Winter Driving

[Tahini]

Hi again folks,

I am planning to make my 2006 Town Car my winter car. I live in Northern Sweden, where winters mean between -10 and -30 Celsius degrees, dry, sunny weather most of the time, although much of the 24-hour cycle quite lightless, and usually no road salt, just a bit of grit at intersections. The snow is dry and powdery, and we usually drive with the lights on, and use studded tyres. Speeds are very moderate; 20-30 mph through towns, 45-60 outside. Where I am, it's mostly wide, empty roads and forests and lakes, fairly even terrain, barely any traffic.

When I lived in Canada, people used all sorts of contraptions to keep the fronts of their cars protected in winter; is there stuff I might be well-advised to acquire for my car? I remember headlight protectors and acrylic shields mounted along the front edge of the hood to ward off flying grit, if I remember correctly.

Does stuff like that make sense, and if so, what is it called, please, so that I can order some of it online?
Also, what is your general impression of the Town Car in winter?

Thank you.

 

[Town]

The climate in Ottawa is generally a bit colder than yours but not dry, average annual snowfall would be 200 to 300 cms (78 to 118 inches) but some years we get close to 400 cms (157 inches) or a bit more last year. We rarely get dry snow, more often varying degrees of wet snow. We can get thaws too that really make a mess since it usually turns very cold afterwards. Once we get below -30 C to -35 C the temperature of the engine will not reach operating temperature, so I use 0W30 Mobil 1 synthetic for less wear on startup and the long warm-up. We don't use grit, we use salt and sand so we don't need protection from flying materials.

Winter tires and wheels are not mandatory but recommended, but studded tires are not allowed because they do too much damage to the road surfaces. I used Toyo Observe (215/65R17) untill they reached 6/32" then replaced with Toyo GSI-5 (225/65R17) which were both good all around tires for ice and slush. My 2007 Town Car always felt very steady and stable and never failed to get me where I wanted to go. It handled the snow pile between lanes without any slipping or sliding just drove through it at any angle that was convenient to me. We don't generally get a lot of black ice (just bridges usually) but last year we had a lot and for an extended area. I could not use much throttle but we got through it OK without any mishap.

The 4 beam headlamps are excellent in all conditions, and the heating system is excellent too even when very cold outside although there may be some frosting on the glass heading for -35 C so I use the defrost and floor settings to cure the frosting. Beam wiper blades handle the snow and ice on windshield better than the multi-point supports of metal blades which ice up and fail to touch the windshield. The electric grid rear windshield de-icer works quickly to keep the rear windshield clear in a snowstorm. The rear lights keep fairly clear and visible and so do the front lights.

If I were skilled enough I would add a blind for the rad that I could open and close from the driver seat to improve warm-up in summer and winter. But that is all I would want as an accessory.

Good luck.

 

[Tahini]

Thank you so much, Town! That is very useful info. Especially the oil tip, I'll make sure I have that put in before the winter starts.