The icy weather is coming, check out these tips to get your car ready!
VISIBILITY
- Clean your glass: Make sure you can see clearly out your windows, use a clay bar system like Meguiar’s® Smooth Surface® Clay Kit. You should also always have a good automotive glass cleaner and high-quality microfiber towel on hand to ensure continued clarity and visibility before you hit the road.
- Prepare for ice buildup: Ensure you have deicer if you know you’ll be driving in icy or snowy conditions. Fill your washer fluid reservoir with a deicer, like Prestone® De-Icer™ windshield washer fluid. It removes light ice/frost and protects windshields from deep freezes down to -27⁰F/-32⁰C.
- Check your headlights: Your headlights will guide you in low visibility conditions like sleet or snow. Make sure they aren’t cloudy to allow the lights to reach their optimum distance. Meguiar’s® Two Step Headlight Restoration Kit is a great solution for cleaning your plastic headlights and keeping them crystal clear.
- Carry an ice scraper: If you are in a climate where your windows get icy in the mornings, always make sure you have an ice scraper on hand. Removing all obstructions from your view will ensure a safer drive in tough conditions.
ENGINE CARE
- Check your cooling system: Inspect your antifreeze to make sure it is free of debris and contaminants. If you notice an issue, flush and fill your system with a mixture of 50% concentrated antifreeze and 50% distilled water. If your reservoir is low, top off with Prestone® 50/50 Prediluted Antifreeze/Coolant with Cor-Guard® corrosion inhibitors, which protects the many internal parts of your car that antifreeze touches from destructive corrosion over time.
- Check all fluids: In addition to your antifreeze/coolant, examine your vehicle’s other fluids for proper levels, contaminants and any discoloration. Topping off or replacing worn-out fluids with premium products, like Prestone® DOT 3 High Temperature Synthetic Brake Fluid and Prestone® Power Steering Fluid for American, Asian and European cars, ensures your vehicle performs at its best, even in extreme conditions.
- Don’t forget about your oil: Oil is the lifeblood of your engine, especially during the winter. When the temperature outside drops, thicker oil has a harder time flowing through your vehicle’s engine, so it’s important to pay attention to which viscosity of oil you’re using in colder climates. The numbers on the bottle indicate the viscosity of the oil. The first number includes a “W” which stands for winter. The lower the number, the thinner the oil and making it more effective in cold weather due to increase flow. If you find that you haven’t changed your oil in a while and winter is approaching, fill up with Red Line Synthetic Oil’s High-Performance Line which is offered in a large number of viscosities in order to support any vehicle.
TIRE CARE
- Icy roads can be even harder to navigate without the proper tires. Be sure to check your tread and rotate or replace tires that are worn down or weathered. Also, be sure to check that your tires inflated properly. Properly inflated tires will improve traction in icy conditions.