GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hello to all, I would like to take a few moments to go over some proper tactics for snow removal from your vehicle. Ice buildupIce can build up in numerous places such as your headlights, impairing visibility, your roof and hood, which can cause a hazard to other drivers when on the highway, big chunks can come flying off. Windows are the most prone to icing because of the temperature differnce between the inside and outside of your car. So here are a few ways to deal wtih ice removal properly so you can keep yourself, others, and your cars paint/finish ok.1) If there is ice on your hood, let your car warm up, it will melt the bottom layer and make it easy to remove instead of having it fly off your car. Ice on the roof is a little different as it is not as easy to just melt off. Taking a snow bristle brush and gently tappin on the ice will help to break it free. Do not slam or hit hard as you will end up scratching your paint underneath. The light shocks will break it up and make it easy to remove. If you can, pick the pieces off by hand.2) Ice on your headlights and windows is something very easy to overcome, letting your car warm up is key to keeping a car running good. It allows the engine to warm up, your oil to warm up, and when you start driving, take it slow for a little bit so that your tranny fluid can warm up as well. Those with standards know what I mean, shifting can be a hassle at first. Putting everything on vent will allow the ice to melt down and become easy to remove with a bristle brush. One place people often forget to clear it the space where your wipers are attached, right between the windshield and the hood in that plastic vent area. Clearing this off will help a lot as the intake vent for your HVAC is located here, it will breathe better and put less stress on the blower motor. If all else is not an option, you can resort to the good 'ol scraper.Now if your not up for waiting, there is a product made by Prestone called De-Icer. It runs about $5 a can or less and is a remarkable time saver. Keeping a can in your hatch for the season is a good idea. It sprays in a strem and once it contacts, it melts the ice off immediately. It also works very well on headlights, taillamps, foglamps and mirrors to keep your visibility at a maximum. Snow RemovalThe common standard for snow removal is the bristled snow brush. It's rough, harsh and can cause more harm than good when dusting off your car. Leaving swirls and scratches galore. What you need to invest in is a product called the Sno-Brum made by AngelGuardProducts. It comes in many styles such as retractable or wood/metal poles. It is basically a special foam rectangle that is also available with a rubber squegee edge that is super easy to clean off your car with. It does not harm the finish, leave swirls or scratches, and can really push a good amount of snow in one shot, taking up to half the time to clean off your car as a traditional brush could. It also has a greater reach making sure you stay clear of the snow being pushed around and keeping you from leaning over to reach the tops of the roof. I bought one for my fiance as well so she could easily reach the top of her Jeep. It runs anywhere from $15+ and is available through their website. http://www.angelguardproducts.com I would give it a look as there is tons of other nifty things available as well.Wheel WellsPlease stop kicking your side panels and bumpers to remove snow. You are not helping the finish. Instead, take your snow bristle brush and use the handle end. Poke it into the wheel well and get that slush and stuck ice out. Kicking never led to any good and it kills me when I see people doing it. Keep your shoes and pants clean and poke around.stay tuned as I throw out another post about winter washing techniques.

Funny how this come on the tail of the "oh nos, my car is messed up after drifting" post.... Lolers...

Touche!

Yeah you liked that, haha. Timing couldn't have been more perfect

I think I'm going to buy that snobrum.Good write up dude.

I broke my antenna mount last week clearing 20+ inches of snow off the roof with a push broom. The stubby was buried and I forgot about it until I heard the crack. I did a temporary fix with electrical tape. Anybody know how to replace the mount? I hope it doesn't involve removing the headliner.

Quote, originally posted by kevera »I think I'm going to buy that snobrum.Good write up dude. Woops, sorry.... 2ndedI always forget to give proper props...

We used those SNOW BRUMs at enterprise in Wisconsin. They do a very nice job.

Quote, originally posted by Raven »I Anybody know how to replace the mount? I hope it doesn't involve removing the headliner.most likely you will need to do this in order to access the lower portion of the mount. post a photo and maybe we can give you a better idea.sorry for the

I found an old thread about antenna base replacement and yes the headliner must be removed. The best way to remove snow from your car is to drive south, far, far south and stay there until April.

Drive straight South to Florida.Works great.

I use the snow and ice removal tool that came with the car. It's metal, sort of L-shaped, maybe a foot and a half long, stores in the tray under the rear deck

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »I use the snow and ice removal tool that came with the car. It's metal, sort of L-shaped, maybe a foot and a half long, stores in the tray under the rear deck*It won't do a thing to the finish... that's the best tool to use!!!*"use at your own risk! I, nor anyone associated with genvibe.com are responsible for the outcome."

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »I use the snow and ice removal tool that came with the car. It's metal, sort of L-shaped, maybe a foot and a half long, stores in the tray under the rear deckI used that same tool (although I got the one from my Aztek) to unlock my doors when I locked my keys in.

just drive very fast and have it fly off and hit other cars, bonus points if your ice chunks go threw the window...

whelan, you are the man. even tho i don't live in a snowy part of the country, i still like readin your posts, because you have a lot of knowledge behind your font. i feel like i owe you somethin in return for all your work here. let's meet up in st. louis, and i'll buy you a beer

I'll take you up on that one for sure!

I got my sno-brum today-wuhoo,just after our huge snowfall,of course.It works like a charm.Thanks for the low down buddy.

hey kevin, where did you happen to buy the sno-brum, i'd love to buy one but i cant seem to find one..i checked on canadian tires website but to no avail. what other stores may carry it, like part source or even wal-mart?

I bought it at this weird place on Caledonia and Lawrence.It's called hedonics.I stopped by there today and picked it up.If you want me to pick you one up let me know.Have a look at their website.http://www.hedonics.com/store/products.asp?dept=8

wow they got some pretty cool stuff i've never even seen before..i'll have a look around and see if i can find one..if i cant i'll msg u and let you know

jumping into your car, throwing the wipers on full blast and jumping on the highway doing 80 isn't the proper way to do snow removal?oh i forgot to add laughing manically while doing it

Quote, originally posted by darcmater » jumping into your car, throwing the wipers on full blast and jumping on the highway doing 80 isn't the proper way to do snow removal?This method does prevent tailgaters though.

Quote, originally posted by zionzr2 »This method does prevent tailgaters though. In CT, it is a new state law went into effect this winter, you can get pulled over and fined for not clearing off your roof. Good news to me cause seeing chunks fly off peoples roofs really bothers me. They need to not be so lazy and put some effort into clearing their cars instead of just clearing the windows and calling it a day.

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »In CT, it is a new state law went into effect this winter, you can get pulled over and fined for not clearing off your roof. Good news to me cause seeing chunks fly off peoples roofs really bothers me. They need to not be so lazy and put some effort into clearing their cars instead of just clearing the windows and calling it a day. At least people in CT are properly clearing thier WINDOWS... you should see some of the Darwin canidates that run around here in the winter..

LOL, ever see a girl drive by with just the windshield wiped. And only the part on the drivers side. Saw that one once, rest of the car was totally covered except for her little portion. I was like (removed)!!