winter precautions

[ripper46]

winter is finally here,however exams are near too, so the GTI is going to be stationary outside for at least a month .
simple questions: Can this do bad things to the car? battery will probably be flat, If I recharge it will it affect the batteries "performance"?
or does the winter act like a deepfreezer? => conserving the car

[fisetdavid26]

Originally Posted by ripper46

winter is finally here,however exams are near too, so the GTI is going to be stationary outside for at least a month .
simple questions: Can this do bad things to the car? battery will probably be flat, If I recharge it will it affect the batteries "performance"?
or does the winter act like a deepfreezer? => conserving the car

People here 'plug' their cars into an electricity source, so the battery never goes flat. Winter doesn't act like a deep freezer unfortunately, I've seen a lot of cars that were in perfect running order that needed to be jump started because the temperature was too cold for two days or so... but that's under extreme conditions.

[ZeTurbo]

Originally Posted by ripper46

winter is finally here,however exams are near too, so the GTI is going to be stationary outside for at least a month .
simple questions: Can this do bad things to the car? battery will probably be flat, If I recharge it will it affect the batteries "performance"?
or does the winter act like a deepfreezer? => conserving the car

i doubt your battery will be flat after a month, if so , its time for a new one dude.

i wish you were right about winter deepfreezing your car, its more like a deepfrier. unfortunatly all the crap they throw on the roads to melt the ice will corode your car. thas why a 10-15yearold car in cold countries is usually in a worst shape than a car the same age in a warmer country.

[Cotterik]

Originally Posted by fisetdavid26

People here 'plug' their cars into an electricity source, so the battery never goes flat. Winter doesn't act like a deep freezer unfortunately, I've seen a lot of cars that were in perfect running order that needed to be jump started because the temperature was too cold for two days or so... but that's under extreme conditions.

ironically this happened to my girlfriend yesterday. She's got a 3 day old Kia Picanto and when she went to start her car to go to work the battery was totally flat. Since the car has obviously been sitting around in a warehouse/showroom for a while, plus the VERY cold weather we're having this winter. Eventually the battery was identified as faulty and we had to get the repair service out to charge it up enough for us to drive to the garage and get it replaced.

Winter tips = park your car in a garage!

[ripper46]

Originally Posted by ZeTurbo

i doubt your battery will be flat after a month, if so , its time for a new one dude.

i wish you were right about winter deepfreezing your car, its more like a deepfrier. unfortunatly all the crap they throw on the roads to melt the ice will corode your car. thas why a 10-15yearold car in cold countries is usually in a worst shape than a car the same age in a warmer country.

It won't be driving on the salty roads, and winter isn't that harsh over here.
it is freezing -3 for a week here , it probably won't last for a month though.
I was always told that the cold and batteries didn't go together al that well.

[ripper46]

Originally Posted by Cotterik

Winter tips = park your car in a garage!

expensive

[fisetdavid26]

Originally Posted by Cotterik

Winter tips = park your car in a garage!

It's not necessary really, our cars always sat outside in the driveway and withstood freezing temperatures (we're talking -20C and colder in January). Old cars are generally plugged in an electricity source so they start without problems in the morning, but newer cars won't have a problem starting. Of course a garage would be nice, but hey, we don't all have money sleeping in a bank account somewhere

[drakkie]

In theory a Lithium battery even gets better performance when it's cold But as most cars are not yet equipped with that..

We have a thing called a start booster. When plugged onto the battery it charges it really quickly ! Ideal for winter conditions.

Make sure your alarm is disabled before leaving it. It uses a tiny current, but over a longer time it is enough to completely drain it.

[twinspark]

Originally Posted by Cotterik

Winter tips = park your car in a garage!

Not always the best solution, if temperature stays sub zero for a longer period and there's snow. The snow get's everywhere under the car and melts when it's brought to a warm garage. Then it's taken out for a drive again and it gathers snow again, and the same happens again and again. It's better to stay frozen for a longer time than freeze and melt it many times.

As for the battery, and also the fluids, it's better to drive the car sometimes to let it warm and dry up than let it stand outside. Personally I've never had problems with battery going flat because of coldness, and we often have weeks of -20...-10 C, lowest usually being around -30. The trick is to just drive it and thus let it load every once in a while.

A heater in the engine is obviously handy, it keeps the fluids... well, fluids and the engine obviously starts up better when it's warm. But I doubt they install those in less cold countries.

Edit: I've found the locks a bigger problem, though with the 206 they haven't frozen once. But melting them has it's own tricks again.

[ZeTurbo]

Originally Posted by ripper46

It won't be driving on the salty roads, and winter isn't that harsh over here.
it is freezing -3 for a week here , it probably won't last for a month though.
I was always told that the cold and batteries didn't go together al that well.

Dude, im talking -20 an sometimes more, completely buried under snow, stopped for 2 weeks and still working... on a 92 civic.

[my porsche]

Originally Posted by Cotterik

plus the VERY cold weather we're having this winter.

Damn global warming.

Also, why does it cost money to park in your garage?

[ripper46]

Originally Posted by my porsche

Also, why does it cost money to park in your garage?

because I don't have a garage, I could rent one if I had money.

[my porsche]

How much are they? I'm assuming it's a heated garage?

[clutch-monkey]

lol @ winter

[baddabang]

Originally Posted by clutch-monkey

lol @ winter

It's not funny clutch!!

Your car should be fine for a month ripper. Go start it once a week if you get scared.