This guest blog was written by John Rooney for Elite Direct – an experienced and reliable garage offering servicing and MOT throughout East London and Essex. While we all know that Audis enjoy the snow, these tips provide great ideas to make sure your car (and you, yourself) are prepared for the tough months ahead…
Audi’s are designed and built off the back of decades of German automotive expertise, and as such they are adept at dealing with all manner of road and environmental conditions. However, as the cold weather bears down on us, you still need to take some precautionary steps to ensure that you don’t experience any problems on a particularly wintery day.
Keep the battery charged
During the winter your car battery takes on a much greater workload, what with the increased requirement for your lights, heaters, windscreen wipers etc, and it is for this reason that there are so many more instances of battery-related breakdowns in winter.
With this in mind, it is essential that your battery is in good condition, and Audi recommend using a trickle charger to help keep it fully charged during the winter. However a typical car service will include a battery condition check anyway, and we’d strongly advise having your car serviced before winter truly kicks in.
Familiarize yourself with the tire repair kit
The majority of modern Audi cars are no longer provided with spare wheels – with the aim of saving both space and weight – but instead come equipped with a tire mobility kit. Easy to use and intuitive, they allow you to fix air leaks at the side of the road, meaning if you suffer a flat you won’t need to call out a breakdown recovery service.
However, although they are simple to use, it is still advisable to familiarize yourself with the equipment ahead of time to avoid having to do so in the freezing cold of winter stood next to the freeway.
Don’t neglect your convertible roof
If you own an Audi convertible, it is fairly unlikely you’ll be driving with the roof down very often at this time of year, but this lack of use can cause problems for when the warmer months arrive.
On a dry day or inside your garage, let the convertible roof run through its complete opening and closing cycle after you have checked that the fabric is clean and dry.
Use the right screen wash and coolant
Most of us understand the importance of having the right level of screen wash and coolant in our Audis, but few realize the significance of using the right screen wash and coolant. The colder conditions requires a different concentration of anti-freeze, something that will be taken care of during a pre-winter service, while you can also purchase screen wash that has been specifically designed for use in Audi cars to avoid crystallisation.
Detail Your Car Before Winter & Use A Sealant
Winter weather is tough on your car, as the snow, salt, and grime eats away at your paint finish & polish, as well as all of the metal in your car’s suspension, undercarriage, wheels and exhaust. Before the weather gets bad, give your car a good polish and then finish the polish with a sealant to protect the paint. Whenever possible, try to wash your car after heavy use in the snow or on roads that are heavily salted to combat additional wear and tear on your car.
Invest in Snow Tires
Equally as important as an AWD system like Quattro is having the right snow tires. A summer performance tire will not do well in the snow and ice, and could actually be a threat to your safety. Ideally you’ll want to buy a seperate set of wheels for the winter, equip them with snow tires, and have great traction while maintaining your fancy wheels with summer performance tires for the non-winter months, and sparing your nicer wheels & tires the harsh winter conditions that eat away at the finish of your wheels…if that isn’t possible, make sure your tires are at least All-Season rated, and not a high performance summer-only tire.
What is your winter preparation routine for your Audi? Let us know in the comments section below.
