Attention! Daylight hours in winter are much shorter, so you will have to drive more in the dark, which is not safe if you do not have stable skills.
1. Fully charge the battery (see subsection 3.30.).
2. Check the density of the coolant in the engine cooling system. If the density is below 1.075-1.085 g/cm3, bring it to normal or replace the coolant (see subsection 3.4.).
3. Replace the water in the washer reservoir with antifreeze fluid (see subsection 2.17.).
4. Replace spark plugs (see subsection 3.11.).
5. We recommend replacing tires with a universal tread pattern with winter tires (see subsection 2.23.).
6. Check and, if necessary, adjust the air pressure in the tires (see subsection 2.14.). Remember that when the air temperature is below zero, the pressure in the tire decreases.
7. We recommend installing plastic fender liner in the wheel arches of the car to protect against corrosion.
8. Carefully inspect the body of the car from above and below. If there are chips, cracks or scratches touch up the damaged areas. If damage to the anti-corrosion protection of the bottom and wheel arches is found, restore the coating.
9. Daily clean the car from snow with a brush and from glass from ice with a plastic scraper, and also remove snow and ice from wheel arches, mudguards and rims.
10. If you store the car in a warm garage, during winter driving in the city, wash the car regularly to protect the body from the saline solution. If the car is stored in an open parking lot, wash the car as needed. To lock doors after washing "didn't take" in the cold, pour WD-40 liquid or special grease into the lock cylinders. If the locks do not open in the cold, try warming the larva with your finger or use the cigarette lighter from another car.
11. We do not recommend applying the parking brake for a long time (more than one hour), as the brake pads may freeze to the drums. Place chocks under the rear wheels if necessary (bars, sticks, etc.).
A serviceable car does not require "winter" preparation. For operation in the northern regions of the country and large cities, we can only recommend a series of control and verification activities and special additional training in order to exclude accidents. After all, as the famous satirist said, "... rattling keys in the cold is much more pleasant". Additional training primarily includes unscheduled maintenance, which can be greatly facilitated by using modern auto chemical products and special operating materials.
Everyone understands the importance of a serviceable battery during the winter operation of a car. The density of the electrolyte of a fully charged battery may differ from the nominal one by no more than 0.02 g/cm3.
When checking the battery with a special load plug, the readings of the built-in voltmeter should be 12.5–12.9 V with the load off and not drop below 11 V with the load for 10 s. Such a battery will serve for a long time and reliably.
The most famous battery brands are Bosch and Varta. We can recommend good batteries from the Turkish company Inci, the Spanish Tudor and the Czech branch of Varta, from the domestic Tyumen and Podolsk battery plants.
When choosing a battery, pay attention to the following parameters:
- capacity. In accordance with the operating instructions, it should be 55 Ah. It is allowed to use batteries with a capacity of 45–60 Ah. Too little capacity will create problems with "winter" starting the engine, if too large - the generator will not fully charge the battery and the battery life will be greatly reduced;
- starter discharge current, A, according to DIN 43 539. The larger its value, the better, especially in winter operation. This ensures that the starter will crank the crankshaft at a high enough rpm and if the engine does not start on the first try, you will have a chance to do the second and third, and not get the towline.
Don't buy batteries "southern" producing countries: frost does not happen there, and the value of the starter discharge current can be significantly less than that of batteries adapted to the conditions of the Russian winter.
If the battery is still "planted", you can use cables for "smoking" with terminal type "crocodile". When buying, it is better to choose cables designed for a large load (from 200 A).
The use of a less viscous winter engine oil makes it much easier to start a cold engine. The international classification SAE J-300 contains six classes of winter oils. "Winter" classes have the letter W in their designation (winter - winter).
In a temperate climate, it is permissible to use all-weather in winter (universal) motor oils, which are now widely used.
From domestic brands of motor oils, we can recommend such as "Rexol station wagon", "Rexol Super", "LUKOIL Standard", "Norsi", "Spectrol", "Ufalyub"; from imported ones - Castrol GTX, ELF-Sporty, ESSO Ultra Oil X ESSO or Super Oil X, as well as Shell Super Plus. However, when buying oils, especially imported ones, you should beware of fakes, so it is best to purchase oils in specialized stores that provide product certificates.
Remember that with intensive city driving, changing the oil (and, accordingly, the oil filter) must be carried out in strict accordance with the factory operating instructions for the car, reducing the replacement frequency by 20% every 50 thousand km, starting from 100 thousand km. Flush the lubrication system when switching to another brand of oil. Various "boilers", supposedly heating the thickened oil in the crankcase, do not give any practical effect other than premature failure of the battery.
In the engine cooling system of automobiles of the Volga Automobile Plant, special low-freezing liquids are used - antifreezes: aqueous solutions of alcohols, glycols, glycerin and inorganic salts with the addition of special additives. One type of antifreeze is antifreeze, an aqueous solution of ethylene glycol with additives.
To prevent the liquid in the cooling system from freezing with serious consequences for the engine and radiators of the engine and heater, it is necessary to check the temperature of its freezing. Recently, special hydrometers for antifreeze have appeared on sale, calibrated as in g / cm3, and in degrees of freezing temperature.
Temperature correction to hydrometer readings when measuring electrolyte density
Electrolyte temperature,°С | Correction, g/cm3 |
–40...–26 | –0,04 |
–25...–11 | –0,03 |
–10...+4 | –0,02 |
+5...+19 | –0,01 |
+20...+30 | No |
+31...+45 | +0,01 |
Electrolyte density at 25°С, g/cm3
climatic region (average monthly air temperature in January,°C) | Season | Fully charged battery | Battery low | |
by 25% | by 50% | |||
Very cold (–50...–30) | Winter | 1,30 | 1,26 | 1,22 |
Summer | 1,28 | 1,24 | 1,20 | |
Cold (–30...–15) | All year round | 1,28 | 1,24 | 1,20 |
Moderate (–15...18) | ||||
warm humid (0...+4) | 1,23 | 1,19 | 1,15 | |
hot dry (–15...+4) |
Characteristics of winter oils
SAE class | Minimum temperature,°С | |
pumping oil pump | turning the crankshaft with a starter | |
0W | –35 | –30 |
5W | –30 | –25 |
10W | –25 | –20 |
15W | –20 | –15 |
20W | –15 | –10 |
25W | –10 | –5 |
Temperature range of application of universal motor oils (according to SAE classification)
Compliance with viscosity grades of motor oils according to SAE and Russian classifications | |||||||
SAE | 5W | 10W | 15W | 20W | 20 | 20 | 30 |
Russia | 3h | 4h | 5z | 6z | 6 | 8 | 10 |
SAE | 0 | 40 | 40 | 50 | 5W/20 | 10W/20 | 10W/20 |
Russia | 12 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 3z/8 | 4z/6 | 4z/8 |
SAE | 10W/30 | 15/30 | 15W30 | 20W/30 | 20W/30 | 20W/40 | 20W/40 |
Russia | 4g/10 | 5g/10 | 5z/12 | 6z/10 | 6z/12 | 6z/14 | 6z16 |
You can also fill in imported antifreeze. Due to the greater number of additives, imported antifreezes last longer and better protect the engine from corrosion.
It is strictly forbidden to use water in the cooling system in winter. This is due to the fact that when the heater fan is turned on at full power, the circulation of water through the radiator may completely stop and the water in the radiator will freeze right during the movement. When the car stops, there will be no circulation through the radiator and the motor "boil".
Before starting winter operation, it is useful to pour a special additive into the gas tank, for example Gasoline Treatment from ABRO (USA), to remove water from the tank and the power system.
Tip: To facilitate the start of carburetor engines, a special starting fluid is also used, but this reduces the engine's life, since the fluid washes oil from the cylinder walls, which leads to dry friction of the piston in the cylinder at the time of starting.
The instruction manual prescribes to replace the spark plugs every 15 thousand km. But given the experience of repair work, it is better to do this once a year, regardless of the mileage before the start of winter operation, or more often if the car is very hard to operate in a large city, or on gasoline of dubious quality, or the mileage per year exceeds 15 thousand km.
It is better to use imported spark plugs: PAL (Brick), NGK, Bosch, Beru, Champion, etc., approved for use in engines of the 2108 family.
Winter operation, especially on "salted" streets of large cities, greatly enhances the corrosion of body parts. Regular washing in winter is necessary if the car is stored outside, and absolutely necessary daily if the car is stored in a warm garage. Water washes away salt well, and besides, "compress" from wet mud dries for a very long time, increasing the harmful effect of salt on the body paintwork. In extreme cases, wash your car more often during a thaw, and before a cold snap, wash and wipe dry, ideally dry in a warm room. Before starting winter operation, be sure to carry out additional anti-corrosion treatment of the body. Such processing is best carried out at a specialized car service using special protective equipment and technologies. There are two types of anti-corrosion treatment: treatment of the bottom and hidden cavities of the body and treatment of the paintwork of the body. The latter can be easily done on your own. It includes washing, drying and treatment with special protective compounds based, as a rule, on wax or silicone. We can recommend ABRO products (USA): Wash-N-Glo car wax, Car Wax Super Gold, Heavy Duty Silicone Cleaner &Car Wax. If you find deep scratches when processing the body, treat the bare metal with a rust converter (modifier), for example domestic "Feran" or imported Rust-Eater.
Plastic wheel arch liners reduce the abrasive wear of the anti-corrosion coating on the inner side of the wings, but if they are not properly installed, poorly ventilated cavities can form between the wing and the wheel arch liner, in which additional corrosion centers will appear due to penetrating moisture.
If you use studded tires, be sure to change them as a set, and do not limit yourself, as some advise "connoisseurs", only with the front pair of wheels, as this dramatically increases the likelihood of a front-wheel drive vehicle falling into a skid.
The Finnish Nokian Hakkapeliitta Q tires proved to be the most suitable for our winter, but they are quite expensive. For constant city driving, non-studded tires are preferable. By the way, if you're driving "on spikes", keep in mind that on dry pavement (this happens in winter) their grip is worse, which means that the braking distance increases. Do not forget: in accordance with the requirements of traffic rules, it is necessary to place a triangular sign with the letter Ш on the rear window to warn other drivers.
Among other numerous brands of rubber with "winter" tread pattern for "Sputnik"/ "Samara" the most optimal are winter non-studded tires of the domestic brand NIISHP and Slovak Matador with a directional tread pattern, which, at a reasonable price, have good grip and make driving on slippery and snowy roads much easier.
The main indicators of an aqueous solution of ethylene glycol
Volume ratio, % | Freezing point,°С | Density, g/cm3 | |
ethylene glycol | Water | ||
100 | 0 | –12 | 1,130–1,140 |
90 | 10 | –30 | 1,115–1,125 |
70 | 30 | –67 | 1,095–1,105 |
60 | 40 | –55 | 1,183–1,092 |
50 | 50 | –34 | 1,071–1,079 |
40 | 60 | –24 | 1,058–1,067 |
30 | 70 | –13 | 1,044–1,052 |
The main indicators of antifreeze (TU 6-02-751-78)
Index | AM | A-65M | A-40M |
Color | Blue | Red | Blue |
Density at 20°С, g/cm3 | 1,120–1,140 | 1,085–1,095 | 1,075–1,085 |
Freezing point,°С | Not standardized | –65 | –40 |
Boiling point,°С | 170 | 115 | 108 |
Compound, %: ethylene glycol | 96 | 60–64 | 50–56 |