Winterize Your Car. You know freezing conditions can be dangerous. Here\u2019s how to be well-prepared if you need to take the car out when snow and ice coat the roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Popular Mechanics<\/a> | BY\u00a0MANASEE WAGH<\/a> | NOV 4, 2022 | Winterize Your Car | Shield Auto Insurance<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s November, which means now is the perfect time to get outside and start prepping your car for the ice and snow ahead. We put together a list of eight easy ways to\u00a0winterize your car<\/a>\u00a0and stay safe. Our first three tips concentrate on your car\u2019s\u00a0tires<\/a>, since rubber meeting ice presents the greatest potential hazard. The rest are simply good practices that will help you maintain your vehicle over time and prep for the worst-case-scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if you follow all of our instructions to the letter, remember to make smart decisions depending on the current and forecasted weather outside. Make sure you know how to drive in different winter conditions. And finally, if you plan a road trip and wake up to find a blizzard approaching, consider postponing the drive unless you\u00a0must<\/em>\u00a0travel for an emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Winter tires don\u2019t harden in the cold, so they have better traction on ice, slush, and snow. If you live in an area not normally hit by heavy snow, you may decide to stick with all-season tires\u2014but you should still give those tires a check-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get out a pair of thin rubber gloves and run a hand over each of your tires. \u201cThe tires are really going to make a difference in your ability to get around in inclement weather,\u201d EricTheCarGuy explains on his YouTube channel<\/a>. He recommends checking for abnormal wear, bumps, or spots that \u201ccatch your hand,\u201d which are all signs that you should probably check your alignment, too. If a tire is worn out, change it. If you\u2019re not sure if your tread is worn or not, you can use a handy tool called a tire tread depth gauge. Alternatively, you can stick a penny into the treads, with Lincoln\u2019s head facing down into the tire. If you can see the top of his head, get those tires changed right away, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also remember that tires become harder on their surface from repeated heating and cooling over the seasons and years. Cars with apparently healthy treads can have poorer traction than you think they do. So when in doubt, swap those tires out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make sure your tire pressure is correct, as stated in your owner\u2019s manual, the tire placard located on the driver\u2019s side door jamb, or in your car\u2019s digital status center.\u00a0For every 10 degrees Fahrenheit that the temperature drops<\/a>, you could see a gain or loss of 1 pound per square inch of pressure. That\u2019s because air molecules pack together more closely when the temperature drops. As the air becomes denser, the pressure it exerts on the interior tire walls drops. Make sure you\u2019re refilling your tires whenever they\u2019re a little low to maintain good traction and durability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chains should only be used while driving on snowy or icy roads.\u00a0Never use chains<\/a>\u00a0on bare pavement, or they could cause damage to both your car and the road; Pull over and remove them if that\u2019s the case. Check out this\u00a0handy how-to video<\/a>\u00a0from the Oregon Department of Transportation about installing winter tire chains and how to correctly use them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check out the rest of the great article!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winterize Your Car! Freezing conditions can be dangerous. Here\u2019s how to be well-prepared. Visit Shield Insurance Blog for more great tips!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12246,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[341,1,347,2],"tags":[9,70,71,62,72,2192],"class_list":["post-12245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-auto-insurance","category-insurance","category-rv-insurance","category-shield-blog","tag-auto-insurance","tag-ice","tag-michigan","tag-shield-insurance-agency","tag-snow","tag-winterize-your-car"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12245"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12247,"href":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12245\/revisions\/12247"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. Switch to Winter Tires or New All-Season Tires<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2. Check Your Tire Pressure to Winterize Your Car<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3. Put Chains On Your Tires in Extreme Cases<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4. Install Winter Windshield Wipers to Winterize Your Car<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nVisit other blogs by Shield Insurance Agency!<\/h2>\n\n\n