Hi all, I hope this will enter me into the Rupes contest!... but besides that I hope my tips can help, here is what I do, and I hope it helps people out keeping their car in the best shape possible... or it could be completely worthless.



All weather mats, Weathertech or Husky liners, the 3D mold style ones, don`t let the other types fool you, when you open that door.. the snow falls in.. you want it CONTAINED!

Get a garden sprinkler or two and a garden hose splitter.... so, on the NOREAST! We had a blizzard/snow followed by... warmer (way above freezing) weather and melted all the snow in no time, but if you drove your car, it has TONS of salt under the body. put one sprinkler in the middle just behind the front wheels and one in the middle just in front of the rear wheels and turn on the sprinkler for 5-10 minutes, this will rinse and dissolve all the salt from under the car, follow up with a whatever wash method you can handle at the given NOT freezing temperature.

Check your spare if you have one, check all your tires, or better yet, put on winter tires, they perform better in the cold (sub 40s) and is way safer to drive on than all seasons... hell, bring it to your most trusted mechanic and tell him to give it a once over for the winter. Coolant may need to be flushed, fluids changed, belts replace, whatever is in cruddy shape should be taken care of, you do not want to be stranded because that belt cost 25 bucks to replace but you "thought" it can last through the winter.

Get an emergency kit, throw in a battery jumper pack, and the fix flat compressor that runs off your cigarette lighter, now is also a good time to buy that real deal breaker bar and the right size lug nut socket... you do not want to twirl around that cruddy tire iron that came with your car... really... not in the cold... not ever.

Remove your wheels, and apply a small around of never seize (some may disagree but trust me... I`ve done this enough times to say this) ON YOUR WHEEL HUB BORE. Just a very super thin coating like waxing, you don`t want to fling that crap around your shiny car, but you also dont want to take off all the lug nuts to... not remove your wheels because its stuck and you can`t do anything about it because you don`t have a hammer.. and your crappy scissor jack will tip over if you kick the wheel. I do this for all my cars the first time I remove the wheels to rotate it. NEVER a stuck wheel. Now is also a good time to coat your wheels if you are into coatings!

Pamper the car, put on your favorite sealant, coating, glass treatment, and do it a couple of times 2 or 3 coats, so you don`t have to reapply in middle of the FREEZING weather!!!

Get a good snow brush and don`t push ALL of the snow off, do not brush the darn paint... just push off the heavy stuff, and leave a thin layer, 1/4" or less, of snow on the car that will just melt off soon enough. but make sure you clear all your windows tho, that is critical. glass wont scratch that easily.

Switch your washer fluid to "winter formula," you`d be surprise at how many people run the summer stuff just to not have de-icing fluid when they need to see....

Leave a blanket, or a heat (that thin silver stuff) blanket in your car, just in case you do have to sit it out... due to a wheel that is stuck because that stupid tire iron tired you out removing lug nuts and then you found out your wheel is stuck to the hub.

Keep a flash light in your car, get a USB rechargeable one, and keep it nice and charged in your car, it gets dark quick and you will ALWAYS find a use for a flash light. I have a Nitecore MH2C for this reason.

Something most people wont think of is keeping a fire starter in their car, just get a cheap one that has the flint stick just in case you are in some serious trouble, please check with your local laws and regulations if this is allowed.

fill up your gas sooner than later, like living life on the edge and see that empty gas tank light come on? well dont do it during the winter, your MPG sucks, air is cold and dense, and your car uses more fuel. fill up at 1/2 tank or no less than 1/4 tank. why would you want to get stuck because of this silly mistake? it`s also healthier for your car since a full tank keeps your fuel pump cooler anyway.

to be continued....