Road Safety Blog

Be Prepared for Winter Driving says Grandmark International

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Brace yourself! Winter has arrived, and based on the past few weeks of cold fronts, rain and misty weather, we’re in for a long, dark, cold weather.

Remember that during the colder times, your car needs some extra TLC to ensure it is running to its full capacity and has a longer life. By performing a few simple checks on your car you can save yourself much time and expense.

Grandmark International suggests that during these colder months, extra attention is paid to your cars’ battery, windscreen, anti-freeze and headlights.

Batteries usually reach the end of their life when temperatures drop – coupled by the tendency to leave headlights on – resulting in the dreaded early morning no-start of your vehicle. To prolong the life of your battery, follow these simple steps:

  1. Make sure you turn off all lights, heaters, radios and windscreen wipers before switching off your car.
  2. Service your car regularly.
  3. Park in the shade during the day as an increase in temperature under the bonnet can shorten the battery’s life.

If your car spends the night outdoors in an uncovered area, there may be a layer of frost covering the windscreen in the early mornings. Do not use warm water to remove the ice, but rather use an old credit card, along with the air conditioner to demist the interior of the windscreen. When driving in the cold, do not use your windscreen water and wipers to remove ice, as the water will freeze and the wipers will not be able to remove the ice, resulting in lowered visibility and dangerous driving conditions.

Don’t neglect checking the condition of your windscreen wiper blades as we head into the traditional “drier” season – we can still expect the odd few days of rain and replacing your blades is a cost effective and easy way to ensure longevity of your windscreen. Grandmark International has a wide range of Bosch wiper blades to fit your vehicle.

Your vehicle’s antifreeze needs to be checked/toped up/replaced as we head into winter to ensure your engine operates at a normal temperature. Plexus offers a wide range of antifreeze products – available in 20%, 50% and 94% Monoethylene Glycol mixtures. When mixed with water, Monoetylene Glycol serves as a freeze-point depressant and it also increases the boiling point of the solution. Plexus 94% has several inhibitors mixed together that provide a “coating” effect where they coat metal and other components to prevent the corrosion and degradation of those components through the process of oxidation. Plexus antifreeze are available in red, blue and green mixtures.

Shorter days and longer nights mean we rely more on our headlights during this period and as such these should be checked on a weekly basis. Keep a spare set of globes in the vehicle to ensure you are never without light.

Grandmark has partnered with Philips to bring you some of the best automotive globes available. These include the stylish WhiteVision and the long-life EcoVision, the most environmentally friendly car lamp to date.

We also stock Philips X-tremeVision, a lamp so powerful that it provides an astonishing 130% greater visibility when compared to standard globes. With their optimised high precision filament geometry, up to 13-bar high pressure gas filling, high precision chrome coating and high quality UV-Quartz glass, Philips headlights set a new standard in automotive lighting. All halogen and xenon lamps are made with high-quality, anti-UV quartz glass. Greater pressure allows the globes to produce more light and have a longer lifespan while withstanding thermal shocks.

Contact Grandmark International today for all your automotive requirements and to ensure your car is in peak condition.

Johannesburg (Head Office) – 011 226 9000

Bloemfontein – 086 144 4382

Cape Town – 087 806 6650

Durban – 031 534 2800

George – 0861 136 137

Nelspruit – 013 756 0800

Polokwane – 015 285 0400

Port Elizabeth – 041 402 1200

Pretoria – 012 377 7000

 

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