Your Corvette might be parked up in the garage for the winter, but that doesn’t mean you can sit back and relax. A lot of time and money went into creating your own Corvette, so it’s important to make sure you take care of it during the cold season. After all, you don’t want to have to replace your beloved vehicle after just one winter! Here are 10 tips to help you winterize your Corvette properly.
1) Check your battery
The battery is one of the most important parts of your car. It provides power for the engine and electrical system, so a weak or dead battery can cause a lot of problems. If you live in an area that experiences cold winters, it’s important to winterize your car before it gets too cold out. This includes checking the battery for corrosion and ensuring it’s charged up enough for a few days if necessary.
2) Get new tires
Your tires are your vehicle’s only contact with the ground, which means they’re one of the most important components of your car. Make sure you have a good set of winter tires before it gets cold. It’s also a good idea to swap out your summer tires for snow and ice tires when it starts snowing. You may want to consider getting new winter tire wheels as well, which can be installed in place of your current wheelset.
3) Change your oil
Change your oil. This is one of the most important steps in winterizing your car and it’s important that you change your oil before winterizing the car. If you don’t, all of the work that you do will be for nothing and you’ll need to change the oil again when spring rolls around.
- Use high-quality synthetic motor oil with an appropriate viscosity grade.
4) Check your brakes
Checking your brakes is an important step in winterizing your car. Not only does it keep you safe, but it’s also a good way to make sure that the brakes are in proper working order.
Brake pads wear down over time. As they do, they need more and more pressure applied by your foot when you press the brake pedal.
5) Flush your cooling system
The first thing you want to do is flush your radiator and cooling system. This will help remove any debris and minerals that may have built up over the summer. Use a garden hose with a pressure nozzle, or if you don’t have one, a turkey baster. Fill the hose with water and turn on the water full blast until it sprays out of the end of the hose. Insert it into your radiator, aiming for any openings in between metal fins.
6) Inspect your hoses
- Inspect the hoses for cracks, breaks, or leaks. Make sure they are not cracked or brittle. If you see any damage, replace them with a new hose before winter sets in.
- Before winterizing your car, make sure there is no moisture in the air box. Moisture can cause corrosion and other problems that can be expensive to fix.
7) Fill up your windshield washer fluid
Don’t forget to fill up your windshield washer fluid before the winter season starts. This will help keep your windshield clear during the winter months and prevent any blinding snow from falling on you while driving. The best thing about this is that it’s a quick and easy fix that only takes a few minutes.
8) Add a fuel stabilizer
Keeping your fuel from going bad during winter months is easy. Use a fuel stabilizer like STA-BIL Fuel Stabilizer to keep your car running strong and performing at its best all year round.
- Pour the correct amount of stabilizer into an empty gas can, filling it up completely with gas.
- Drain the tank and replace it with stabilized gas by following the instructions on the can of STA-BIL Fuel Stabilizer
9) Cover your Corvette
- Make sure your battery is fully charged before the first cold night. A car that’s been sitting for a week or more may not start at all, and you could end up with a dead battery if you wait until it starts getting really cold.
- Check the antifreeze in your radiator and add more if necessary; remember that the right level is between the Low and High lines on the radiator gauge.
10) Store your Corvette
Some things you can do to winterize your Corvette are: storing it in a garage, adding antifreeze and coolant, topping off the battery fluid level, and checking the brake fluid level. You can also check tire pressure and replace wiper blades. It’s important that you do this before the cold winter weather hits so that your car is ready for all of the adverse conditions.
