Getting your vehicle ready for winter

There are some ways to plan for the cold weather to keep your vehicle moving. <br><br>News on Six reporter Emory Bryan says lot of cars that run fine in warm weather - conk out in the cold. Some won't

Wednesday, November 27th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

There are some ways to plan for the cold weather to keep your vehicle moving.

News on Six reporter Emory Bryan says lot of cars that run fine in warm weather - conk out in the cold. Some won't start - others won't last long once the streets get a little slick.

One of the simplest things to check is your tire tread - and that only takes a penny. Billy Conatzer with Firestone: "That's 2 / 32nds so if you can see all of his head that's two 32nds." That's the easiest way to check the amount of tire tread - and good tires are essential for wintertime driving.

â€œThis one's so low I can't even pull any out to show you but it's dirty.â€ Antifreeze is another essential - it's important to have enough - and to have the right mix - a 50/50 mix of water and antifreeze is good enough in Oklahoma. A simple tester can check the mixture to make sure.

The battery is harder to check. The new ones aren't designed to be serviced. Other than obvious signs of corrosion - the only way to check the battery is to take it to a professional. â€œWe have a machine we hook up to it and do a battery load and check the alternator output the starter and all that.â€

In fact - dead batteries generate the most calls to AAA in cold weather. Rick Bickford with AAA Oklahoma: "On the first few frosts of the year they're probably our busiest times - a huge number of people will wake up tomorrow morning and won't be able to get their cars going. As you move into winter, the weather itself plays more of a role of people having accidents or not being able to move once they're on the road because they get their batteries fixed by that time."

AAA recommends that people keep a basic safety kit in their cars during the winter - with jumper cables - blankets and some sand for traction. And they remind people to check the air in their tires - because improperly inflated tires don't grip the road as well.

Wiper blades are another thing to change out - to make sure it's easy to see once the snow starts falling.