Winter is Coming

The folks at Continental Tire were nice enough to send out a friendly reminder that I thought best to pass along to you. Winter is coming and you would be wise to prepare yourself by following these tips. All season tires are not the same as winter tires, and as the temperature drops below 45-degrees and snow descends your tires may be ill-equipped to handle it; especially when you consider how much power some of our GM hot rods are pushing out. Continental Tire estimates that there is a difference of 25 to 50-percent in cold weather traction from all season tires to winter tires, which could easily be the difference between getting in an accident and avoiding one. Check out Continental's line of ContiWinterContact tires with a softer compound and unique tread patterns designed to increase the contact patch during inclement weather.

In addition to selecting the right tire, you may want to make sure the rest of your car is ready for the winter. Adding some antifreeze to the radiator is cheap insurance from a cracked radiator or engine block. Those of you who are running straight water in your race car better drain the radiator, or put in a 50/50 antifreeze mix pronto. While you are at it, make sure you have frost protector in your wiper fluid. Before the freeze hits its also a good idea to make sure your shocks, battery, spark plugs and lights are all working properly and replaced if necessary. You don't want to get stranded in the cold. And on that note, make sure you have a set of jumper cables, a snow brush/ice scraper and de-icing spray in the trunk. Last but not least, make sure you run an additional 2.9psi in your winter tires than what is recommended for the summer tires.