These are the crafty tips and tricks you need to know to help you and your car survive winter.
10.) Park Facing The Rising Sunlight
So simple, yet oh so effective. If it's possible, it's always worth parking in the sunlight since it'll save you a lot of time and effort clearing off snow and ice.
Best part is, it's free!
Suggested By: Sethersm, Photo Credit: Sergey Galyonkin
9.) Wax
No one wants to clean their car when it's cold and gross outside, but putting a strong coat of wax on your car will keep corrosives like salt at bay and lessen the amount of ice that will form on your car.
Suggested By: Buzz Killington, Photo Credit: Andy Karmy
8.) Put Weight Over Wheels That Don't Get Traction
The reason that front-engined, front wheel drive cars (and Porsche 911s) are so great in the snow, is that there's a lot of weight over the driven wheels, giving the car good traction.
If you've got a rear wheel drive car which has much lot less weight over the driven wheels, putting weight, like a sandbag, over the wheels will help tremendously. You'll probably waste a bit more fuel, but it beats being stuck.
Suggested By: primalzer, Photo Credit: Alexandra Stevenson
7.) Lift Your Windshield Wipers
Here's another simple one, but it's effective. No one wants to try to have to pry off wipers that are frozen to your windshield, or run the risk of breaking them.
During the winter, wipers are one of the most important components of your car, so ideal that their not stuck or broken.
Suggested By: JohnnyWasASchoolBoy, Photo Credit: Ken Mayer
6.) Use Kitty Litter To Get Traction On Ice
If you're ever having trouble with an icy road surface, just put some cat litter down on it and that surprisingly can help you gain traction. Since cat litter often comes in heavy containers, it can also be an excellent weight in RWD cars.
Plus, cat litter is essential if you have a car that likes to leak oil.
Suggested By: Schnell!, Photo Credit: Dave Matos
5.) Switch To All-Weather Floor Mats
This one's actually a twofer. Having a nice set of all weather floor mats will protect your car from all the snow and crap you've got on your feet, which keeps moisture & corrosives out of your car. This means you won't have to run your defroster on full blast every morning.
When you get good floor mats, keep the originals that came with the car in the trunk. They can help you get traction if you ever find yourself stuck.
Suggested By: Ghost of Rob, Photo Credit: WeatherTech
4.) Lubricate Rubber Seals
Lubricating your door seals with a silicone lubricant will help prevent your doors from freezing shut, and it'll help preserve the life of the seals.
No one wants to wake up to a car door that's frozen shut.
Suggested By: advocate4devil, Photo Credit: Mike Mozart
3.) Know What Direction Plows Are Oriented
Here's a clever one I bet you haven't thought of before, or at least I hadn't thought of it. If you park on the street, know where the plows are oriented, like, do they push the snow towards the left or right?
Just park on whichever side the snow doesn't get pushed to.
Suggested By: wætherman, Photo Credit: Steven Pisano
2.) Apply Fluid Film To The Underside Of Your Car
All the snow and salt that accumulate during the winter can rot your car inside out if let it. According to many commenters, undercoating your car with Fluid Film seems to work miracles, so I'd look into it if I were you, especially if your car has a tendency to rust.
Suggested By: Steeze McQueen, Photo Credit: Fluid Film
1.) Put A Sheet Over The Windshield
Here's how you never have to deal with an icy windshield ever again: put a sheet over it, if you know it's gonna freeze. Yep, that's it.
Just put a sheet over it and hold it down with the wipers and doors, take it off in the morning and you've got a clear windshield. It's as simple as that.
Suggested By: As Du Volant, Photo Credit: Amazon
Welcome back to Answers of the Day - our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Top Photo Credit: Below Zero Ice Driving