COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The manager of a Firestone repair shop straightens out what he describes as common misconceptions we have about proper vehicle care in the type of deep freeze expected this weekend.
“Warming up your car doesn’t mean to let it sit ten, 15 minutes,” said Vaiden McKeehan, store manager of the Firestone neat Academy and Jamboree on the city’s north side. “Because that’s actually harder on your car. There is a fuel/air ratio. As you let your car idle, it is known to push a little bit more gas into the system, which is going to, in the long run, hurt your vehicle longer. It’s actually easier to let your car get warm as you drive it.”
He also points out that under-inflating your tires doesn’t provide better traction on ice and snow.
“Actually, that works for sand, but it doesn’t work for snow,” McKeehan explained. “The job of a tire is to get underneath the snow to get the traction. So, what you want to do is make sure that your tire pressure is actually maintained properly. For every ten degrees that the temperature gets lower and lower, you lose a pound of pressure.”
Something else that may surprise you, is that some batteries perform better in colder weather.
“It’s a gel battery,” he said. “It doesn’t have as much lead acid. It’s the way that the chemical compound is in there, but it actually helps in colder weather. So, it gives you more cold cranking power and lasts longer.”
McKeehan said that maintaining your vehicle’s fluids — coolant, oil, wiper fluid, etc. — at proper levels can prevent cold weather breakdowns, as well…