Warning! Daylight hours are significantly shorter in winter, so you will have to drive more in the dark, which is unsafe 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 up to standard 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 the spark plugs (see subsection 3.11.).
5. We recommend replacing tires with a universal tread pattern with winter ones (see subsection 2.23.).
6. Check and, if necessary, adjust the air pressure in the tires (see subsection 2.14.). Remember that at negative air temperatures the pressure in the tire decreases.
7. We recommend installing plastic mudguards in the wheel arches of the car to protect against corrosion.
8. Carefully inspect the car body 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. Clean snow from your car daily with a brush and ice from the glass with a plastic scraper, and also remove snow and ice from the wheel arches, mudguards and wheel rims.
10. If you store your car in a warm garage, wash your car regularly during winter use in the city to protect the body from the salt solution. If you store your car in an open parking lot, wash your car as needed. To prevent door locks from "seizing" in the cold after washing, pour WD-40 or special lubricant into the lock cylinders. If the locks do not open in the cold, try warming the cylinder with your finger or use a 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 shoes may freeze to the drums. If necessary, place chocks under the rear wheels (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 conducting a number of control and inspection measures and special additional preparation to eliminate accidents. After all, as a famous satirist said, "... rattling keys in the cold is much more pleasant." Additional preparation primarily includes unscheduled maintenance, which can be significantly simplified by using modern auto chemistry and special operating materials.
Everyone understands the importance of a serviceable battery during winter operation of a car. The density of the electrolyte of a fully charged battery may differ from the nominal 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 disconnected and not fall below 11 V under load for 10 s. Such a battery will serve for a long time and reliably.
The most famous brands of batteries are Bosch and Varta. We can recommend good batteries from the Turkish company Inci, the Spanish Tudor and the Czech branch of Varta, from domestic ones - the Tyumen and Podolsk battery plants.
When choosing a battery, pay attention to the following parameters:
- capacity. According to the operating instructions, it should be 55 A•h. It is permissible to use batteries with a capacity of 45–60 A•h. Too small a capacity will create problems with the "winter" start of the engine, if too large, the generator will not provide a full charge of the battery and the battery life will be significantly reduced;
- starter discharge current, A, according to DIN 43 539. The higher its value, the better, especially in winter operation. This guarantees that the starter will turn the crankshaft at a high enough speed and, if the engine does not start on the first try, you will have a chance to make a second and third, rather than get out the towing rope.
Do not buy batteries from "southern" manufacturing countries: there is no frost there, and their starting discharge current may be significantly less than that of batteries adapted to the conditions of the Russian winter.
If the battery is still "dead", you can use jumper cables with crocodile-type contact clamps. When buying, it is better to choose cables designed for a large load (from 200 A).
Using a less viscous winter motor oil makes starting a cold engine much easier. The international classification SAE J–300 contains six classes of winter oils. "Winter" classes have the letter W (winter) in their designation.
In moderate climates, it is permissible to use all-season tires in winter (universal) motor oils that are now widely used.
Among domestic brands of motor oils, we can recommend the following: "Rexol Universal", "Rexol Super", "LUKoil Standard", "Norsi", "Spectrol", "Ufalub"; 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 counterfeits, so it is best to buy oils in specialized stores that provide certificates for the product.
Remember that with intensive city driving, oil change (and, accordingly, the oil filter) must be carried out in strict accordance with the manufacturer's operating instructions for the vehicle, reducing the frequency of replacement by 20% every 50 thousand km starting from 100 thousand km. Flush the lubrication system when switching to another brand of oil. Various "boilers" that supposedly heat up the thickened oil in the crankcase do not provide any practical effect other than premature failure of the battery.
The cooling system of the engines of the Volga Automobile Plant cars uses special low-freezing liquids - antifreezes: aqueous solutions of alcohols, glycols, glycerin and inorganic salts with the addition of special additives. One type of antifreeze is Tosol, 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, you need to check its freezing temperature. Recently, special hydrometers for antifreeze have appeared on the market, calibrated both in g / cm³ and in degrees of freezing temperature.
Temperature correction to hydrometer readings when measuring the density of an electrolyte
Electrolyte temperature,°C | 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°C, g/cm³
| Climate region (average monthly air temperature in January,°C) | Time of year | Fully charged battery | The battery is discharged | |
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,°C | |
pumping with an oil pump | crankshaft rotation by starter | |
0W | –35 | –30 |
5W | –30 | –25 |
10W | –25 | –20 |
15W | –20 | –15 |
20W | –15 | –10 |
25W | –10 | –5 |
Temperature range for universal motor oils (according to SAE classification)
Compliance of viscosity classes of motor oils according to SAE and Russian classifications | |||||||
SAE | 5W | 10W | 15W | 20W | 20 | 20 | 30 |
Russia | 3z | 4z | 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 | 4z/10 | 5z/10 | 5z/12 | 6z/10 | 6z/12 | 6z/14 | 6z16 |
You can also fill in imported antifreeze. Due to the larger number of additives, imported antifreezes last longer and protect the engine from corrosion better.
It is strictly forbidden to use water in the cooling system in winter. This is because 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 while driving. When the car stops, there will be no circulation through the radiator and the engine will "boil".
Before starting winter operation, it is useful to add a special additive to the gas tank, for example Gasoline Treatment by ABRO (USA), to remove water from the tank and fuel system.
Advice: To make starting carburetor engines easier, a special starting fluid is also used, but this reduces the engine's service life, since the fluid washes away oil from the cylinder walls, which leads to dry friction of the piston in the cylinder at the moment of starting.
The operating instructions prescribe replacing the spark plugs every 15 thousand km. But given the experience of carrying out 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 intensively used in a large city, or on gasoline of dubious quality, or the mileage per year exceeds 15 thousand km.
It is better to use spark plugs from imported manufacturers: PAL (Brick), NGK, Bosch, Beru, Champion, etc., approved for use in engines of the 2108 family.
Winter operation, especially on the "salted" streets of large cities, greatly increases 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 in addition, the "compress" of wet mud dries for a very long time, increasing the harmful effect of salt on the paintwork of the body. As a last resort, wash the car more often during a thaw, and before the cold weather, wash and wipe dry, ideally - dry in a warm room. Before the start of winter operation, be sure to carry out additional anti-corrosion treatment of the body. Such treatment 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 yourself. It includes washing, drying and treatment with special protective compounds based, as a rule, on wax or silicone. We can recommend products from ABRO (USA): car shampoo with carnoby wax Wash-N-Glo, gold car wax with Teflon Car Wax Super Gold, silicone car wax Heavy Duty Silicone Cleaner & Car Wax. If you find deep scratches when treating the body, treat the exposed metal with a rust converter (modifier), for example, the domestic "Feran" or the imported Rust-Eater.
Plastic mudguards reduce abrasive wear of the anti-corrosion coating on the inside of the fenders, but if they are installed improperly, poorly ventilated cavities may form between the fender and the mudguard, in which additional sources of corrosion 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 "experts" advise, to only the front pair of wheels, as this dramatically increases the likelihood of a front-wheel drive vehicle skidding.
The most suitable for our winter were the Finnish tires Nokian Hakkapeliitta Q, but they are quite expensive. For constant city driving, non-studded tires are preferable. By the way, if you drive "on studs", keep in mind that on dry asphalt (this happens in winter too) their coupling properties are worse, which means that the braking distance increases. Do not forget: in accordance with the requirements of traffic regulations, you must place a triangular sign with the letter W on the rear window to warn other drivers.
Among the numerous other brands of tires with a "winter" tread pattern for the Sputnik/Samara, the most optimal are the winter non-studded tires of the domestic brand NIIShP and the Slovak Matador with a directional tread pattern, which at a reasonable price have good grip qualities and significantly facilitate driving on slippery and snowy roads.
Main parameters of ethylene glycol aqueous solution
| Volume ratio, % | Freezing point,°C | 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 |
Main indicators of antifreeze (TU 6-02-751-78)
Indicator | AM | A-65M | A-40M |
Color | Blue | Red | Blue |
Density at 20°C, g/cm³ | 1,120–1,140 | 1,085–1,095 | 1,075–1,085 |
Freezing point,°C | Not standardized | –65 | –40 |
Boiling point,°C | 170 | 115 | 108 |
Compound, %: ethylene glycol | 96 | 60–64 | 50–56 |