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[USA] Moving to a colder climate soon (Denver or Minneapolis-ish), how do I prepare my car? (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by acetanilide@lemmy.world to c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.ca

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Update 2024-10-27: Made it to my new home! Thanks to everyone for your input. Winter is closing in and I think we are well prepared!

Hello,

I have never lived in a snowy place. Where I am now we usually get enough ice to make it slick and it shuts the region down. We live in the center of the country so depending where exactly we end up we probably won't have an entire mountain to drive over...probably.

I am moving to be either in Denver area or Minneapolis area. What do I do with our cars?

I have a small 4WD SUV (I don't know how to drive in areas that actually require 4WD). Our other car is a slightly larger SUV. Both have pretty low clearance.

We currently have all season tires. Do we need to get special tires or chains? How do I learn to drive with the chains? Also, does everyone just have 2 sets of tires laying around?

What about vehicle fluids? IIRC viscosity is different in different climates, is that just oil I'd need to worry about?

And are you supposed to heat your car or whatever? I know they do that in super cold places but not sure about Minneapolis.

The areas we are looking at are in and around the major cities, although if we end up in Minnesota there's a chance we will be in a more rural area or in a place where we need to drive a long distance because housing is expensive.

If anyone knows how much longer we have to get there before the roads become treacherous this winter that would be helpful. I think we have til end of September to be safe, is that usually true?

Any other tips are much welcomed and appreciated. I don't really have anyone I can ask and the internet is pretty full of AI BS now.

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[–] Iceblade02@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago (10 children)

I'd add starter cables to the list if they don't have it already. Cold weather can significantly weaken a car battery - and if it's already a bit old that might be enough.

[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

There are batteries designed to handle cold climates. If you buy a car from a warmer climate and intend to use it in a cold climate, you really should check which kind of battery it came with. It’s probably a summer battery.

[–] isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's a great point I hadn't considered! I always wondered why my bog standard Elantra came with an expensive deep cycle AGM battery, Hyundai winterized them for Quebec.

[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 months ago

AGM is exactly the kind of battery that is supposed to handle cold winters. Winter in Quebec is no joke.

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