Getting Your Car Winter Ready
We’ve been busy making sure all our vehicles are safety checked ready for whatever this winter entails. Below are some tips on how you can ensure your car is as safe as possible this year.
1. Tyres.
In our opinion tyres are fundamental to a car’s safety. Tyres are the only item to come into contact with the road surface so inherently play a vital role in keeping your car on the road. Before the weather turns and roads become more treacherous, it is important to inspect your tyres to ensure that they are up to standard.
The first thing to make sure of is that there are no cuts or bulges to your tyre, after this you need to ensure there is sufficient tread remaining on your car’s tyres. Look for the legal limit protrusion on your tyre’s tread to ensure your are inside the limit. Further, check that the wear on the tyre is evenly distributed across its width, if the tyres are wearing unevenly you may need to seek a mechanic’s opinion. Finally, check the tyre pressures and inflate as necessary: the recommended pressure for your vehicles tyre can either be found in the vehicle’s handbook or inside the door shut of the driver’s door. Use a tyre inflator (portable units or the ones found inside service stations both are sufficient) to adjust the pressure as required.
If you find that the tyres need replacing for any reason, we recommend choosing a tyre with a good rating for grip in the wet (either A or B) ,or alternatively Winter Tyres, as these will provide the best grip. Seek the advice of your tyre fitter for more information.
2. Brakes.
Brakes are more tricky to check than tyres due to being comprised of various different parts. If you feel unable or suspect a problem with your brakes seek a mechanic’s assistance.
If your car has break discs, visually inspect the surface of the disc for any rough grooves or large pits, these are both signs that the discs need replacing. If you are going to attempt to replace the brake discs yourself, remember that discs always need to be replaced in pairs (i.e both sides of the car at the same time).
Next, you will need to visually inspect your brake pads. Look up through the disc to see how much material is left on your brake pads, general advice is that should be 1/8th of an inch remaining at a minimum. The good news is that brake pads are readily available so if you are not sure how much material is left on your pads, but think they could be low, we recommend simply changing them to be safe.
If you have an older or less premium car it may have Drum Brakes on the rear wheels. These are more fiddly to check as the wearing parts are not immediately visible and require the dismantling of the drum to view. If you are going to attempt to check your drum brakes we recommend following a guide such as this one.
Finally, if possible inspect your brake lines. The hoses should be supple and flexible to the touch and not display any cracking.
3. Oil.
Now is a good time to check your oil level and top up as required. We also recommend you check when the last time the oil was changed and compare the mileage against the manufacturer’s recommended oil change distance.
4. Wiper Fluid.
Whilst it is easy enough to remember to top up your wiper fluid, you may find you need to use more in the winter months due to the increased amount of salt on the roads. Further, it is important that you are using a sufficient amount of wiper fluid concentrate in your solution to ensure that the fluid doesn’t freeze when temperatures start to dip.
5. Wax Oil
An overlooked aspect of winter car safety is the general maintenance of your car’s chassis. If you have an older car, it may be time to have the underside wax oiled in order to slow the rate of corrosion. This is particularly important leading up to winter as the increased use of salt on the roads will greatly increase the rate of corrosion on your car. We recommend asking a mechanic about protecting your car from rust as doing it yourself is not easy without a car ramp.
6. Emergency Kit
Nobody anticipates getting stranded in winter but however prepared your car is, even if it’s a 4x4, you can get stuck behind other road users. Therefore, it is important to keep an emergency kit in your car which includes the following items:
Warm Blanket & Extra Clothing.
Torch with replacement batteries.
A charger for your mobile phone/ an emergency phone.
Emergency food to provide calories in the cold (high energy chocolate bar are ideal).
Water Bottles
When snowy, a shovel.
Fully stocked First Aid Kit
All our cars have recently been prepared for this winter to ensure our customer’s safety. Give us a call on 01525850605 to make a booking and leave all the hard work to us!
*Whilst every effort has been made to provide accurate information, we accept no responsibility for any damage caused by following this information. If unsure about car maintenance please seek a mechanic’s advice before attempting any work.