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FCP Euro Service Kits

FCP Euro Kits

I’ll admit, I was caught out by the snow. But then again, 7 inches of snowfall as the first warning shot for winter seemed a little bit excessive. My Volvo, still on 3-season tires, wasn’t quite ready for the road. Nonetheless, the following day, I torqued up the winter tires, and the old Volvo was armored up for icy roads.
This brought a thought to my head. What exactly constitutes a good winter car, more specifically, a winter beater. Winter is harsh on vehicles, especially in Canada where salt eats away at any exposed metal with the anger of a lion and its most recent meal. It's not a fun sight to see hours of polishing and waxing go to naught during the winter from all the road grime that is a natural byproduct of mud, dust salt, snow, water, and of course all the random fluids that fall off from rust buckets on the road beside you.

So If you’re planning on tucking away your shining prized possession on four wheels for the winter, you had better make a good choice for a winter beater.

1. It better be cheap.

I think I speak to the masses when I say that we can’t generally afford two brand new cars for ourselves. You’ve probably poured your savings into your summer vehicle, making sure that it runs perfectly. So naturally, you’ll want to save the money to keep that car going. A winter beater shouldn’t drain your pocket…it is called a “beater” after all. You should expect to spend some money on it, but it better not break down on cold mornings, or else “winter beater” might take on a whole new meaning.

2. Parts should be readily available

Winter hides accidents around every corner. The moment you think you’re invincible, a pothole covered by icy water will appear, ready to destroy your wheels. The next most important aspect is for parts to be readily available, and cheap to buy. That's exactly where FCP Euro comes in. In case anything happens, you don’t want to resort to pulling your summer vehicle out of its winter slumber. You won’t be happy, and your car certainly won’t be happy either.

3. It would benefit from having a locking diff

Many people think that traction control is great for the winter. Not so. If you’re stuck in deep snow, traction control won’t do anything for you. In fact, most systems suggest turning off the electronics if you need to get out of a sticky situation. Where traction is most felt is when all of your driven wheels have torque running to them. With open differentials, if only one wheel has traction, you better get ready to push your car out.

4. Make sure it has winter tires

Notice that I refrain from saying your car should have AWD. Yes, Audi dominated rallying with Quattro AWD, and you can similarly dominate the streets with AWD in the winter. Only in the absolute most dire situations will you really require AWD. Winter tires can turn many cars into winter warriors. Case in point: last year when there was a massive snowfall, I still made it to work in my old Volvo with Blizzak WS-80’s. While I had a 50 mile commute, many of my coworkers didn’t even show up. What many people don’t realize is that 99% of winter commutes can be done on all-season tires. The 1% is made up of unexpected events where your all-season tires just won’t cut it.

5. The heater better work, and work well.

There are some cars which take a long time to heat up. Who wants to sit in a cold car for most of their commute on 10ºF days? Granted, most modern cars have heated steering wheels, and heated seats, but good luck finding all of those features in a cheap winter beater. The goal is to make sure you’re at least thawed out by the time you get out of your car. Cold winter mornings don’t need to be any more miserable.

Looking at the list, what car can I recommend? Okay fine, I’m biased, but my daily driven 1991 Volvo 940 fits the bill perfectly. Every item I listed, old RWD Volvos have them in spades. The rear differential on many RWD Volvo’s automatically locks at low speeds to help with traction, and grin-inducing snow-aided powerslides. The heater works extremely well, forcing me to turn down the heat sometimes, and it is not uncommon to find Volvos with heated seats and mirrors. Parts are cheap, readily available, and not to mention, you can find good working examples for under $2000.

At the end of the day, a winter beater should be a car that starts up every morning, and gets you to and from your destination without hassle. I know I’ve found my car. What’s yours?

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Written by :
Tim Wong

Tim is a Canadian from Windsor, with a knack for taking things apart, and sometimes putting them back together. He is a mechanical engineer by day and backyard mechanic by night. His mantra in life is to never break another bolt.


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