adjust gaps) not worth it. Replace the spark plugs at least once a year - it's inexpensive. Install new spark plugs before winter.

Power supply system

Often the fuel system is the cause of unsatisfactory engine operation in winter. And all because of the water condensate accumulated in the fuel tank. If the tank has a drain plug, the water can simply be drained; if not, then "neutralize" by using so-called moisture displacers. Almost all leading manufacturers of auto chemicals (STP, Loctite, Wynns, Aspokem) offer similar preparations: poured into the fuel tank, they gradually clean the fuel system.

It would not be a bad idea to install a new fine fuel filter and make sure the injectors are clean.

Body

Winter is not the best season for a car, especially when driving on streets generously sprinkled with salt. It is during this period that the body is most exposed to corrosion, so its anti-corrosion treatment is highly desirable. However, according to the employees of some authorized service stations, for a number of new foreign cars, especially with a galvanized body, factory treatment is quite sufficient.

Anti-corrosion treatment requires strict adherence to technology, and although almost all manufacturers of protective materials produce them in packaging for household use, it is still preferable to carry out the treatment in a specialized service center. It is worth finding out in advance what technology it is carried out by. In any case, before applying a protective coating to the bottom and arches, the car must be cleaned of dirt, washed and thoroughly dried.

Winter is not an easy test for the paintwork of the car body. Sharp temperature changes, snow mixed with salt, ice crust - all this leads to the appearance of microcracks in the paint. The surface of the body can be protected with special compounds suitable for use at low temperatures, such as Plus Teflon or Color Magic. Treatment with these preparations is carried out approximately once a month after the obligatory car wash and drying.

The question of where to keep a car in winter is usually not really an issue: those who have a garage, keep it in the garage, those who don't, keep it outside. Oddly enough, from the point of view of preserving the body (from corrosion, not from theft) between trips and overnight, it is better to leave the car outside - when the body is cold, the corrosion process is slower. In a cold garage, the heat emitted by the car is enough to warm it up a little, and the melted snow with salt actively does its dirty work for some time. But in a warm garage, even if you thoroughly washed the car from the salt underneath, it will stand wet all night...

Glasses

Visibility is not only comfort, but also safety. Therefore, it is hardly worth reminding that windshield wipers, blowers and glass heating must be in good working order. Throw away brushes that leave matte stripes on the glass. And when buying new ones, try to choose branded ones - Bosch, ITE, Champion, etc.

Residents of northern regions can try heated brushes that are connected to the vehicle's electrical system; they appeared on sale not so long ago.

Now about the glass itself. It is better to entrust their inspection to a specialist, but personal control will not hurt either. Even a small chip on the windshield in the first frost after the autumn rain will turn into a full-fledged crack. Existing repair technologies allow you to eliminate such a defect without removing the glass. This is easier and cheaper than replacing the glass.

Another "winter" problem is fogging of the glass. If the ventilation system is working properly, it occurs rarely, but... The use of anti-fog liquids helps, for example Anti-Fog or Never Fog, which are enough to apply to the glass once a week.

Operating materials

All consumables, including antifreeze and hydraulic fluids in brake and clutch drives, have their service life. If there is even the slightest doubt, do not take a portion of brown or green antifreeze from the radiator and put it in the freezer for testing. Replace the antifreeze. And do not save money by buying dubious products without labels and certificates - it will cost more.

You should be no less careful when choosing antifreeze liquids for windshield washers. In rural areas at -20°C there is dry and clean snow under the wheels. And in Moscow, even in severe frost, there is dirty, greasy liquid, which the brushes willingly smear over the glass, turning it into an opaque whitish film. Therefore, a supply of liquid in the windshield washer reservoir is a prerequisite for safe driving. But when buying a liquid with a freezing point of -20°C, do not delude yourself and do not dilute it, even if it is -10°C outside. Practice shows that when driving, liquids with a freezing point of -40°C freeze on the windshield even in ten-degree frost, if the glass is not heated (on the issue of the serviceability of the ventilation and heating system).

Windshield washer fluids that do not freeze usually contain additives that effectively remove dirt and clean the glass. Some of them, however, foam excessively, but they are much better than the cheap vodka that some people prefer to pour into the reservoir.