Well, as I live in the -real- "Great White North", it's winter prep time. Winter traditionally sets in here in three weeks. It's already freezing at night, though of course, today it is really really nice (sunny and +16C). Farmers Almanac (which I never believe anyway) says late winter in Canadian west and early in east. So far they're right on for the west. We usually see snow in early Sept. on the highway to the mountains (#16 or Yellowhead for those who know the area). It hasn't happened yet! Today I added the lower grill block (upper went in last week). I routed the block heater plug to the drivers side and fastened it to the grill there (up to now it has been sitting where the dealer left it - fastened to the grill in an inconvenient place). All I have to do to use it is pull the cover off and press the extension cable on - it's "inside" the pipe insulation end. While getting groceries today I noticed my coolant temps went up to +90 C, just like summer, but it took about 30 min of driving to get that high. Fans never came on. The temp really didn't want to stay up there either. Amazing. This car is so efficient, no wonder it's so cold in winter. This afternoon I get winter tires - Nokian WR in stock size. Only have 10,000 km on the stock Goodyear Integrities. They will not go back on the car. Cost of four Nokian WR tires - $600 Cost of sliding into something because tires aren't up to winter - $2000++ Value of avoiding accident - priceless! I can't think of anything else that has to be done. The snowbrush/scraper is already in the car. Jayman, anything I'm forgetting?
I live in tropical Minnesota. Highly recommend an aftermarket heated seat pad, especially if you have leather seats. I got one at a place called Mills Fleet Farm here for $20, and it's lasted 2 winters already. Black, has 2 elastic straps for seatback and 2 more that go under seat bottom. Easy to plug into the console 12V, and the remote (wired) has high and low, I recall. I just made a note to get that thing back out soon. enjoy winter...I love it! rpm
Fall is when I check and refresh my first aid kit in the car (who knows what the summer heat does to the tylenol, etc.). I also tend to carry a small shovel for when I get plowed in away from the house. Other than that you look pretty covered...
Good suggestions all. Thanks. Being Alberta, the washer fluid is winter type all year round. I've never used winter blades, mainly because it's so cold here we don't usually get snow freezing on the blades - it's usually powder snow. What I really want is a heated steering wheel. My rear end can take care of itself, heat wise, but my hands can get very cold, as it's too hard to drive with mitts on (those switches are sooo tiny!). A little on tires. Now usually when we replace tires the new ones really outperform the old ones, mainly because the old ones were worn out. So a comparison is really unfair. Sort of. I just got back with my new Nokian WR tires on my Prius. My comparison to the Goodyear Integrities is valid as the Integrities were also new (only 10,000 km on them). The Nokian WR tires are quiet and the car's handling is great. It feels more "planted". I went 40 km west to get them at a better price, so returned on the highway. To get on the highway I had to use an entrance ramp, and I forgot how sharp it curved. The Integrities would have drifted. The Nokians just went around the sharp curve, no complaints. It's too early to comment on mileage, but so far watching the MFD I see no difference. Yup, even though the Integrities were "adequate" they are junk tires compared to the Nokians! They are claiming equivalent traction to ice tires yet they wear very well even on summer roads (100,000 km treadwear warrantee). Impressive tires! I inflated them to 40 front, 38 rear, as I had in the Integrities, and they are a little stiffer. I got the higher speed rating stock size, as I believe they are a little stronger. 185/65 R15 88H.
Have you blocked your grill? If not, check out: http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=27547 [edit] Ya, oops. I was skimming and didn't see that you've already covered the grill block. [/edit]
I don't know if it does any good but I like to get a good coat of wax on the car before winter in hopes that it might prevent future paint damage and rust from the salt.
Well I have to make this fast, as I'm on my coffee break and will be too busy during lunch to offer an extended reply. Will check back again tonight David it sounds like you've covered everything, especially blocking the grille and the winter tires. Silly question, did you also change the oil? I found a good improvement running Mobil 1 0W-20 in winter, may start running it all year round. My FJ Cruiser originally specified 5W-30, but a TSB now allows xW-20, so I recently changed it over to Mobil 1 0W-20. Motor seems smooth and quiet, and my trip out to the hobby farm last week I appear to have gained 1 MPG. We'll see what happens at -40 I would strongly recommend you look into winter wiper blades. On my Prius, where the driver side blade parks, even fluffy snow can quickly build up and the blade is useless. I don't have that issue with winter blades, the rubber material also appears to work better in temps colder than -25 C
I use 303 products to clean my dash, MFD, etc. They have a product for windshield wipers that is supposed to keep the ice and snow from sticking to them. If you are interested, google 303 products.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(David Beale @ Sep 26 2007, 01:14 AM) [snapback]517772[/snapback]</div> I find switching from the big mitts into a really nice pair of leather gloves really helps with the cold steering wheel bit and provides ample digital mobility. Might consider pairs with an insulating layer. MAB
