I live in Montreal - damned cold most Januaries/Februaries ..... it's been below minus 25 for quite a while now. When we came here and bought our first car (Toyota) I asked for a block heater to be fitted because I had been told that I would need it. The dealer was scandalised - he said he could do it for about $100 but "a decent car doesn't need one - our cars always start". Clearly he was going to make an issue of it so i didn't press the point and I have to say he was correct. I now drive a Honda and have never once had either car fail to start first turn of the key on even the coldest days - OK, it grinds a bit due to the power from the battery being affected, but it always starts. In other words - the technology is better these days and you shouldn't have a problem. Even N.Am makes of cars seem to start fine so long as they are well maintained.

Get winter tires - fir them before the snow comes and leave them on unitl it goes. You'll be able to drive on ice almost as if you were on a dry road in summer. They are life savers and give you enormous confidence - it is false economy not to have them and dangerous too. Other than that just drive sensibly and always assume the other guy wants to kill you.

Well of course he said it didnt need one, he wants you to cause excessive wear to the engine due to cold viscous oil, so he can sell you a new car in a few years.

BLOCK HEATERS ARE NOTHING TO DO WITH STARTING THE CAR. Sometimes it helps to reduce starting effort, but really the heater is to keep the oil at working viscosity in the first few minutes of starting the car to prevent metal to metal damage. (hence the grinding noise?)

If you are worried about starting, a battery heating pad is more use. at -20C a battery has half the available amps it has a "normal" temperatures.

I agree about snow tires, but to be honest I know very few people who fit them (I dont). I think this is more important if you are off the beaten track. Most urban roads are cleared pretty quickly, so until they are go slower and use common sense. If you do fit winter tires, dont confuse snow tires with ice tires. Ice tires are very poor at clearing snow. My allseason tires are better in snow than some ice specific tires. Do some homework before buying.

Iain

My old car was a Jap car, now I have a N. American (which I finally got started today: new battery, battery heating pad and a hell of a lot of boosting from my rental car). It is sat outside running now and will be all night.

It normally doesn't have a problem. 25 below doesn't phase it much. But it appears it has met its limit touching -40.

Obviously Iain is one of those people who understands how cars work - unlike me .... but surely, winter grade oils are there to get around that sort of problem.

On the snow tire business though, it is interesting that a nasty fatal accident in Quebec City recently has had the coronor calling for the introduction of compulsory winter tires in Quebec and the responsible minister in the government is talking just today about considering this very seriously on the grounds that is seat belts are important enough to make compulsory then maybe we should be looking at tires too.

Interesting about the tires. On the oil front, a typical 10W30 or 5W30 multigrade will start to thicken at about -10, and is seriously compromised by -20C, although of course it will heat up and thin quite quickly once the engine starts. Just the first few minutes can be a problem.

Iain

I can vouch for winter tires.

I did one winter on all-seasons, I hated it! too much sliding and loss of traction.
2nd winter same car, with Artic alpines on was much nicer,
Worth the cost

Yeah, we had winter tyres in Switzerland and didn't even consider it a hinderance, more a neccesity. I guess once you buy 4 they'll last a reasonably long time as they'll be taken off every 5 months or so. Just remember to put the summer tyres back on after though!

Back to the engine heaters - is this something that can be plugged in whilst you're having breakfast, clearing the snow, taking the dog out - ie can it be something that can help your engine, battery etc. within an hour or does it really need all night??

You would leave the block heater on all night.

In case there is any confusion, the block heater is built into the engine. It is not removed or and re-inserted with every use. There is a plug that dangles from the front of the car that you plug into your power outlet. Here's a picture of one I found on Google:

http://www.fordvehicles.com/images/2...neBlkHtr_l.gif

Heater really needs a couple of hours to do its thing. You can get a $20 timer at Crappy Tire to turn it on a few hours in advance, Mine comes on at 5, I leave for work at 8.

Iain

Hey, that's a fab. idea! As opposed to a crappy idea!!

I've just found this that states that cold starting produces more carbon monoxide, hence another reason to use engine heaters. Also it suggests not to spend all night heating (wastes electricity and all that) but to use a timer of 1-3 hours (as mentioned above), or use a special power saving cord which cuts out when the temp. reaches a certain level.

The article is written for Alaska but I guess the winds that blow through Canada come from pretty much the same place!! http://www.northern.org/artman/publish/article_31.shtml

For those not in the know "Crappy Tire" is the affectionate nickname of "Canadian Tire", a veritable institution and alladins cave for the handyman over here. Pretty sure this is where Red Green goes to get his Duct Tape! (Well, before 3M started to sponsor the show anyway).

Iain