Preparing for winter comes down to a few simple manipulations that are easy to remember and even easier to perform.

Bookshelves are littered with numerous brochures with a wide variety of tips for novice motorists. You are offered to perform a lot of various manipulations with your car - from checking brake pads, candles, electrical wiring up to quality anti-corrosion coating etc. Sometimes these tips are so hard to follow that it seems easier to buy a new car.

Our main advice: don't be afraid of winter! Here are five simple tips. This is the alphabet. Without her, nowhere.

Don't skimp on tires

Replacing summer tires with winter ones is an axiom. Do not listen to the "experts" who talk about the fact that the asphalt in the city is already being cleaned so that the winters have gone warm, and the thorns slide on wet road. These experts will not treat you in the event of an accident and will not give you money for repairs.

The first snow has already fallen in most of Russia. But melted. After the first snow for two weeks (in central Russia), you can still ride summer tires. And they should be changed when the thermometer has steadily dropped below + 4 degrees.

The secret is the following. Summer tires are tough. From persistent cold, it becomes even tougher. Consequently, its properties to keep the road in the cold are sharply (very sharply!) Decreased. She, figuratively speaking, "dubeet".

Winter is the opposite. Steady positive temperatures and friction on the road make it "squishy". Rolling resistance increases sharply, gasoline consumption - respectively.

Why is studded winter tires more convenient for car enthusiasts, especially beginners, than just winter and non-studded tires? The answer is simple: no matter how well the roads are cleaned now, on turns, on bridges, and simply on a road open to all winds, tongues (tongues) of ice can form. And here the spikes will serve as help. The first such case will push into the past all the debate about whether they slip on wet roads or not.

Do not think whether you have miscalculated or not miscalculated with the time of changing shoes, do not look at your new tires - how many spikes have already been lost, they say. In addition to unnecessary doubts and nerves, this will not give anything.

How to deal with oil

The average car enthusiast, winding 10-15 thousand kilometers a year, changes the engine oil together with the filter twice: on the eve of summer and on the eve of winter.

How not to get lost in oil markings?

Let's see what it says, for example, SAE designation 10W-40 for motor oils.

The designation of the viscosity grade "W" gives us information about winter application oils (W is the initial letter English word WINTER - winter).

The smaller the number before the letter W (in this case is the number 10), the lower the viscosity of the oil at low temperatures. This factor makes it easier cold start engine. Oil spreads through the engine faster, preventing wear.

The number after the letter W indicates the ability of the oil to provide reliable lubrication engine at high temperatures. The larger the number (in this case, 40), the greater the viscosity of the oil at high temperature and the more reliable the lubrication of the engine in the summer heat.

The presence of only one of the considered parameters in the designation of the viscosity class indicates the seasonality of the oil (for example: SAE 10W - winter seasonal oil, SAE 40 - summer seasonal oil). The presence in the designation of two classes at once (as in our example - SAE 10W-40) indicates that the oil is all-weather.

Reliable battery

Too frugal car enthusiasts do not like to buy new battery. The usual picture - on a winter evening, no, no, yes, and another thrifty one will pass by, puffing under the weight of the battery removed for the night. At home, he will put it on nightly exercises, drag it back in the morning - and, burning his fingers with frost, will connect the terminals.

For ordinary car owners, especially women, this procedure is overwhelming. Therefore, think about what will eventually cost less: daily carrying the battery, buying a charger, the danger of not getting far from home than buying a normal battery.

Strain your memory and remember how many years you have not changed the battery? If the service life has reached four years - do not be stingy and go to the store.

In order not to get confused in the questions that the seller will ask you, take the vehicle registration certificate to the store (you keep it next to the rights). It contains all the necessary data for the seller.

Tinker Day

On winter road the danger is not only those who continue to stubbornly drive on summer tires, but also those who did not have time to adapt to new road conditions. Especially those who got the rights in the summer and this is his first winter. "Teapot" by inertia will drive the car as usual. He doesn't know any other.

Remember: when high speed on slippery road the most sophisticated studded tire will not save either.

Try to make time for a simple workout.

On a clear, cold day, find a flat area covered with crust or ice. Try to accelerate a little and sharply, "to the floor", slow down. A few of these exercises will help you feel the reaction of the car and understand why (especially in winter!) You can’t slow down at speed with the clutch depressed, enter a turn with the clutch depressed, or roll up to an intersection in neutral gear.

The best thing: at the first black ice, do not go out into the streets for at least two days. Let other road users get used to the ice. Because the first days of winter sleet on the roads are the real opening of the season. Simply put, "tinker's day".

Of course, you remember this, but ...

Gasoline and cold

• If your vehicle's owner's manual allows you to use gasoline with octane rating below 98, do not refuel in severe frosts with 98 gasoline. Otherwise, it will be more difficult to start the car.
• If there is a need in severe frosts to drive the car for the night or several nights in a heated garage, fill the gas tank to capacity. The more air in the tank, the more water vapor in it. Ice microcrystals settle in the fuel, accumulate with all sorts of muck at the bottom, and then "destroy" the fuel pump.
• Replace fabric rugs in the cabin on rubber.
• In cold weather, warm up the engine before every ride.
• To in winter time reduce the load on the battery, before turning the ignition key, turn on for 10 seconds high beam.
• Check your wipers before driving. If frozen, carefully separate them from the glass.

What should be in the "winter" trunk?

• Ordinary broom. They are much more convenient and faster than modern expensive brushes to sweep snow from the car. It is cheaper and more practical.
• Special wires will not interfere in order to "light up" from someone else's battery if necessary (if your battery is already close to the "critical" age).
• A couple of old rubber mats. They will help to start off on full ice, if you put them under the slipping wheels.
• If you have to go out of town, "in the snow" - a sapper shovel (I generally carry a shovel with a shortened handle) - this is a sure lifesaver.
• Tow rope(however, it is better to "prescribe" it in the trunk forever).

Surely every driver keeps a brush with soft bristles and a plastic scraper in his trunk. Both of these items will be useful to the driver even when the car “sleeps” in the garage, because from snow and ice freezing while driving or parking your “ iron horse» No one is safe. What can we say about hunters and fishermen, whose cars can be in the open for several days.

It is recommended to clean the ice with a scraper only from the windows. The hardness of ice and plastic scrapers is much lower than the hardness of glass, and they will not harm it. Scrape frost with the squeegee only forward, cutting off ice and snow. It is not recommended to move the scraper in the opposite direction, because in reverse side the scraper no longer cuts the ice, but only drags fragments ahead of it, and not only snow and ice, but sand particles that can scratch the glass.

If possible, do not use “artifacts” such as cassette and CD boxes to clean glass, they have an obtuse angle, and, as in the case of a scraper, they will push solid particles in front of them and scratch the glass.

Before you hit the road, be sure to clear the snow from the car. If you do not remove the snow from the roof, then it will gradually thaw from the heat in the cabin and, when braking, may slide onto windshield and thereby create emergency. Yes, and snow flying off the roof while driving your car causes inconvenience to drivers driving behind.

It is best to remove the snow from the car before it melts. It is not recommended to clean frozen snow and ice from the body with a scraper - as you will probably scratch paintwork. You can remove frost either with special chemical compounds, or by driving the car into a warm garage or car wash.

As for the car wash, in winter the car must also be washed. Of course, not as often as in the summer, but nonetheless. In cities, various chemicals are scattered on the roads, which, together with dirt, tightly freeze to the body and “corrode” car parts. Be sure to make sure that you dry the locks and door seals at the sink. Just in case, half an hour after washing, try opening the doors and windows.

If you don't make it soon after water treatment time, then in the cold the doors will freeze so much that it will be problematic to do this in the future. Sometimes in order to open frozen glass rear doors takes up to 2-3 hours of continuous heating of the cabin. Be sure not in the "glove box" of the car, but in the pocket of your jacket or coat, there should be a can of "lock unlocker".

When starting the engine, turn on the windshield blower to the minimum setting, and in cars with air conditioning, always set it to auto mode with a temperature of 18-20 ° C. Only in such a gentle warm-up mode windshield so-called "thermal" cracks will never form on it.

A situation that happens to everyone more than once, especially if you left the car in the cold after washing or after a thaw hit hard frost. The following recommendations will be most effective.

1. Insert a thin tube from any defrosting liquid into the lock (they are now sold in abundance in many stores) and press the bottle button for five to seven seconds. Wait about a minute. Then try to develop a lock with a key. Most often, the defrosting liquid "does not work right away" and sometimes you have to spray 2-3 times and wait up to 5-10 minutes. But my practice shows that this whole procedure does not take more than 10-15 minutes and guarantees the opening of the lock.

2. In the absence of defrosting liquid, you can use the "grandfather" method - heat the lock with a lighter, setting fire to and thrusting inside a piece of newspaper rolled up into a tube. You can also stick a piece of cotton wool wound on a wire and moistened with cologne into the lock. Periodically between "warm-ups" we insert the key into the lock and not much, so as not to break it, turn the key. Not always, but in half the cases it is possible to open the lock in this way.

3. The last radical remedy, if you can’t do anything with the lock, you need to get a container of boiling water and pour it over the lock. Well, if there is nowhere to take boiling water, then there is only one thing left ... to pee on the lock.

How to "light up" from another car

We confine ourselves to the procedure that is optimal for starting any car and, moreover, will save the car from electrical shorts and other troubles.

1. We turn off the engine of the “donor” car.
2. If it is necessary (otherwise you will not fix the “crocodiles” in any way) - remove the terminals from the “donor” battery.
3. We connect one battery to another with thick wires: minus to minus, plus to plus. We make sure that the contact is good. Sometimes when starting the engine, the battery refuses to work and the alarm constantly turns on. This happens for the reason that the terminals on the battery oxidized during parking. Therefore, every time you expose the terminals, strip them.
4. We smoke in the truest sense of the word for 5 minutes. If the terminals from the “donor” battery are not removed, you can start the donor engine.
5. We turn off the donor engine if it was started. You need to “light up” only from a non-working car, ideally from an autonomous battery.
6. We start the "sick". If the problem was a dead battery, the engine will definitely start.
7. Let the "sick" work for 5-10 minutes. We do not touch the wires!
8. We muffle the "sick".
9. Remove the wires.
10. We start the "sick".
11. We start a "donor".

The battery is charged only while driving, when the engine speed exceeds 1000 rpm, and it takes quite a long time (20-40 minutes). Too short trips and standing idle in traffic jams leads to undercharging of the battery. In principle, you can recharge idling, but then you need to turn off unnecessary consumers of electricity - light, air conditioning, heated mirrors and seats, music.

Recently, special chargers have appeared on store shelves that not only charge the battery, but also allow you to use this charger as a “donor” to start the engine. But if possible, it is better to charge the battery autonomously in the heat from a special device. Charging is of high quality and does not take too much time.

Features of a cold start of the engine

Let's start with common truths, namely: what conditions the engine needs in order for the cherished process in its cylinders to proceed safely. Here, power systems, ignition and a starter are equally important, capable of stirring up a frozen motor.

Nutrition The engine consists of: fuel (the most common is gasoline) and an oxidizing agent (oxygen in the air). If one or the other is too little (or too much), then combustion will be sluggish or not take place at all. Ideal for complete combustion gasoline, its weight ratio with air should be about 1:15. This is strictly monitored by the appropriate devices in any serviceable blowtorch, gasoline burner, stove, providing a transparent, bluish, hot flame.

The carburetor, which must prepare the gasoline-air mixture for different modes work, much more complicated than primus. But one of its tasks is the same - to keep the ratio of fuel and oxidizer within the "combustible" limits.

Once the engine is warm it's easy. A cold winter start is much more difficult. Frozen air in the diffusers of the carburetor cools even more, and droplets of gasoline, mixing with this jet, evaporate reluctantly. And for a flash, an optimal mixture is needed - a spark will not ignite a liquid drop of fuel. The matter is complicated by the fact that part of the gasoline vapors, nevertheless formed during carburetion, condenses again on the way to the cylinder, in contact with the cold collector, and the candle again has only one air - but, alas, it does not burn.

A way out of this difficult situation was found a long time ago - any carburetor is equipped with one or another starting device, sharply increasing the supply of gasoline so that the saturation of its vapor near the candle becomes sufficient for a flash. The simplest "semi-automatic" seems to be tricky for many motorists - although in fact any thoughtful student can study and debug it.

A much more complex problem arises in many modern foreign cars on which a temperature sensor is installed, which, at a certain value of the set minimum temperature, simply will not allow your engine to start. You can fight this disease different ways, up to the installation in the car of a special "board" with the output of the button on the panel. When you start the engine, you press the button, the circuit opens and the electronics responsible, including for limiting the engine start, stop working. The engine starts, you press the button, and the operation of the machine's electronics is restored again.

Next important system — ignition. Is the power of the spark between the electrodes so important, if even a weak charge successfully ignites! Indeed, in light conditions (summer, serviceable engine, normally working carburetor ...) a heavy-duty spark is not needed. Cold start conditions are another matter!

A powerful, biting spark, heating the droplets of gasoline, contributes to their ignition. And the weak is not capable of it. In addition, it is important that the spark between the electrodes jumps in time - at the end of the compression stroke, before the piston is in the upper dead center. This is the so-called ignition timing or ignition timing, for each engine its own, regulated.

The power of the spark often depends on simpler things as well. First of all, from the voltage in onboard network. And while the engine is not running - from the state battery.

We successively approached starter. Its task is to turn the engine, and quickly, so that the carburetor has enough vacuum, and the compression in the cylinders warms up each charge well. The slower the crankshaft turns, the harder it is to start the engine.

In winter, the starter is especially difficult, and even more so if the engine is thick summer oil. It is so difficult to pump through the lubrication system that it sometimes breaks oil pump, the filter housing is torn. The crankshaft barely rotates, the compression in the cylinders is slow and weak, the carburetor does not work well. But that's not all!

The load on the starter is maximum - and it strongly "plants" the battery - so much so that there may not be a spark. That is why during winter start-up, oil viscosity often plays the “first violin”. Were stingy, saved on changing the oil - troubles are guaranteed.

Now let's move from theory to practice. As can be concluded from all of the above, the most important thing is the overall readiness of the car for frost. "Correct", more liquid and therefore more suitable for winter oil, as well as good battery. With oil, everything is simple - pour good oil in trusted garages. Mineral or just old machine oil at minus 30 it will freeze for sure. Therefore, it is better to change the oil, preferably to "synthetic".

In the washer reservoir, you also need to have an anti-freeze, moreover, high-quality and not diluted. Water, if suddenly someone has left, freezing, will break the parts of the washer. Unfortunately, most of the "non-freezing" offered in the car markets freeze already at -15ºС. Knowing this fact, it is easier to drain all the fluid from the washer for the winter and thereby protect yourself from trouble. Agree: few of us use a washer in winter.

Battery. You can help him survive the night or even several days by warming up the car well “before going to bed” - it is best to drive for at least half an hour without using powerful electrical appliances - heating rear window and seats, servos, fancy music. There is another option to take the battery home, in heat. If you don't have warm garage, and the parking will be long, say a week, then it’s still worth removing the battery.

Even in normal warm conditions for a month, each battery needs to be charged, what can we say about cold weather, when the discharge process goes much faster. Do not forget to clean all the contacts before installing the battery, otherwise your car will either not start, or the alarm will start to “fail” at startup.

On cold mornings, the battery must be warmed up before starting by turning on the high beam for a few seconds. This measure is quite effective. Advice for those who use manual box gears: in order not to overload the battery, do not forget to press the clutch pedal during start-up. The neutral position of the lever in the box is not enough here: after all, when the pedal is released, the motor will have to rotate both the driven disk and the shafts in the box.

And even after the engine has started, it makes sense to hold your foot on the clutch for a while - if you release it abruptly, the car may stall and, according to the law of meanness, will no longer start. Do not turn the starter too long - it is better to let the battery rest, and then repeat the operation.

If, nevertheless, you are unable to start your iron horse, then in such cases we recall the existence of special devices that are popularly called - "light wires". They are designed to supply a large starting current to the terminals of a discharged battery from a donor car.

But only wires with a sufficiently large cross section are capable of transmitting this current. For example, to ensure the scrolling of a cold engine with a volume of about 1.6 liters, the cross-sectional area of ​​\u200b\u200bsuch a wire must be at least 16 mm², which corresponds to a diameter of 4.5 mm.

Some firms produce wires in rubber insulation, which hardens at low temperatures and does not allow the wires to bend. The best samples have insulation made of soft material, most often it is silicone, which does not lose its properties in the cold.

The ends of the wires are usually terminated in powerful crocodile clips and differ in color: as a rule, the positive wire is red, the negative wire is black. The length of the wires rarely exceeds 2-3 meters, so cars should be placed as close to each other as possible. And at the same time, take into account the location of the batteries.

I want to warn you: many cars with a fairly complex electronic software launch systems - in other words, with computers - are not recommended to be launched in this way. Their rectifier bridges and computers may die in the process. What the instructions usually say quite clearly. Therefore, before you "light up" - look at the "manual"!

Having opened the hoods, first fix the tip of the “positive” wire to the “+” terminal of the suffering car and only after that connect the second clip of the same wire to the “+” terminal of the battery of the donor car. Clamps must be fastened tightly and securely. After that, connect the black wire in the same sequence.

After making sure that the wires are fixed correctly and firmly, wait a couple of minutes and turn on the ignition. Do not turn on the ignition and start the engine of the donor car to avoid damage to it electronic systems. After starting the engine and the appearance of signs of its stable operation at speeds idle move wires can be disconnected: first "negative", then "positive".

Often the car will not start due to bad or dirty spark plugs. They need to be checked, cleaned of soot and, if necessary, changed.

In case of frost, it is sold in car dealerships a large number of special fuel additives - for example, "quick start", which are poured into the carburetor and fuel system for better engine starting.

You can’t use the starter, and it’s pointless to turn it for longer than 20 seconds. If after three such attempts the car did not come to life, you need to wait a few minutes, then repeat the series. When it was not possible to start the engine after three to five attempts and it does not show any hope for this, it is worth leaving the car alone until it warms up or calling a specialist to look for the cause of equipment sabotage.

In the cold, it is better not to put the car on the handbrake so that the pads do not freeze. It's easier to just put the car in gear. Owners diesel vehicles it is generally not recommended to use the car in severe cold if it spends the night on the street or in an unheated garage. There are few chances to start a diesel engine at minus 30.

In order not to dig with the frozen door locks, it is better to pour special “defrosters” into the “larvae” in advance. I don’t advise you to water the castle with boiling water - the water will cool down, freeze, and the next time you will be able to open the car only in the spring.

One of the controversial issues is whether it is worth warming up the car if, for example, it is in perfect working order and can drive immediately after starting and not stall. Definitely: it is worth starting off only after the interior heater begins to produce air that is noticeably warm for the hands. And, of course, do not step on the gas, as the instructions advise.

Remember: one problematic cold start of the engine in severe frost is equal to 300-500 km of run in terms of the degree of damage caused to the car. And if the trip is not urgent, then it is better to postpone it for later.

How to start an engine in cold weather

There are quite a few reasons for an engine failure to start: these are flooded candles, and bad gasoline, and sensors that do not allow the engine to start when the temperature drops below a certain degree (usually down to -25C °). But most often it happens that the entire chain of starting the engine simply froze.

This happens especially often when, after a thaw, the temperature drops sharply and the sensors and mechanisms are covered with an ice film, the mixture of the required composition is not formed, and the nozzles simply “pour” without spraying with a torch. To prevent this, it is advisable to warm up the car in such temperature fluctuations every two hours and smoothly enter your engine into operation at low temperatures.

But since the problem of starting the engine in cold weather has arisen, we will not reinvent the wheel - the algorithm has long been invented and tested.

1. We check that all electrical appliances are turned off: fan, stove, headlights, radio, air conditioning, rear window heating.
2. Before trying to start, turn on the high or low beam for literally five to ten seconds. This is enough to "warm up" the battery.
3. We squeeze the clutch and put the gearshift lever in neutral ("for automatic machines" we recommend moving the selector from position P to position N) and turn on the ignition. As soon as the fuel pump works (it takes a few seconds), you can turn on the starter - but no more than 10-15 seconds.
4. An unsuccessful attempt can be repeated after one or two minutes. This pause is needed in order for the flooded candle wells gasoline has evaporated. If the car did not start even on the third attempt, then further raping the engine and draining the battery makes no sense. There are quite a few reasons for refusing to start, but the most reliable option solution to the problem: if it is possible to wait for warming, when the air temperature is not lower than -10 ° C or tow the car to a warm garage.
5. If the engine comes to life, do not rush to release the clutch. The masters advise doing this smoothly, observing the speed. You don’t need to “help” a sneezing engine with gas, you can fill in candles.

You can apply a few more extreme ways to start the engine in cold weather. For those who are not afraid of auto chemicals, aerosol "starting aids" will come in handy. The ethereal aerosol is injected into the air intake and facilitates the ignition of the mixture.

There is another radical remedy that is used in extreme cases. You need to put a tightly wet rag on the manifold and around the carburetor and slowly pour boiling water over the entire rag. Two liters of boiling water should be enough for this procedure.

If nothing helps at all, then it remains to call “specialists” for help, who will warm up your car with the help of heat guns or gas burners. In addition, they can recharge your battery. But not everyone can afford such a challenge, and if you have a cold start problem from time to time, you can worry in advance and buy yourself a heat gun or an infrared gas burner. Heat guns are more suitable for heating the car indoors and where electricity is available.

Gas infrared emitters are more economical than electric ones due to lower cost natural gas (average consumption 300 ml. per hour of work). They can be used in any room and in any frost. The only drawback is that gas at temperatures below -30 ºС can burn poorly.

Thermal infrared radiation penetrates the air almost unhindered. It becomes effective only when thermal rays hit solid bodies. The oil in the crankcase warms up better and safer than when using a blowtorch, which, in fact, just boils the oil. Compared to heat guns, there is no air movement, which means clouds of dust and debris.

The gas burner is installed under the crankcase of the car. The engine is covered from above with blankets and other warm rags. If it happens on the street, then you need to close the car from the bottom around the perimeter with cellophane or some other cover and exclude heat from blowing out the burner.

Warming up takes, as a rule, 15-30 (maximum) minutes. By the way, a gas burner will also come in handy for fishing both in winter in a tent and in autumn and summer on cold nights. You can also cook food on it. In all senses, a convenient and fairly inexpensive thing.

Konstantin Fadeev

Glass icing

In cold weather, many people face the problem of icing on the windows. This drastically impairs the driver's view and can directly affect safety. traffic. How to deal with it? There are many ways. The most obvious is to reduce the humidity in the car interior. To do this, it is necessary to ensure constant circulation warm air when you are in the car, there is enough airflow for the windshield and side windows. Should be changed in winter if possible. rubber mats on textile, they absorb moisture, and do not collect it underfoot. To prevent severe freezing of the windows during parking, you should equalize the air temperature in the cabin and on the street. Freezing the interior, of course, will not work, and it is not necessary: ​​it is enough to let cold air get inside by opening the car doors for a couple of minutes. And one more folk way: wipe the glass from the inside with saline solution, so they freeze more slowly.

Battery

Particular attention should be paid to the battery when preparing the car for winter. Best to replace old battery to a new one, because in severe frosts the service life passes much faster. If you leave the car on the street, then when the frost is below twenty degrees, it is generally better to take the battery to a warm place. Whenever possible, it is recommended to charge the battery with charger once a month and a half. Before starting the starter, it is useful to let the battery warm up a little. To do this, it is enough to turn on the low beam headlights for half a minute or a minute.

Candles

Features of spark plugs cold weather is that during short trips they do not have time to warm up, and this leads to the formation of soot. This problem is fixed in two ways. You can dismantle the candles and clean off the carbon deposits yourself, or you can let the engine run for a long time on high revs- a long country trip is perfect for this.

Body care and locks

Body in winter time- especially vulnerable spot, because the paintwork suffers from two misfortunes at once: severe frosts and caustic salts that are sprinkled on roads. The ingress of reagents even into a small scratch on the body can contribute to its corrosion, and here it is - corrosion and rust. Therefore, at the end of autumn, it is useful to treat the body paintwork with special compounds ( liquid glass, wax, varnish, etc.). It is necessary to wash the car in winter very carefully - as it gets dirty and no more than twice a month. If you wash yourself, in no case do not use warm water, and in severe frosts it is better to refuse washing altogether. After washing the car, you should dry the door and trunk locks well - water can easily seep in there, and it will not be so easy to open them. For chemical thawing of locks, some advise spraying with WD-40, among other means. It is better not to do this: WD-40 strongly attracts moisture, and although the lock will work well at first, problems can arise later.

wipers

Needless to say, it's important to have well-functioning wipers during the rainy and snowy season. Wiper blades must be thoroughly de-iced before each ride. If this is neglected, your wipers run the risk of getting snow and moisture in the hinges - in this case, you will have to buy new wipers. Also, it will not be superfluous to treat the hinges with universal grease.

Even venerable drivers are always extremely careful when driving in winter. And they always drive slowly, turn on the lights, and ... In general, read on.

1. Relax

If while driving a car you get into difficult road conditions The most important thing is to stay calm and not panic. If you are very nervous, it can affect your reaction, and not for the better.

2. Slow down

If the weather conditions worsen, reduce the speed by 2 times. We advise you not to do this abruptly, because this increases the risk of skidding and loss of traction.

3. Be careful

Your actions on the winter road must be completely controlled and deliberate. Remember that fast acceleration, hard braking and sudden turns of the steering wheel can cause the vehicle to lose control and skid.

While driving, maintain an optimal low speed. Keep a distance from other vehicles so that it is enough for emergency braking. All movements must be smooth and careful.

4. Let there be light

In bad weather, be sure to turn on your headlights. This will help other drivers see your car. It will not be superfluous to turn on the marker lights.

5. Use light signals

Many truckers around the world use a special technique for changing lanes while driving on the highway. In dry or rainy weather in autumn, summer and spring, before changing lanes, the truck driver turns on the turn signal and changes lanes only after the turn signal blinks 3 times. But in winter weather, they are rebuilt after the turn signal flashes 4-5 times. Follow their example.

6. Be careful on slippery roads

Pay attention to water under the wheels of other vehicles while driving in cold weather. If there is a lot of spray on the road, then it is very wet. In this case, you need to take additional measures precautions.

The fact is that at negative temperatures, the snow and ice melted from the wheels or from the reagent begins to freeze quickly, turning the road into a skating rink. If you see that the road is wet, but there is practically no spray, then be even more careful, since such a surface is the most dangerous. The absence of splashes on a wet road may indicate that most of the water has frozen and covered the asphalt with a thin layer of ice.

7. Watch out for truckers

If the weather starts to turn bad and trucks slow down, you should do the same. If I began to notice that many drivers heavy vehicles try to pull over, we advise when bad weather do the same.

By no means does this advice recommend driving like truckers. But remember: heavy vehicles have more ground clearance, big wheels and tires, greater overall weight, and better grip with the road. The lighter the weight of the car, the easier it is to lose control of the car and go off the track.

Winter is the most hard times for the car owner. Low temperatures, short daylight hours, snow and ice on the roads... Our short tips will help you drive a car in such difficult conditions with minimal losses.

Requirements should not be ignored technical regulations for car replacement summer tires for winter. Regularly monitor tire pressure, including spare tire pressure, because the spare tire may be needed suddenly when there is no time to inflate the tire, and the pump may not be at hand.

Before putting the car on long-term parking or even at night in severe frost, check the condition of the battery. The electrolyte level must not be below the minimum mark on the case. But the voltage is better to check immediately before the trip. At idle engine a voltage of 12.9 V means that the battery is almost fully charged, 12.5 V means that the battery is half charged. But if the voltage tends to 12 V, then the battery is discharged.

Check the condition of the wiper blades. Do not start driving with snow or frost on the windows. Don't forget to fill antifreeze liquid in the windshield washer reservoir before driving. And if the car is not equipped with a washer fluid level sensor and will not warn you that it is low, put a spare washer canister in the trunk. It is simply dangerous to continue driving with dirty glass in search of the nearest store with washer fluid.

Just in case, put in the trunk wires for "lighting", a cable, a snow shovel, a snow brush and an ice scraper. IN long way take the FUEL CAN. Try to keep fuel tank filled. All this will help out a lot in case of an unforeseen situation on the road. Even if the accident did not happen to you, you can help another driver.

A door that has been frozen along the contour may not succumb to small efforts, and an attempt to pull harder will damage the door seal or its handle. So pre-apply silicone grease on door seals.

Lubricate door locks and luggage compartment special composition which will prevent freezing. With a dead battery, opening the lock with the good old mechanical key is the only way to get into the car.

Dress appropriately for the weather, even if you don't plan on spending much time outside. Plans may change and there will be a need to withdraw from warm car in the cold, for example at a gas station or in the event of an accident. Before long trip put warm clothes in the trunk, be sure to have gloves and even a small dry ration.

Keep a close eye on the muffled pedestrians who have poor vision and hearing traffic situation. Such pedestrians may suddenly enter the road and not respond to the signals of approaching vehicles.

Stick on the "Spikes" sign if you have studded tires. The driver following you must be warned that braking distances your car on icy surfaces may be less than his - with non-studded tires. Yes, and the Rules of the road require the installation of a sign.

In order not to suddenly lose control of the car, avoid slipping on asphalt, and even more so on rails. This will also help keep the spikes on. winter tires. When driving on slippery surface do not make sudden maneuvers on the road (braking, accelerating, turning). Maintain increased distance and lateral spacing. Don't break speed mode. All of the above greatly increases the chances of getting into an accident.

Pay special attention to vehicles near you that have bad review because of the windows not cleared of snow. The driver of such a car can start the maneuver without noticing you. You should also be careful with the vehicles in front, whose headlights are covered with snow. Without noticing the triggered brake lights, you can be the culprit of an accident by catching up with such a car. And, of course, always thoroughly clear your car of snow before driving.