Question:
How can a racerchick prepare for winter ?
WINTER DRIVING TIPS:
WARMING
UP A CAR doesn't hurt the car - -- a lot of manufactures these days
say not to, but this is aimed at emission reduction rather than engine life.
if you drive the vehicle moderately until it gets up to operating temperature
then it will warm up just as well as sitting Idling
-- or maybe even better. The theory of warming up an engine is that the engine is designed to
operate at a particular temperature, metal parts expand and change shape
dramatically when they change temperature
and the parts are designed so that they basically fit each other when they are at their operating temperature.
Operating outside this temperature range when the parts don't fit as well can be
harder on the parts -- so moderate load on the engine is OK.
In fact the engine running above idle is actually better because the engine throws more
oil around inside itself at RPM's above idle and hence lubricates itself better
than at idle. Ideal warm up is probably between 1500 and 2000 RPM,
the engine would see this in moderate driving conditions.
Starting the engine and slamming the accelerator to the floor to get that tire squealing
roaring start (just like in the movies ) is definitely less than ideal for the
engine. If the engine warms up faster then the emissions tend to be a lot less as the
catalyst lights off sooner etc; plus the sooner the engine is at it's operating
temperature then it runs more efficiently and therefore produces less emissions
etc.The moderate driving theory also has the additional benefit of
warming up the transmission as well as the rest of the moving drive-line
components not just the engine. Common sense of course dictates that
if the windows are all steamed up it is probably a tad hazardous to be playing
in traffic anyway - - so a little warm up to get the defrosters going may be a
survival technique.
THE
DEFROSTER THING: On most vehicles it is better to
clean the snow off the car before the defrost fan is switched on, otherwise
the humidity level in the vehicle goes way up and you risk the fogging up on the
inside of the vehicle.The intake where the vehicle sucks fresh air from is
normally a grill just ahead of the windshield and if it is covered in snow when
you fire up the fan guess where is sucks all the humidity?
A good tip is when you park the vehicle make sure the fan is in the off position so when you
start the car the fan isn't sucking snow before you get a chance at brushing
it off. And while we are talking about shut down technique,
think of those poor wipers trying to grunt themselves loose when frozen to the windshield!
Another good practice is make sure they are off and in the park position before
you shut down
SAND
BAGS IN THE TRUCK/TRUNK ? When most cars were front
mounted engine and rear wheel drive the weight bias was not on the driving
wheels and putting sand bags in the light end of the vehicle substantially
increased the traction in snow. Traction in snow is obtained through
surface or contact pressure: Rally cars go for generally the skinniest tallest
snow tires that they can get for the winter rally snow stages;
Ice racers add as much weight as they can directly to the wheels or suspension for the
rubber to ice classes.
This brings up another point:
What the ice racers do to the tires when they are running the rubber to ice class is
"tractionize the tires". This was something that people used to do to
street vehicles at one point in time to get better traction (in the days before
salt ). Tractionizing involves running the tire on a couple of rotating drums
that are covered in short spikes. This treatment produces a bunch of
little cuts in the tread that gives a sponge like surface that gives
unbelievable traction on glare ice (what ice racing is all about ) Most
modern cars are now front wheel drive so that the weight of the engine is over
the driving wheels (no more sand bags! ) and the vehicles that are rear wheel
drive now have a very even weight distribution front to rear. We also have
traction control on the drive line and ABS brakes. Tire technology has come a
long- long way. We can buy tall skinny Haka 's for the deep northern snow
and Blizzaks for the urban salt and black ice.
If you look closely at these modern city and highway snows for the low profile crowd you will see these
tiny cuts in the tire called cypes.
These little cuts act just like the tractionizing and give us grip on the slippery stuff (what's old is new again)
when you add the old technology of the cypes with the new rubber compounding and
carcass construction we get a tire that gives near dry pavement grip in the wet
slop of the streets.
SPEAKING
OF BLACK ICE: This is a bit of a misnomer - - it's not like
some one is out there mixing black dye with water.
The blacktop that we are accustomed to driving on sometimes gets covered with a fine layer of ice that is
indiscernible from normal clear pavement particularly when viewed from the
cockpit of the car. When encountering this phenomenon we only notice the
lack of grip so it can get you by surprise.
Clues to black ice are usually things like other cars already in the ditch or sideways on the road ahead.
Other clues are things like a lot of frost in the morning on everything, or a
really cold morning after damp foggy day.
Most of the time it is actually frozen dew (frost) on the blacktop and if the sun hasn't melted it of
-- BEWARE !! So in summary, black ice may be lurking after a big temperature
and humidity change in the weather or if the dew point and the temperature are
very close together coupled with freezing conditions.
HOW TO PREPARE THE CAR FOR WINTER:
Put it in a nice warm garage under a cover and pick it up when summer is back and you have returned from skiing in Switzerland and sun-tanning in
Mediterranean. - - - You both will feel better for it !!
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