| Vol. I, No. 1 |
Oct. 20th, 2000 |
Auto & Travel
AutoMotives:
Ready for Winter?
It may seem like there's still plenty of time before the snows
start to fly. And there may be. But I remember one year, an October
5th, when I picked my son up from school. It was a cold, damp day, and as
we left, a few flakes started falling.
We stopped at the Grand Union to pick up a few groceries.
We weren't there long, maybe 20 minutes. But by the time we came out,
there was already a couple of inches of heavy, wet snow on the ground. We
got back in the car and started down 116.
By the time we got to the turn for the Notch Road, the snow was
falling hard. We scooted up the dog-leg toward the Notch Road, which we
made ok. But by the time we turned to head onto the Upper Notch Road
... Oh, well. With something like 3 or 4 inches on the ground
already, maybe even more, we only ever got up the first couple of hundred
feet. My summer tires just weren't going to cut it.
So, don't you get caught short this season. ...
Most of what you should do seems fairly obvious. But we
thought we'd check anyway, so we called on Roy Dyke of Roy's Automotive on Plank
Road in Bristol. Roy knows cars. He's been working on them since
forever. In fact, he used to race them. Roy also knows Vermont winters,
since he's lived in Bristol all his life.
Roy had the following suggestions for how to get your car ready
for a Vermont winter.
Some Winter Reminders from
Roy Dyke
Roy's
Automotive, Bristol, Vermont
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Snow Tires: The first and most obvious
thing, says Roy, is a decent set of snow tires. And we're
talking snows, here. All Seasons may be ok for some areas, but not for
Vermont winters. Check the tread, especially if you been running those
snows all year long, since snow tires are formulated for cold weather, and
the hot summer pavement can really wear them down. If your tread's
wearing thin, go for a new set of snows.
.
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| Roy outside his
shop |
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Anti-freeze: The next obvious
step is to check the anti-freeze. Even folks who check their oil
fairly regularly don't always remember to check the anti-freeze.
Beyond that, though, it can't hurt to have the cooling system flushed.
Unclogging those arteries and putting some fresh anti-freeze in, in the
right proportion, can save you a potentially big headache.
.
-
Battery: Make sure your battery
is in good shape. Roy's recommendation is that if your battery is
"4 years or older, get a new one." According to Roy,
"Sears actually says you should change your battery if it's 2 yrs or
older," but he thinks that may be overkill. In any case, a strong
battery can get you to work on time, or even better, keep you from being
stuck at work longer than you planned.
.
-
Tune up: Roy's last suggestion
was that you consider a tune-up. While lots of newer cars can go a
long way before they need one, you need to think about when the last time
you had tune-up was. If it's been a while, then some new plugs and an
air filter are in order.
According to Roy, "If you you have decent
snows, a strong battery, fresh anti-freeze and a tune-up, there's no reason why
you'd get stuck during the winter ... especially if your car's
fuel-injected."
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