Prepping my CivicX for winter

[Spinner]

I live in northern Vermont, and neither me, nor my family has owned a car until I bought my Civic last March. Long story short, I know little to nothing about maintaining, or preparing my car for winter weather, so I was hoping to get some tips.

My first question is about snow tires. When does everyone else who lives in cold climates put theirs on? I was thinking by early November at the latest, since we've already been getting snow these last couple days.

I'm also curious about warming up the car in the mornings, as I've heard conflicting things about it. On the one hand, remote starting my Civic and letting it warm up for 30 seconds to a minute before hopping in is something I do regularly, I've heard this could damage the engine (and I want my car to last as long as possible). Will using remote start regularly harm my engine?

Last question: a friend here suggested washing the car once every two weeks to keep road salts off the under side to prevent corrosion. Does anyone else practice this?

And a bonus, because I feel like other people have brought this up--is it just me, or does it take a while for the Civic to warm up in cold weather?

Thanks in advance!

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[uokrol]

I would put on the tires early November like you said. You can't predict the weather, so better be safe than sorry.

Remote start won't harm your engine. I would do it maybe 5 minutes before driving so it warms it up a bit in the winter months. 30 seconds and you will be driving with fogged up windows.

If it's snowing every week, I would wash the car at least once a week when it's nicer out.

It's an average time for me. My Tundra use to take like 10 minutes to warm up and my 07 civic si took about 3-4 minutes.

 

[Sman]

Make sure that you wax it before the winter. Helps keep that salt off.

I keep my all season tires on my cars all year. I live in SW Wisconsin where the roads are hilly, snow drifted, and sometimes icy. I am also used to driving in the weather and know how to take precautions. I could continue to explain why I keep them on instead of getting snow tires......A winter tire will preform better in the winter, but you still need to be cautious while driving...stupid drivers everywhere.........

Remote start is fine, as long as you don't have it go for 10+ minutes, and you don't get aggressive with the rpms before it is warmed up.

I wash my car around Christmas (usually get an above freezing day), and then shoot for another nice day in February. Once March comes along, its time for another wash/wax on a nice day.

You said that this is the first car owned, but didn't mention if you have driven in the snow/ice and if you feel comfortable driving in it.

 

[Billy4202]

This isy first year I'm buying snow tires. Did not have them last year, and we had a 40" event. In my part of eastern WV, they're not required; however the place I'm moving to in VA requires snow tires during an event or you can be fine. So I've been doing some research.

If you're already getting snow, I'd put them on ASAP. They help not just for snow, but rain also and when it's below 40 degrees.

I find 2-3 mins is enough to warm it up, unless it's under 30, then 3-5.

And yeah, I do think it takes a good while for the temp gauge to reach operating temp. Car heat works very quickly though. And just like last year, anything above 63 feels like I'm inside of a broiler.

 

[Fazzster]

I'm in central MA. I run (ran) dedicated snow tires on all my cars for the last 20 years and usually put them on around Thanksgiving. I run them hard when driving in the dry to preserve the tread life a little and up the MPG and cornering feel.

Warming up the car is best done just driving it. Make sure you use a very light throttle and keep the revs low until the engine comes up to temp. Just idling is a waste of fuel and does nothing to warm the transmission. 30 seconds is sufficient to get the oil pressure up and everything moving in the engine before getting underway.

Lastly, I don't leave salt on my car for my than a day. Even if I can't do a proper wash, I blast away the salt and sand at a coin op.

 

[bembol]

My winter prep is...

Polish and Wax. I use Meguiar's Ultimate.

Winter Tires. As I said I will be skipping it this year since my Sport Touring will arrive sometime in December.

I DIY and they're already mounted so I just pay attention to the 7-days forecast. Last year I didn't switch my Murano until middle of December.

That's pretty much it because I always use Rain-X.

 

[VarmintCong]

I'm in central MA. I run (ran) dedicated snow tires on all my cars for the last 20 years and usually put them on around Thanksgiving. I run them hard when driving in the dry to preserve the tread life a little and up the MPG and cornering feel.

Warming up the car is best done just driving it. Make sure you use a very light throttle and keep the revs low until the engine comes up to temp. Just idling is a waste of fuel and does nothing to warm the transmission. 30 seconds is sufficient to get the oil pressure up and everything moving in the engine before getting underway.

Lastly, I don't leave salt on my car for my than a day. Even if I can't do a proper wash, I blast away the salt and sand at a coin op.

+1 on engine warmup - the less time the engine spends are below operating temp the better. So you don't want to idle it for 5 minutes, just wait 30 seconds and start driving at modest rpms (sub 3000 or so).

I don't usually bother washing the salt off my cars, too lazy. In each case, rust starts to show up after about 12 winters, and by then I usually don't care. So it's up to you how long you will keep the car.

 

[NorthernEX-T]

I'm getting out of the habit now of excessive idling to warm up the engine on a cold start. Instead I am practicing now to run the car for no more than 1min and then slowly drive off and be easy on it until it reaches operating temperature for 2 mins. (I wait 2 mins because once you are at operating temp, it still takes a few more mins for you're oil to reach its operating temp.
@Billy4202 who ever thought you would need winter tires where you live?!
As for winter tires, I'm putting mine on this weekend. No point in waiting until the snow flies to put them on.

 

[Snoopyslr]

Definitely get a good solid coat of wax on your car.

Winter tires are amazing. If you're on the fence about buying them, just go get them. The difference in confidence you'll have driving during snow storms is worth it. My WRX with snow tires is ridiculous. I've pulled trucks out of the ditch with that thing lol.

Washing your car twice a month during the winter is fine if you really don't like your car. If you want it to stay nice, clean that thing off 2-3 times a week. Winter is the only time I really use the coin car washes, but I use them a lot. Blast that salt off the body every chance you get that makes sense. If it's going to be dry roads for a few days, wash it. Make sure you wash the under body and the suspension too.

You don't have to let your car warm up until it reaches operating temps. 1min should be fine to get oil flowing then light driving until you're at operating temps.

 

[NorthernEX-T]

Last winter when it was -20 I idled my car for an hour and it was still only 1/4 way up the temp gauge.. Looking back, that was so dumb lol, I probably diluted the shit out of my breakin oil doing that. Oh well, live and learn right?

 

[Billy4202]

I'm getting out of the habit now of excessive idling to warm up the engine on a cold start. Instead I am practicing now to run the car for no more than 1min and then slowly drive off and be easy on it until it reaches operating temperature for 2 mins. (I wait 2 mins because once you are at operating temp, it still takes a few more mins for you're oil to reach its operating temp.
@Billy4202 who ever thought you would need winter tires where you live?!
As for winter tires, I'm putting mine on this weekend. No point in waiting until the snow flies to put them on.

I'm trying to do the same with warm ups. last winter I did 5-10 mins to get the car warm and defrosted. Trying to do a quick 1-2 mins this year, then keep RPMs low and drive it.

Re: winter tires, yeah I think it's crazy. I'd be living in the city limits that requires it, but 1 minute away and they're optional. Weird laws lol

 

[Spinner]

Thanks for the tips, guys! I'm getting snow tires on next week, and I really appreciate the warm up tips. Knew y'all wouldn't let me down

 

[ulieq]

More washing = more rust. Keep your car dry as possible.

 

[NorthernEX-T]

More washing = more rust. Keep your car dry as possible.

So if it's caked in salt and just park it in my garage and keep it dry? Smh..

 

[tsupersonic]

So if it's caked in salt and just park it in my garage and keep it dry? Smh..

I'm probably on the other end of the spectrum - I wash my car daily in winter (snow or no snow). Much better to have your car clean rather than have salt and start rusting. I sometimes clean (dry) it when I get in my garage. Probably a bit too much...

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