BQ: Even James Bond winterizes his car
Myles Peterman
With winter fast approaching, it would be smart to start thinking about the things you should be preparing for the colder weather!
You can save yourself valuable time and money by getting these things ready for winter in advanced of the cold.
Here are a few tips for things you should make sure you’re doing to prepare your car for the winter months!
Get your winter tires on early
If you don’t have winter tires, get them now! Soon people all over the place will realize that they need winter tires and every tire shop will either be sold out or not be able to fit you in to put them on. I would preach getting snow tires all day if I could because I don’t like being ditched or dying.
Make sure you have good wiper blades
It won’t be fun when you can’t wipe the dirt and snow off of your windshield without pulling over. While you’re at it, make sure your window defroster is working well because that is an even bigger problem if it’s not!
Change you window washer fluid
Make sure your window washer fluid is not the kind that will freeze on your windshield. For example, water will not work this time of year.
Make sure your tires are full and happy
The drop in temperature will usually cause your tires to lose some pressure automatically. Make sure you have an air gauge and you keep your tires properly inflated all winter long!
Prepare an emergency kit for your car
Just throw all of these things in your trunk, unless you’re in the mob and need the trunk room for body space. Here are some things you should have on hand:
- a blanket
- extra boots and gloves
- an extra set of warm clothes
- extra water and food, including hard candies
- an ice scraper
- a small shovel
- a flashlight
- windshield washer fluid
- windshield wipers
- flares
- jumper cables
- a tool kit
- tire chains
- a tire gauge
- a spare tire with air in it
- tire-changing equipment
- a first-aid kit
- paper towels
- a bag of abrasive material such as sand, salt or non-clumping kitty litter, which can provide additional traction if a tire gets stuck in snow.
- Also, keep the gas tank as full as you can to prevent the gas lines from freezing.
Make sure your battery is going, and going, and going, and going…
If you can avoid needing a jump-start by flagging down a stranger in a blizzard, you should. Get your battery tested or invest in a new one! You’ll thank me later.
Bonus tip: Warming up your car is SO nice in the winter, but sometimes the convenience convinces you to dress down. Don’t. If for some reason your engine won’t start, and all you’re wearing is a summer jacket, you will not be happy. Make sure you bundle up, and you won’t have to make your car warm up for as long!
Now for the Big Question:
Myles 'We get it winter, you're cold. We get it.' Peterman
