Westworld Alberta
Issue link: http://westworldmagazine.ama.ab.ca/i/402160
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 | W E S T W O R L D A L B E R T A 57 E ver wonder what's actually happening when you plug in your vehicle during the cold months? at cord hanging out of your hood connects to a heat coil in your engine's block and is a staple here in Alberta. "Anytime you're down to 15 below, you should have that block heater plugged in," says Lee Werner, service advisor at Don's Tire and Automotive Repair in Red Deer. at's because the colder the weather, the thicker oil becomes. is "sti " oil is hard on the engine's moving parts and brings a greater risk of ooding or damaging the engine. e block heater warms the water in the engine, keeping the oil consistency thin, so that the vehicle will both start and warm up faster. is reduces stress on the engine. And it takes less time for the block heater to do its job than you'd think: Werner says the need to plug a vehicle in overnight is a huge miscon- ception. Instead, depending on how cold it is, two to three hours is perfect – you can even use an automatic timer. "It's going to get as warm as it will in that amount of time," he explains. " ere's no point to plugging them in and leaving them. You're just wasting energy." Earn 5% in reward dollars (up to $50 reward dollars) at Don's Tire and Automotive Repair and Bruce Stewart's Auto Repair. AMARewards.ca/ AutoSave BLOCK HEATER: PLUG IT IN Getting the cabin air lter inspected regularly is something people often overlook, but a clean lter is key to optimizing a vehicle for winter, says Bruce Stewart, owner of Bruce Stewart's Auto Repair. "You can sacri ce a lot of heat output from a plugged lter," he says. And although the manufacturer's recommendations are a good rule of thumb, depending where you live and what's being sucked up by the air intake, your cabin air lter may have a signi cantly shorter life than it's supposed to – particularly if you live in an area with lots of trees, dirt and gravel. "In dusty climates, we've seen them plug up in as little as 10,000 kilometres," Stewart says. VENTILATION SYSTEM: CLEAR THE AIR iPad and online readers: Check out our how-to videos on winter car care.