With winter right around the corner, it’s now time to prepare your car for snowy conditions. Winter driving can be dangerous, so it’s important to do everything you can to cut down on the risks. Here are five simple projects to prepare your vehicle for the difficult winter driving ahead.
Check Your Tires
Tread depth and tire pressure are both vitally important for winter driving. Worn-out treads will have you sliding all over the road, while under-inflated tires are always a danger. For the treads, try the Lincoln test: stick a penny in a tread head-first and make sure you can’t see any of Honest Abe’s noggin. For the pressure, use a good old fashioned gauge. If your tires need filling, then take care of it before winter. If the treads are overly worn, then it’s time for new Nissan tires.
Install Special Winter Wiper Fluid
Regular wiper fluid has a nasty habit of freezing to your windshield in colder weather, making it essentially useless. In fact, normal fluid can actually blind you and make wintry driving more dangerous. Invest in special winter fluid to avoid this common hazard.
Replace Old Wipers
Winter is a dirty season, with all sorts of mud, dirt and sand flying up from the road and onto your windshield. You need your wipers to be up to the task. Don’t skimp out when you’re most in need of new, reliable wipers. They’re easy to replace, and they can make all the difference when the winter weather turns nasty.
Use Winter Grade Oil
Colder weather calls for thinner oil in your engine. Get your oil changed in the late fall, and make sure it’s winter-worthy oil you’re changing to. This might seem like a small issue, but it can go a long way towards improving your vehicle’s performance.
Get Your Brakes Inspected
Tackling a snowy winter requires high-functioning brakes. An untimely failure can spell disaster any time of the year, but it’s especially dangerous when roads are at their most slippery. Take your brakes in for a check-up to make sure they’re ready to handle snow and ice.
Winter is the most challenging time for your car, so it’s vital that you do what you can to prepare. You wouldn’t send an athlete to the olympics without training, so don’t send your vehicle out on the snowy roads without taking the steps mentioned above.