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Winterizing a BC My 05 Vibe for Alberta
Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 5:45 pm
by metalmechanic
I moved from the coast up to Lac La Biche in June, looking forward to a much colder winter than either the Vibe or myself are used to! Wondering if any fellow Albertans have any advice on how to best winterize my car, and anything to look out for as the temperature drops. Here's what I've done so far:
Coolant flush (but not thermostat)
Oil change (5-30 synthetic)
Transaxle fluid change (75-90 synthetic)
Good winter wipers
Snow tires...though these are my BC winter treads, I'm thinking I will need something better suited to the north
Also, car already has a block heater.
Anything else?
Re: Winterizing a BC My 05 Vibe for Alberta
Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 6:46 pm
by star_deceiver
metalmechanic wrote:
Coolant flush (but not thermostat)
Oil change (5-30 synthetic)
Transaxle fluid change (75-90 synthetic)
Good winter wipers
Snow tires...though these are my BC winter treads, I'm thinking I will need something better suited to the north
Seems like a good list! Check to see that your coolant is good down to at least -46C!!!
What winter tires do you have?
Re: Winterizing a BC My 05 Vibe for Alberta
Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 1:45 pm
by thebarber
do you really need anything more than proper winter tires when switching from summer-winter?
Re: Winterizing a BC My 05 Vibe for Alberta
Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 6:18 pm
by star_deceiver
For southern Ontario... probably not. But it can get reeeeeeeealy cold here. I've driven -46C three times in my life here... two of those were in Edmonton, the other in Banff... I know it's been colder then that as well. If the average GenViber went out to their car tonight and checked their coolant, it would probably read around -40. Radiator freezing solid... not fun.
Oh yeah... these things work wonders:
Re: Winterizing a BC My 05 Vibe for Alberta
Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 6:25 pm
by thebarber
when i was in NB i never did anything special to the yaris or aveo...just snow tires and block heater
Re: Winterizing a BC My 05 Vibe for Alberta
Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 4:43 pm
by metalmechanic
Winter tires are Falkens, they worked well on the coast, but I've had em for 2 winters, so not sure how much decent life they have left...
Good point about checking the coolant temp! It's new coolant, 50/50 mix, but never hurts to double check.
Re: Winterizing a BC My 05 Vibe for Alberta
Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 5:01 pm
by star_deceiver
Here's my oil pan heater.
And since I have an outlet by the car now, I'm going to try a heater in the car... or maybe my 200W incandescent bulb!
Re: Winterizing a BC My 05 Vibe for Alberta
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 6:08 am
by thebarber
thought about a washer fluid heater?
Re: Winterizing a BC My 05 Vibe for Alberta
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 9:37 am
by star_deceiver
Nah... but I did label the bottle properly this time!