Things to do before you drive off in this weather.

folan

Thought I would start a thread of things to do before you start driving in this weather. Made up of mistakes I've made and things I've seen. please add to

I like to start my car and have it warming up while i do the following:

1) remove all snow and ice from windscreen and all windows. Windscreen is obvious, but its easy to forget the others.
2) remove all snow from your headlights, brake lights and indicators. again, easy to forget but when your half way home and you notice your lighhts arent as bright as usual, itll seem much more important.
3) try to get the snow off the roof nad bonnet of your car. once you pick up some speed, or the wind picks up, this snow will start blowing into your windscreen or the windscreen of the car behind.

Finally, I like to turn off the lights etc when i get home and let the car idle, and rev, a bit to try to get some charge back into the battery.

I'd like it if others could give me more tips on stuff like this. Im sure therell be other obvious things to be doing that im just overlooking at the minute.

Be safe out there.

G-Money

Even if my car is not iced or snowed over, I will leave the engine running for a few minutes before setting off. The engine seems to rev a bit higher just after it's turned on which I feel might result in more wheelspin in slippery conditions. So I just let it sit for a few minutes then set off.

I also bring my yaxtrax for my shoes as well as a big warm jacket as well as scarf, hat and gloves in-case I end up having to walk home.

Zubeneschamali

Fix your lights.

E39MSport

A note for you.
If you have a turbo (edit: or two) and you manage to get it spinning during your post trip stationary revving then you may be causing more problems than you think you're solving.
A hot turbo needs cooling by idling rather than a thrashing.

x in the city

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

Fix your lights.

or turn on your lights for the obnoxious/blind/thicko drivers

folan

folan wrote: »

.......... let the car idle, and rev, a bit to try to get some charge back into the battery.

Total and utter waste of time, it will have charged on your spin. If the spin was very short letting it idle and rev a bit on the drive won't do any good anyway.

cjmcork

I've a beaut that I used last week - I was parked on the main road and obviously not able to bring a kettle to remove ice from the windscreen, and this is gonna sound sad, but I brought a hot water bottle and a face cloth with me to remove the ice!

if you keep it with you at work, you can remove any ice that doesn't come off when the car heats up..............on your return journey

for anyone doing a long drive, I also now keep 2 x 2 litre milk cartons with water in them - I drove Dublin Cork in this last year and the worst part of it (besides skidding in the hard shoulder) was trying to keep the windscreen clean (when the squishers froze), the artics kick back a lot of muck on the main roads when they hit speed - a bottle of water (that you keep in the footwell which will keep it warm) is a handy way to keep the windscreen clean........

stay safe out there folks - don't envy anyone having to drive in these conditions

G-Money

If I don't have de-icer, I will bring a flask of reasonably warm water and keep it in the car and use that to de-ice the windows and such. Not sure how long it would stay warm for though but if you are out and about for an hour or two anyway, it should be grand.

Probably a good idea if you're going on a long-ish trip to bring some food and water too.

Biglad

folan wrote: »

Thought I would start a thread of things to do before you start driving in this weather. Made up of mistakes I've made and things I've seen. please add to

I like to start my car and have it warming up while i do the following:

1) remove all snow and ice from windscreen and all windows. Windscreen is obvious, but its easy to forget the others.
2) remove all snow from your headlights, brake lights and indicators. again, easy to forget but when your half way home and you notice your lighhts arent as bright as usual, itll seem much more important.
3) try to get the snow off the roof nad bonnet of your car. once you pick up some speed, or the wind picks up, this snow will start blowing into your windscreen or the windscreen of the car behind.

Finally, I like to turn off the lights etc when i get home and let the car idle, and rev, a bit to try to get some charge back into the battery.

I'd like it if others could give me more tips on stuff like this. Im sure therell be other obvious things to be doing that im just overlooking at the minute.

Be safe out there.

That is not what you do to put a charge back in to your battery, don't know where you picked that knowledge up and the rest, with al due respect, has been posted in many threads already that you probably did not read.
have a look through the driving in winter thread and you'll pick up a lot of usefull information.

squod

Pee on your windscreen. Even if it seems unnecessary............. it maybe your only option at some stage so best to get practising.

murphyaii

boil the kettle and then add some washing up liquid.
add some cold water to cool down the liquid then de-ice your car
the washing up liquid stops the water re-freezing on your windscreen once poured.
do it all the time as whats the point de-icing if you have to scrape after returning the kettle

E39MSport

murphyaii wrote: »

boil the kettle and then add some washing up liquid.
add some cold water to cool down the liquid then de-ice your car
the washing up liquid stops the water re-freezing on your windscreen once poured.
do it all the time as whats the point de-icing if you have to scrape after returning the kettle

..... all together now ....

murphyaii

murphyaii wrote: »

boil the kettle and then add some washing up liquid.

washing up liquid in the kettle, lovely tea from then on

folan

ok, i was under the impression that the battery gained charge from this.

Otherwise, thanks for the tips.

Knine

Before I get into the car to drive I just pray..... and I aint been inside the doors of a church in years..........sure I would probably automatically combust into flames and EXPLODE!!

cjmcork

Knine wrote: »

Before I get into the car to drive I just pray..... and I aint been inside the doors of a church in years..........sure I would probably automatically combust into flames and EXPLODE!!

same here, I've pledged my first born to the Lord so many times at this stage, I'd be up for cruelty if I actually had kids to trade for my own safety (but isn't this what mothers with buggies do every day - ever wonder why the pram gets pushed into the road first????:p:p)

Stevie Dakota

You could to all that stuff or buy a Focus with a heated screen, Best Invention Ever.

Knine

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

You could to all that stuff or buy a Focus with a heated screen, Best Invention Ever.

I have one of these;) and I feel an urgent need to hug my focus when it only takes a minute to defront the front windscreen.

Shame about the wheel spins though:eek:

stevenmu

Make sure you've plenty of fuel, especially if you're going far or will be somewhere remote. Even if not, with the weather like this you could easily find yourself stuck somewhere for hours with the traffic.

gondorff

cjmcork wrote: »

the artics kick back a lot of muck on the main roads when they hit speed

Keep your distance!

gondorff

If you're going on a long journey, bring a sleeping bag.

cjmcork

gondorff wrote: »

Keep your distance!

I do.

no1beemerfan

gondorff wrote: »

If you're going on a long journey, bring a sleeping bag.

I've to come from Roscrea to Newbridge on thursday and then after work I've to go to Dublin port and then 250 miles across England.

Not looking forward to it!

Dublinvillian

Ok Gang , i have a astra van and the back door is frozen solid , have put gallons of boiling water over it but its not budgging , normally i wouldn't care till after the snow has gone , but Santa left a few toys in the back and need them soon , any tips please

a_v525

Dublinvillian wrote: »

Ok Gang , i have a astra van and the back door is frozen solid , have put gallons of boiling water over it but its not budgging , normally i wouldn't care till after the snow has gone , but Santa left a few toys in the back and need them soon , any tips please

Haha was in lidl a few weeks ago & some lad was sitting in a 97 polo in the carpark. When I got out of my car to go in he started banging on the window & I went over to him. He asked me to open the door of the car for him & the feckin thing wouldn't budge!!! I was pulling it fairly hard too. Also used about half a can of deicer on the door frame/rubbers but to no effect. He then had to climb out the back door of the car to get out.

I reckon frozen door lock or something?

gondorff

Hair dryer.

Dublinvillian

gondorff wrote: »

Hair dryer.

Cheers i'll try that , now where is that extension lead

quad_red

gondorff wrote: »

Hair dryer.

No point looking a shambles when you're stuck in a blizzard!

rodberg007

squod wrote: »

Pee on your windscreen. Even if it seems unnecessary............. it maybe your only option at some stage so best to get practising.

You've got to be taking the piss!!!

rodberg007

stevenmu wrote: »

Make sure you've plenty of fuel, especially if you're going far or will be somewhere remote. Even if not, with the weather like this you could easily find yourself stuck somewhere for hours with the traffic.

Probably the most important one of all is fuel - no matter how long or short your journey is because there's alot of traffic out there and it could be endless hours of sitting in traffic. Also another good idea for clearing the snow off your windows and roof is to use a dustpan as it helps remove the snow as well as clear it.

joolsveer

The dustpan is a great idea.I have just used one to clear my car windows. Thanks for sharing.

doctorchopper

if you are going on a long trip like that (250 miles) you will need to get some sort of a survival kit together. Sleeping bag or warm blanket, few litres of water, few energy bars, hat, gloves, boots (in case you need to walk) small shovel (like a army one that can fold away), a candle and matches (you would be surprised how much heat a candle can produce inside a car, Torch and batteries. These items are a must especially on long journeys in england as people have been stuck on motorways all night long. This is just my experience in winters of Northern British Columbia, Canada for the last 35 years. Doesn't take long to freeze to death in -50 deg C, which i have seen it get to, -54 deg C to be exact

stevenmu

a_v525 wrote: »

Haha was in lidl a few weeks ago & some lad was sitting in a 97 polo in the carpark. When I got out of my car to go in he started banging on the window & I went over to him. He asked me to open the door of the car for him & the feckin thing wouldn't budge!!! I was pulling it fairly hard too. Also used about half a can of deicer on the door frame/rubbers but to no effect. He then had to climb out the back door of the car to get out.

I reckon frozen door lock or something?

I had a seat ibiza of the same age and the doors would do the same, never happened to me while I was in it though, a few minutes of running the heat would have them well unstuck.

ShatterProof

Dublinvillian wrote: »

Ok Gang , i have a astra van and the back door is frozen solid , have put gallons of boiling water over it but its not budgging , normally i wouldn't care till after the snow has gone , but Santa left a few toys in the back and need them soon , any tips please

can you get in doors for a few hours ??? garage or underground car park or else just postpone the big day, monday and tuesday are bank holidays

Dublinvillian

i'll try the hairdryer first , no indoor area available , plus looking at the snow at the moment , i ain't moving till after christmas

x in the city

doctorchopper wrote: »

if you are going on a long trip like that (250 miles) you will need to get some sort of a survival kit together. Sleeping bag or warm blanket, few litres of water, few energy bars, hat, gloves, boots (in case you need to walk) small shovel (like a army one that can fold away), a candle and matches (you would be surprised how much heat a candle can produce inside a car, Torch and batteries. These items are a must especially on long journeys in england as people have been stuck on motorways all night long. This is just my experience in winters of Northern British Columbia, Canada for the last 35 years. Doesn't take long to freeze to death in -50 deg C, which i have seen it get to, -54 deg C to be exact

hopefully we wont get that extreme weather...

x in the city

the weather is colder in cork now than vancouver :rolleyes:

also colder than frankfurt..

Biglad

Fully charged mobile and if you have a charger in the car stick it on that to keep it topped up.

doctorchopper

x in the city wrote: »

the weather is colder in cork now than vancouver :rolleyes:

Doesn't take much to get colder than vancouver

kermitpwee

RoverJames wrote: »

Total and utter waste of time, it will have charged on your spin. If the spin was very short letting it idle and rev a bit on the drive won't do any good anyway.

If your battery is poor then letting it idle after you have the lights put off can help it start the next morning and thats speaking from experience of driving total sheds of cars on a tight budget:D

barryfitz

a_v525 wrote: »

Haha was in lidl a few weeks ago & some lad was sitting in a 97 polo in the carpark. When I got out of my car to go in he started banging on the window & I went over to him. He asked me to open the door of the car for him & the feckin thing wouldn't budge!!! I was pulling it fairly hard too. Also used about half a can of deicer on the door frame/rubbers but to no effect. He then had to climb out the back door of the car to get out.

I reckon frozen door lock or something?

Ha! My ould Polo used to do that aswell... Its still doing it...the brother has it

ShadowHearth

1. Dont be a submarine driver, CLEAN ALL WINDOWS!! NOT JUST 20X20 patch on widescreen and 10X10 patch on RIGHT SIDE WINDOW!
2. Warm up your car, dont drive with cold engine, specially in such low temperatures.
3. Dont start/off your car for 10 times, as at low temperatures batterys power goes down, sometimes you are lucky if it starts once, dont chance it by turning it off.
4. Dont rev your engine to warm it up fester, you will just do more damage then good, as oil will be very thick and not as much lubrication.
5. use only cold water on windows, if you will pour hot water, windows will just crack. Hello LOVELY bill!

Stevie Dakota

Get a silicone lubricant and apply to all your door seals to prevent your car doors freezing shut.

Stinicker

Check your windscreen washer bottle, I had windscreen washer fluid in mine but it froze leaving me with a window of car spray and frozen snow until I pulled into a petrol station and got some windscreen fluid, I poured it in raw so it would mix good and strong with the existing fluid.

Carry a bottle of Vodka in the car with you, you can use it as an emergency anti-freeze in the washer bottle or coolant tank if you were stuck, also if you got stranded drinking it yourself might help save your life.

quad_red

Stinicker wrote: »

Check your windscreen washer bottle, I had windscreen washer fluid in mine but it froze leaving me with a window of car spray and frozen snow until I pulled into a petrol station and got some windscreen fluid, I poured it in raw so it would mix good and strong with the existing fluid.

That's happened to me a few times. As in, the sprayer stops working half an hour into the journey.

I presume you're saying that there was only water in the tank and you stopped and put fluid in?

Stinicker

quad_red wrote: »

That's happened to me a few times. As in, the sprayer stops working half an hour into the journey.

I presume you're saying that there was only water in the tank and you stopped and put fluid in?

Yeah, except I had Halfords green coloured Windscreen fluid at 4:1 (summer mix) and it froze inside the washer bottle. And the jets were blocked too, I added in more fluid and made the mix stronger at 1:1 so hopefully it won't freeze in the tank under the bonnet now!

quad_red

Stinicker wrote: »

Yeah, except I had Halfords green coloured Windscreen fluid at 4:1 (summer mix) and it froze inside the washer bottle. And the jets were blocked too, I added in more fluid and made the mix stronger at 1:1 so hopefully it won't freeze in the tank under the bonnet now!

Will that do any damage?

Stinicker

quad_red wrote: »

Will that do any damage?

It done no damage to mine, the likelyhood of damage arising would be in ice getting sucked into the pump or if the tank was quite full when it froze causing it to burst, mine was fairly low so had plenty expansion space for the ice. Mixing the two fluids together might be the only danger from some chemical reaction if it were to occur.

ShadowHearth

ShadowHearth wrote: »

5. use only cold water on windows, if you will pour hot water, windows will just crack. Hello LOVELY bill!

Obviously don't use boiling water, but it needs to be warm enough. Throwing cold water on a frozen windscreen is a waste of time.

danjo-xx

I found this to be very handy....wiper blade end for glass and spong for paintwork area... less risk of damage.