Winter Driving and set up

[BCROVER]

Lots of winter questions i'm afraid, I have never had a Land Rover in the winter so am a little unsure of the best things to do to prepare it for winter.

What is a good oil for operating in the colder weather, say up to -20?
I know that the lower the 1st number in the spec the better (5-30) but can anyone recommend a good oil for a 300tdi in a defender?
Also synthetic semi synthetic vs mineral?

Has anyone installed an engine heater kit?
I am looking of something to keep the oil warm, I think there is a kit around which installs pad to the outside of the sump which can then be plugged in. Is there any need to heat the diesel tank? any kits out there for that?

Tires, Can anyone recommend a good set of winter tires that still have the off road tread pattern.
I am currently running BFG AT's and I was looking for something better suited for the winter.

Is there anything else you do for the winter set up?

Thanks

Will

[Dave_F]

Lots of winter questions i'm afraid, I have never had a Land Rover in the winter so am a little unsure of the best things to do to prepare it for winter.

What is a good oil for operating in the colder weather, say up to -20?
I know that the lower the 1st number in the spec the better (5-30) but can anyone recommend a good oil for a 300tdi in a defender?
Also synthetic semi synthetic vs mineral?

Has anyone installed an engine heater kit?
I am looking of something to keep the oil warm, I think there is a kit around which installs pad to the outside of the sump which can then be plugged in. Is there any need to heat the diesel tank? any kits out there for that?

Tires, Can anyone recommend a good set of winter tires that still have the off road tread pattern.
I am currently running BFG AT's and I was looking for something better suited for the winter.

Is there anything else you do for the winter set up?

Thanks

Will

I use 15 40 rotella year round. The Bfg At's are a great winter tire, i would just stay with those.

As far as a engine heater, lots of options, inline coolant heater...plug in. Webasto diesel heaters that will either warm your engine on a timer, or something like a block heater. I have a inline system seems to work well.

[red90]

Oil:
Shell Rotella T5 0W-40 or T6 5W-40
Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck 5W-40
Mobil Delvac 1 5W-40
are all good choices and easy to find. Watch for sales every few months on the Shell at Canadian Tire.

Heat:
No need to heat the fuel. Just make sure you are not driving on a tank from the summer. They change the formula in the winter. Using a good diesel fuel conditioner helps with a bunch of things as well. Power Service is a good choice and easy to find. Watch for sales at Crappy Tire.
Stick on pad heater are a good idea. For heating the engine electrically, a frost plug heater works the best. A lower rad heater is easier to install. All of these are easily available. A Webasto is the best. Although pricey, it is the best investment ever. I was out all day around town shopping yesterday in -20. Coming back to a 25 C truck is wonderful....

Tires:
There are a few good choices, but I'm going to just suggest the Goodyear Duratrac. You can run it year round. It is pretty decent off road. Winter traction is as good as the average dedicated winter tire. I'm in Calgary and I'm driving on snow and ice every day right now.

[red90]

Oh, one word on the viscosity grading....

The first number is set by the SAE cranking test. 15W is -20C, 10W is -25C, 5W is -30C, 0W is -35C. The second number is set by the viscosity at 100C (operating temperature)

[DaveB]

A comment about tires. I agree with both Dave_F and Red90 about tires that can be used year-round, but personally I like to have dedicated winters.

I really like the BFG Commercial Traction T/A for winter. This is a tread patter similar to the old BFG TracEdge, but with additional siping for winter. It also can be studded. I have two sets of these studded, that we transfer over to for winter driving and they leave you with a high level of confidence for driving on whatever the season throws at you...

Land Rover 4WD and 4 studded snows — makes you actually look forward to winter :D

Dave

[red90]

A comment about tires. I agree with both Dave_F and Red90 about tires that can be used year-round, but personally I like to have dedicated winters.

I have run dedicated winter tires on the rest of my fleet for years and have tried many brands. At times I feel like I own a tire store. I once had 26 mounted tires stored at my place. In my experience, the Duratracs are running similar traction levels to a middle of the road dedicated winter tire as compared to the what is available for cars. Truck sized tires do not have nearly the selection and really good winter tires are not available that I've tried. On all my cars now I'm running the General Altimax Arctic, which is a rebranded Gislaved Nordfrost 5 and shares the same tread pattern as a bunch of others. Great price and you can drive like a madman... Unfortunately tires like that are not available in truck sizes.

I'll probably get flames, but my experience is that studs only offer a marginal improvement in ice performance over a modern high quality winter tire and the studs wear out long before the tire and then do very little.

[DaveB]

I'll probably get flames, but my experience is that studs only offer a marginal improvement in ice performance over a modern high quality winter tire and the studs wear out long before the tire and then do very little.

The studs in my tires don't usually cause flames :?

[BCROVER]

Thanks a lot guys,
does the duratrac tire meet any insurance, police requirements for winter driving?
Although I have never been stopped and asked I believe that the police will stop you going over the some of the mountain passes in winter if you don't have "proper winter tires" (I will be going Kelowna to Vancouver and Calgary a fair bit this winter)
Also do ICBC have an issue if you are not on "winter" tires? I know how good BFG A\Ts are in the snow but are they a winter tire?

Thanks

Will

[Dave_F]

Thanks a lot guys,
does the duratrac tire meet any insurance, police requirements for winter driving?
Although I have never been stopped and asked I believe that the police will stop you going over the some of the mountain passes in winter if you don't have "proper winter tires" (I will be going Kelowna to Vancouver and Calgary a fair bit this winter)
Also do ICBC have an issue if you are not on "winter" tires? I know how good BFG A\Ts are in the snow but are they a winter tire?

Thanks

Will

I believ they are...just look on the sidewall for a triangle with a snowflake in it.

I ran BFG ATs year round, up to whistler all winter long and never had a problem with them..great long wearing tire with good snow siping in the tread. Save your money for other "rover" repairs, your tires will be fine as long as they are not worn down.

[DaveB]

Since we have a snow tire thread going here, can anyone shed any light on what the difference between the mountain with the snowflake and the M+S designation is? Are they both snow tires?

Dave

[davran]

The M+S is merely a void radio: how much of the traction area of the tire is cut out. It really should only say "mud".

The mountain-snowflake symbol is more about the rubber compund, how soft it stays in cold temperatures, how it sticks to ice, etc. There's lots more to it, but that's the basic concept.

[davran]

Will,

Last year I read as many tests of LT rated snows I could find, and the Nokian LT Hakkepeliitta won all of them. Kal tire had them on sale last fall so I got a set. It looks like there is now a "LT2" version instead:

http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=1325 ... liitta+LT2

These are really good tires, but given the cost I might just stick to canadian tire snows as I've always done in the past.

[red90]

Yes, the Duratracs have the severe winter rating (snowflake/mountain) symbol so qualify as a winter tire. This is set by the rubber manufacturer's association, http://www.rma.org/publications/tire_se ... onID=11515 and is based on an actual test on snow comparing to a "standard" tire. The test: http://www.astm.org/Standards/F1805.htm

Last year I read as many tests of LT rated snows I could find, and the Nokian LT Hakkepeliitta won all of them. Kal tire had them on sale last fall so I got a set. It looks like there is now a "LT2" version instead: http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=1325 ... liitta+LT2

This is probably the best tire you can get in a truck size. I have a friend who runs them studded on his Disco. It is a step up, for sure, but not night and day compared to a Duratrac.

[BCROVER]

Thanks again guys,

I have just checked and all my BFG A/T tires have the snowflake on them :D so I think I will save the cash and run with them for the winter.
I was worried as the tires came with the Defender from the UK and I wasn't sure they would be winter rated but clearly they are.

Regards

Will

[gudjeon]

I used a 0w50 from Canadian Tire. Cold start ups were excellent and I ran it all year round. I am not a big proponent of synthetics, but I bought it on sale and would do it again.