Hi,

This is my first winter as a car owner.

I have a convertible Black 05 Gt stang that is my daily driver.

I have no indoor/underground parking, I'm right out there on the lot.

I have no car cover.

I have not bought any special anti-freeze or wax or anything winter related.

I am expecting only 2 days of snow, we only get an inch or two. But it's cold.

Today, I went out and the car was all frosty, and the convertible top was frosted and white.

I'm kind of worried that the top might get damaged, or that the engine might get damaged from the cold.

My questions:

1) Is there anything I should buy for winter? (special anti-freeze, special liquids, car cover, etc)

2) Can you give me any guidelines on how to take care of my car during the winter? (I guess I should wait a few seconds before actually driving when I start it up? I don't really know)

I really appreciate all the info you can give me. Imagine you were lending your stang to your friend who knows nothing about cars, what would you tell him to do over the winter?

Thanks!

humm sounds like you live in BC two days of snow ?

You can do a word search and find loads of info here ! I know that once the road salt goes down I'm not driving until its washed away, you know the cancer thingy that our cars can get.

Don't drive it hard while its cold, thats not good for it. If you only get two days of snow I think it would be a waste to buy snow tires.

I'm not sure if frost does anything to the converable top, my guess is that it wont hurt it because you see people driving them up here in winter. I'm sure someone else will be able to tell you for sure.

Hey GottaHaveIt, this is Daniel1981 I think as my other name. I posted it a lot earlier in June when I was in Victoria buying the Black Gt from Suburban.

I'm in vancouver now and just worried about my convertible top mostly.

Anyone convertible owners want to chime in?

Anyone else? Are you buying anything special for winter?

Car Cancer?

Car Cancer = Rust

I have a coupe which I'll be driving all winter. I'm debating the purchase of snow tires. Other than that, no special plans.

a car cover is not a bad idea!

Make sure your convertible top is treated with the proper protectant to keep it from drying out.

As for the engine, you are fine with the original oil, etc. Give it a little time to warm up (once the idle speed goes down from fast idle). Be sure not to stomp on the gas before the engine gets up to temp.

In terms of fluids, the only one of concern is windsheild washer fluid. Make sure that you have a product that won't freeze in the resivoir. I reccomend rainx washer fluid.

In terms of the body, hopefully you put some wax on it in the fall. Otherwise, for 2-3 days of snow, it isn't really neccessary to undercoat the car. I do reccomend however, the first chance you get, wash any dirt/salt off the car (especially the underside)

so how do you wash a car in the winter if you will not let those "brushless" car washes touch them? I have the MR Clean kit but if the hoses are frozen then what do I do? any suggestions? I put 3 coats of Zaino in late september and 2 a week ago for a refresher but is that enough to keep those scary swirlmarks off my car from a "brushless" car wash off?

depending on where you live, I would wait until there was a day that was close to/above freezing before I washed the car.

Washing the car in freezing temps causes havoc because usually your doors and keyholes can end up frozen. The icy frozen puddle on the driveway isn't very convenient either.