There are few things you want to do with your car when preparing for driving in winter and adverse weather conditions. These should include with regard to your car's engine, precautionary measures and safety :Battery condition and battery water level
- Tire(s) condition and pressure
- Engine oil level and cleanliness
- Wiper blade arms, motors and rubber fitting
- Headlight, tail-light & emergency flashers functionality
Make sure the above mentioned aspects of your car in perfect condition as a step to preparing for winter driving. If you are travelling to snowy areas by road, or are communicating on snowy/slick roads it may also be advisable to make sure you have:
- A First Aid Kit
- Snow Chains/Cables
- A spare full-size tire
- A bag of kitty litter or salt to provide extra traction if you get stuck in snow/ice
- Gloves, jackets & snow caps in the trunk
It May be Also Advisable and Smart to Have
- A gallon or two of fuel in the trunk (securely packed)
- New winter tires installed (Pirelli, Michelin, Dunlop, etc)
- Your car tuned professionally by your mechanic or local dealer
- Some nutrition bars, water and hard candy in the trunk in case you get stranded somewhere for hours
- A spare battery (unless your car already has one by default)
- A fully charged cell-phone and a compatible car-charger in the dash
- A fully functioning heater
- An umbrella in the trunk or cabin room
- A battery or hand-powered radio
- Baby supplies if travelling with a baby
- A map of the area you are in or are visiting in case you get lost or need an alternate route
Tips in General
Whenever you have to drive in snowy or adverse weather conditions, be prepared. In any case you should always maintain your car and have it tuned and serviced regularly. However, just before the winter season it may be very wise to have the entire vehicle professionally examined and worked on as in winter things tend to be less endurant. Fluids such as engine oil, power steering fluid and engine coolant/anti-freeze solution must be checked and made into optimum working order so that you can benefit in extreme situations.
Also, check your tires for tread wear and condition in general. If the tires you have are performance tires and you know the winter weather in your local area is not dry, it may be very smart to replace the current ulra-performance tires with some nice-branded rain and snow tires from great companies like Michelin and Pirelli. If you want, you can keep the performance tires too and put them back on once the sun starts shining again.
Make sure your lights are in full working order and are providing optimum visibility both from your visibility point of view and other drivers on the road. Turn on your low-beam lights and emergency flashers at home and survey the car from the exterior. Make sure all the lights which are parking lights, low-beam lights, fog-lights (optional), front, side and rear indicators, rear tail-lights and rear number plate lights are all in perfect working conditions so when you really need them, they are there. Also check the battery and its level of water inside. Keep in mind that a typical battery expires within 20 000 miles and some high end ones last up to 30 000 miles without any problem.
Keep the above mentioned aspects of your car in well-working condition and hopefully you'll have no problems driving this winter!
