This is my first winter in New Jersey. The car has never been subjected to extreme cold enviroments.
Hehe, funny
Beside the occasionnal (2 times/year) snow storm, that's not exactly the
harshest conditions lol
.
Winter tires always help, but mostly if you have to drive north from time to time.
Like they said, use blue or green (for the hardcore northeners like me!) windshield fluid... blue won't freeze, and green add antifreeze to help defrost your windshield. And believe me, you don't want your fluid to freeze in the bowl... took over an hour to thaw and clean the mess with a garden hose last time I drove back to Quebec !
5W30 helps, but syntech oil is
the Holy Grail... can run on the same grade all year long, and start even at -25F! Worth the investment I think.
Winter wiper blades can be a choice, personnaly, I prefer to run on summer one, they don't tend to float at highway speed, but you have to be careful so that you don't pour water on them, like in a car wash. At least, dry them.
And the most important part, especially in states like NJ : clean your car at often as you can, especially the underside ! Salt and calcium is your enemy! Since I've moved to NJ from Quebec, I try to wash it at least once a month, sometime more often. Couldn't do that up north, so that's a good thing here !
Oh, and always carry a snow broom and an ice scrapper, maybe even a retractable shovel, so you won't look like a fool next time the snow plow dump a foot of snow on your car
P.S: I know it's too late for that, but if it can help other people for next winter, then that's good !
