Winter Shiters 2014/2015!

[beko1987]

I had to defrost the inside and outside of the windscreen this morning

 

 

Which probably means winters coming, especially for us soft southern bastards...

 

Time for a winter thread?

[twosmoke300]

Wool ?

[Matt]

Don't fiucking remind me again. I want to hibernate. The Swift doesn't seal properly thanks to a tiny broken clip that locates the off side window when it's up so the insides of the windows get condensation that's impossible to clear properly without wiping the inside of the glass over and over usually making it filthy in the process. Best part is I can't replace the clip without dismantling the entire window seal and surround on two cars and then reassembling mine.

[Lacquer Peel]

We had our first frost of the season last month, and that was by the coast. Poor effort. I've seen August frosts where my family lives in Strathspey.

[beko1987]

Soft Southern Shandy Drinking Bastards the lot of you!

 

I haven't even put my winter tyres on yet. I did fill up with the -60 degree screen wash yesterday but only because I didn't have any of the summer stuff.

I put winter tyres on the xm last year in anticipation and nothing happened so not bothering again, the old zx did admirably on worn normal tyres!

 

I live the wrong side of a big hill now, so if it snows fairly nicely it'll be closed anyway as they'll shut the m40, and the back roads will clog like nothing!

 

I do miss having a temperature display in the car though...

[willswitchengage]

Downside of old cars that I experienced this morning: FROZEN LOCKS

[bub2006]

-1.5•c at 7.15 this morning when I went to work. Wife finished her brew while I was sent outside to de ice the bloody car. Yes its getting a bit chilly near derby

[tooSavvy]

I do miss having a temperature display in the car though...

 

I think there are stickon temp strips, for on the Drivers mirror....??

 

 

TS

[derskine]

Frozen locks are annoying... heat the key with a lighter!

I'm really hoping to get the 18 back on the road soon, the polo's heater is great but does take a while to warm up. I reckon the big diesel engine should heat up quicker, and the heater in the petrol one I had was fantastic.

[twosmoke300]

Well I'm driving from cornwall to Cumbria for a weeks holiday morro so I may be in for a shock with regards to temp .

 

Oh and your shit outta luck if you think your diesel is gonna warm up quick. Diesels need to be put under high load to warm up

[beko1987]

The cold air from the vents was warmer than the window! Takes about 14 minutes to get warm, times it at the services waiting for recovery on the first day!

[Mr Lobster]

If I get time I'll get my winter wheels on the SEAT this weekend. Even if it doesn't snow they are worthwhile. Grip when its cold / icy / damp was noticeably better and in the snow they are awesomez.

 

Couldn't abide a car freezing up on the inside tbh, that would seriously upset me.

[mat_the_cat]

/\ Must have a leak, surely?

 

First gritting of the roads this year on Tuesday, which is fairly late to be fair, they normally start in October but it's been fairly mild so far. No frosts yet though. Winter tyres going on tomorrow...I've got a feeling I'm going to miss the heated screen on the Focus this year, although at least the Disco does have one.

[fordperv]

i was shocked to walk out of work last night to find my car frozen, this morning when i went to defrost the car before it was time to go to work it wasn't frozen but the mrs car was 

[barefoot]

Have you heard the windscreen defrosting tip which says,

"put a hot water bottle on the dashboard before breakfast & when you nip out half an hour later..."

There'll be a defrosted patch about the size of a fucking hot water bottle - a complete waste of time.

[mercrocker]

Winter prep on the Minor is complete.....Broken clothes peg wedged in rattly door window, mothy drivers carpet removed to shed for the duration, heater valve mole-gripped to ON position, Army blanket on back seat and £30 worth of Dynax in the wheel arches.   Oh, and a bag's worth of welding all summer of course....Back up plan in place (Can I borrow the Merc, today, love?)

[dave21478]

Hit the scrapyards / ebay and get a Webasto heater from a freelander td4 or a rover 74 with the same engine. they are probably in other things, but I dont know what offhand. Bag the main unit, the temp sensor behind the grill, some plumbing, the wiring, the fuel doser pump and the fuel line. Plumb into your cars water circuit and watch your warm-up time tumble. It will automatically kick in when you start the engine and the exterior temp is below something like 5 degrees.

Or if you are really flash, get a cheapo remote transmitter / receiver kit from Maplins and wire it up to switch the webasto and cabin fan on. That way you can start it from your kitchen and while you eat toast the car warms up and defrosts the windows.

*smug*

[derskine]

Well I'm driving from cornwall to Cumbria for a weeks holiday morro so I may be in for a shock with regards to temp .

 

Oh and your shit outta luck if you think your diesel is gonna warm up quick. Diesels need to be put under high load to warm up

 

It's N/A and needs to be pushed hard to get up to speed!

[Matt]

Anyone tried these 12v ceramic heaters out? Maybe not particularly for defrosting but more for making the inside of your car more pleasant of a morn.

 

[mercrocker]

Somebody told me a tray of cat litter is more use.....Have not tried either, must admit...

[mat_the_cat]

I bought one once. You be better off getting your passenger to breathe heavily on you for a bit of warm air. Don't waste your money!

[londonm]

Just don't do what a friend did, boil a kettle and pour on to windscreen....

[skattrd]

If you want an extra heater in the car get an invertor and plug a small household convection heater in to it.

 

My Merc dizzler heats up very quickly. The boring takes around 5-6 miles to get up to temp, the Merc less than 2.

 

I have winter tyres for the boring, but am undecided if the Merc is staying so that's only got the wheels & tyres it came with.

[barefoot]

I bought two cans of top quality de icer today... from pound-land.

[DS20]

My Range Rover is the bestest cold-weather car I've ever had. Heated seats and screens front and rear get things warmed up / ice-free in no time, and the V-8 provides roasting hot air within a mile. That last point might be related to the 14mpg fuel economy. I dunno.

[forddeliveryboy]

240v engine preheaters aren't just the expensive Kenlowe things anymore, there's decent stuff on ebay for £80-100. Nothing like setting off into 3 or 4 inches of snow with a warmed up engine and blower stuffing hot air up the screen and onto your feet. Good for modern diesels which never seem to heat up properly in cold weather, until on the motorway.

 

Easily tranferred when you replace your chod. You can get away with tired batteries and starter motors, old plugs, knackered glow plugs and shitty GM soya veg oil, poor compression and a host of other nasties. Plenty of cars which start just fine 9 months of the year turn truculent in November.

 

I stick on the winter tyres towards the end of November usually - the ground has enough stored heat from summer to sort out most cold air until then. In the same way the summer temps a couple of weeks ago were odd in the sense the tyres weren't gripping as I'd expected them to at 19C. Of course, the road temps were way lower and normalish for late Oct and early Nov.

[Junkman]

Nobody, repeat, nobody, will top what a colleague of mine bought as a WBoD.

It's a 500 quid Mazda RX8 floppytop.

 

WIN!

[Ghosty]

A convertible RX8?

 

Pretty sure that's not a thing - FC RX-7 surely?

[Vince70]

Winter prep for me involves filling up the water washer bottle with concentrated train screen wash which finds its way into my motor via work.

 

That stuff is so good that I find after a couple of sprays with the washers that the ice has melted and the car still has paint on the bonnet and roof so it doesn't look like it's damaged the paint in the 4 years I've been using it.

 

Plus I found under the seat of the car the other day a brabantia ice scraper which is a proper heavy duty thing so now I won't damage my debit card anymore trying to chip the ice of the screen.

 

If the weather gets really bad and I can't get up the hill I find just deflating the tyres by about 10psi works wonders as well.

 

The only thing I hate is that my old winter snotter has some fancy climate control computer led screen thing and I prefer just a couple of dials so why do manufacturers have have to make things complicated just for the sake of it.

 

But at least the drivers heated mirror can keep my hand warm I guess if I drive with the window open to stop the car steaming up when I leave first thing in the morning.

[rml2345]

The SVM have prepared by having a cup of tea and a nice sit down. That should see us through to spring no bother.