How to Prepare for Winter Driving
If you live in an area that experiences real weather, then you're familiar with the wide array of driving challenges out there. Are you prepared? Here's some thoughts on preparing for winter driving.
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Things You'll Need
- Body wax
- Power washer
- Mud flaps and/or splash guards
- Fabric guard
- Inexpensive floor mats or bathroom rugs
- Water repellant for windows
- WD-40
Instructions
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1
Apply a coat of wax to the body to protect paint.
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2
Wash your vehicle often to remove corrosive materials, especially salt. It's especially important to wash the undercarriage thoroughly. A power washer does the best job, as does a high pressure car wash.
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3
Make sure that drains in rocker panels and at the bottom of your doors are not plugged with dirt and debris.
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Consider adding mud flaps and splash guards to prevent mud, snow, ice and salt from building up on the undercarriage and in wheel wells. They will also help protect paint on the lower parts of the body.
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Apply a fabric guard to protect fabrics from water and stains.
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Repair window chips and cracks. Even small ones in the windshield can expand and spiderweb with rapid temperature changes.
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Apply a water repellant to windows for better visibility under poor driving conditions. This helps heavy rain, sleet, snow and ice to bead up and roll off the glass. It also helps windshield wipers do a better job.
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If the weather in your area is especially severe, install heavy-duty winter windshield wiper blades.
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Tips & Warnings
Buy inexpensive floormats to protect custom mats from permanent damage and preserve carpet beneath the mats. They will absorb mud and crud and can be disposed of at the end of winter.
Take extra care to remove dirt and salt from crevices behind headlights, wheel well rims, and other places where dirt and crud stay damp for months, which can lead to rusting.
