Sporin

First of all, let me congratulate you on doing your homework and making an effort to be a good winter driver, I wish more people made an effort.

That said, as a lifelong New Englander, reading this whole thread has been somewhat sureal and entertaining. The "special conditions" everyone is talking about and all the dangers, safe practices. etc. is what we locals call "driving" 4+ months of the years.

I'm not making fun of you, I swear, I hope you can see the relative humor in it from my perspective.

Be safe out there.

nermalgod

My friends and I used to dump boiling water onto this prick's windshield in high school. You should have seen how many times we made that thing shatter. He was a loaded cock that never shut up. For even more amusement, we would sprinkle the car with instant oatmeal before dumping water on it. That stuff is nearly impossible to wash off cleanly in summer let alone winter when it freezes. So make note, don't piss off any high school punks or you'll pay.

dibble9012

I have a quick question, would a silicone spray (like a tire shine product) work just like wd40 on the frame to prevent rust?

And I have to agree, a tow strap and just plain slow down. I also always keep a huge tire iron with me, a lot easier to use than the stock one. A flashlight is also a good thing to have. Keep gloves in the seat back pockets, during the winter I never wear gloves, but they are great when something bad happens.

LOCKnGO

Everyone should have something like this in their rig. Get extra road flares and a tow strap.
I got stuck after hitting some "black ice" in a storm 20 miles out of town and I had to camp in the car till someone came by. BTW I always had a sleepingbag and a dozen powebars packed away just in case.

lockNgo

calg3

Patience and a good sense of humor...

youngbuck

Just repeating things that have already been mentioned...

Always remember to turn off your headlights. It really sucks coming back to a dead battery when it really cold. And on that note, get some jumper cables or one of those kits to jump your car.

Boots in case you need to walk somewhere. Once your regular shoes get wet, you're feet will freeze. Gloves for the obvious reasons, and a good beenie and scarf are probably the two most important items to help you stay warm. I always carry some extra food in my truck just in case.

Let's say you slide off the road into a ditch. A flashlight or flares will help A LOT to signal someone down. A tow strap to get you out.

northfacer581

with all this being said....wheres the snow!!!! rumor is this winter (east coast) should bring lots of snow...just a rumor, probably some random kid made it up, but i know ill be ready.

-as soon as it snows, whoever gets some, which im sure some places already are...POST PICTURES so us southern folk can enjoy what probably wont come!

alaskanboi

If your engine never used synthetic, and you are going to switch, you will want to change your oil in shorter intervals at first due to your high mileage. First oil change after switching should be like 2500 miles, then 3500...until you reach your recommended intervals. Synthetic is recommended for extreme driving conditions, which cold weather is classified as.

rngrchad

^Probably NOT a good idea. I do a great deal of winter roadtripping and quality, expensive washer fluid, rated at least 20 degrees BELOW freezing is mandantory. Many times in the Adirondack mountains, I've had to thaw out frozen washer fluid lines, just to have them re-freeze in 20 minutes. Oh, and cheap washer fluid...that says it's rated below freezing.....yeh, it isn't. Don't trust it unless you want a driving experience of epic proportions...example: me driving w/ snowboarding goggles on w/ my head out the window to 2 hours.
Oh and all the talk about "don't worry the roads will be plowed" holds no merit when looking back at my personal experiences. Do not assume the roads will be plowed...and if they are, drifting snow will cover them over faster than the crews can work it. If your like me, it'll be just you and the semi's on the roads. Truckers are the only drivers I trust in level 2+ snow conditions. A CB is a good idea also....cell's never seem to work in snow-belt areas for some reason!

98LimitedCustomized

Alaskanboi - you're way off on the synthetic talk. Way off. "Extreme driving conditions" has nothing to do with winter and synthetic in the same word. Winter usually means changing the weight of your oil to 5w30 from 10w30 as it remains more fluid at low temps. You can switch to synthetic from regular oil anytime you want, and you don't need to worry about any type of interval. Oil is oil, but synthetic is a more "perfect" oil with lower coefficients of friction and better mechanical properties. On older engines, this can equate to the fact that synthetic oil will flow out of any small leaks you might have at a much greater rate. I've run pure synthetic (Mobil 1 and Amsoil) for 7 years now.... on the normal vehicles like my 4Runner I change it every 5-6,000 miles. Ends up costing the same as dino oil changed at 2-3000 miles. Change the synthetic on the 3.8 Buick with 750 hp every 2,000 miles and the spark plugs foul every 1000 miles or so. Doesn't run under 50 degrees. But to crack the tires loose going 60.....priceless! (Pics will follow tomorrow. Stay tuned to see a Mitsubishi bulldozer turbo on a V6.... 28 pounds of boost)

alaskanboi

I disagree. The reason i said to change it sooner in the first couple changes is due to the fact that synthetic will clean the engine better than regular. Thus causing more build-up and sludge in the oil that the regular oil does not remove, so you will want to change it sooner (due to his high mileage, and only due to his high mileage). This is the only reason I said to change it. And Extreme driving conditions have everything to do with synthetic. It is recommended to use synthetic when you experience extreme driving conditions. And according to auto manuals, extreme driving conditions exist in short trips, extended idling, cold weather, towing, dusty/sandy environments .. etc.. I made no mention of the weight of the oil at all... I assumed he knew what weight to put in.

I never stated you could not switch between synthetic and regular any time you want.

98LimitedCustomized

Thank you for clarifying. I do agree that winter driving does pose a greater strain on an engine, assuming you're in a cold (say less than 40 degrees F climate). The extra idling while warming up, along with greater material strains do potentially call for synthetic. Extreme driving conditions is typically a race or high performance applications. For example turbocharged cars always need synthetic. For everything that's not high performance (almost everybody on YT) running synthetic is by choice, with a few perks. I'm not trying to disagree with you just to disagree, I'm just trying to clarify on reasons to use synthetic as well as making a point that synthetic can stay in there at much longer intervals than what you first said. If you're looking to clean an engine, products like Seafoam do wonders in cleaning, but parts like spark plugs suffer in the process.

Sporin

What you want to buy is a spray on "Bar & Chain " lube, available at NAPA, and other auto parts stores. I just sprayed my trucks entire undercarriage with it, leaves, axles, frame, everything. Sticks really good, won;'t make too much mess or drip everywhere if you are careful.

farmerj

Change all your fluids befoe you head up north. Heck, I change all my fluids every other year just because.

What kind of friving you planning on? City driving? I change my oil every 2000 miles. It is because your engine doesn't heat up entirely that you get condensation, hence, sludge build up. You need to get that thing out and warm up EVERYTHING to reduce the sludges and burn of the grunge from your fluids. Take it for a road trip once a week or at least every other week. If you start to see white crud in your oil filler cap, your engine isn't warming up enough.

Make sure you get your A/C recharged BEFORE the winter. Your defroster turns the A/C on which is part of the reason your mileage sucks in the winter.

Get a decent set of all-season tires. When you look at the tires you will see ratings of tread, wear, mileage, they will be like A, B, C or maybe a D. Try to get the ones rated "A" or "B" for wear. You will also want it for a high mileage rating too. Blizzak's don't have the high mileage rating as they are a very soft rubber tire for traction on snow pack and ice. Get them onto pavement, your will wear them out in one or two seasons.

Pack some winter clothing, boots, snow pants, blanket, heavy coat, non-perishable DRY energy food. It's a "just if" package in case you get stranded. Include some candles, or other heat source as well. Myself, I boughta bunch of heat packs for your mittens.

Get your electrical system tested. By all means, if your battery is older than 5 years, seriously concider replacing it. A weak/old battery will cause extra load on the alternator as well as the starter. Combined, the three can tear the other part of the system out in no time. I know, I spent several winters replacing the three as a set; battery, starter, alternator as a mechanic.

How many miles on your truck? Close to 100,000? Over 80,000? Put in a new set of plugs. Replace your PCV valve. Do a general tune-up.

It was already mentioned. GET A BLOCK HEATER if you don't already have one. Plug it in to get the engine warmed up, even if you put it on a timer and run it for 2 hours before you leave the house. Expecially if you are looking at sub-zero temps.