Now is the time to get your vehicle in shape for winter
Playing in the snow is only fun when it's voluntary.
If it's because you are stuck on the side of the road in the middle of a snow storm because your car broke down, it's anything but fun.
With old man winter around the corner, there are some basic, yet necessary, steps you can take to ensure your vehicle can perform its best even in the harshest of winter conditions.
“A lot of what we see is normal wear and tear work,” Ralph Lukas of Butler Tires For Less said. “For winter you want to check the battery, alternator, starter.“The colder it gets, the more the starter has to work, the more the starter works, the more the battery takes a toll.”A vehicles battery capacity lessons in colder weather. When looking at the cables of the battery, corrosion is something that should always be kept in check.“Corrosion is a problem with any battery,” Lukas said. “During an oil change, people just need to service the battery properly.”For those who are not afraid to get their hands dirty, there is a way to keep your battery corrosion at bay before it's too late and professional help is needed.“Hot boiling water,” Lukas said. “Put a little on the terminals and buy some terminal protective cleaner and apply it and that will make a world of difference.”Oil changes are a given for year-round maintenance, but during the cold months oil can sometimes have a hard time flowing to keep your engine running smoothly.“Full synthetic oil is much thinner and flows better than conventional oil,” Lukas said. “A lot of people use the same oil all year round, but it's a very light weight oil in most of the newer cars today.”Icy roads and slick conditions can decrease your tire's ability to grip the road, thus wasting energy and fuel.
All-season or summer tires are designed to withstand the heat generated by the road. During the winter, these tires are unable to provide ideal traction, making safety an issue.A set of winter tires is something highly recommended by Lukas, but it would depend on how you use your vehicle in the winter and how your particular vehicle uses its tire to function.“It depends a little on the vehicle itself,” Lukas said. “If its front wheel drive, I recommend winter tires for the front and if it's all wheel drive, I'd put four on there.”Proper tire pressure needs to be kept in check, especially during the winter to maintain ideal traction.“Good practices would be keeping your battery in tune and making sure your tires have good air pressure in them,” Lukas said. “If they start getting too low, then they get dry rot. Make sure to rotate the tires about every five to seven thousand miles.”Perhaps, the most common practice people do is start their car and let it run idle in the winter months to let the car warm up.Conventional wisdom says that is true, but according to Lukas, there is more than meets the eye with this practice.“I don't totally recommend starting them and leaving them idle,” Lukas said. “You waste more of your wear and tear with an internal combustion engine is when they hold.
“Sometimes you're better off just getting in, starting it, let it sit for just a minute and drive. It will warm more by driving it than just letting it idle.”Butler Tires For Less mostly focuses on oil changes, tires and brakes. Professional help is always the safe bet, and Lukas said he and his colleagues will always be able to point their customers in the right direction.“When we do an oil change, we look the car over,” Lukas said. “We do it thoroughly and there is no higher price for that service.”There is no doubt vehicles have to work harder in the winter months. Fixing something before it's too late when it comes to your vehicle can be the difference between getting to work on time, or being able to get out and buy groceries for the family.“Its all depends on how the stuff has been maintained,” Lukas said. “I would recommend getting a service before the winter months. Getting the belts checked and hoses checked.“The cold weather brings out the worst in everything. That's free of charge with an oil change. We'll look your belt over and we'll recommend where to go from there.”
