Bad and cold weather is coming soon. Is there anything that is smart thing to do with Logan, in order to prepare it for the winter time, apart from checking if coolant is OK? How about rubber parts around doors? Do they need any extra care (vasoline gel or glycerin or something else) in order not to have problems to open doors on cold weather? What about some extra corrosion protection (if anything on this matter could be done, apart from what has been done in the factory) before they start spraying salt on the streets? Any practical advices?

Keep the door rubbers moist with silicone and dont wind the elec windows up or down till it is warmed up you can ruin the elec window motor (did this on a Twingo)
and DO NOT block off the air intake (GRILL) to make less cold air this is not good for the motor the thermostat does all that work for you and always pressthe Clutch before starting in cold weather
Stu

I don't think that Logan need to be prepaired for winter in other mode than other cars. Some winter-tires and go...if you want something else...OK..but I belive it's waste of time.

BTW, where are you from? Maybe you have much heavy winter than I imagine...

It is ALWAYS a good idea to prepare for winter and if you dont then you
will have messed up rubbers on your doors if they freeze together and you pull them apart
Stu

I agree with Martin. Oiling the rubber gaskets with silicone around the doors and around the trunk lid will prevent these from freezing and ripping apart when opening the doors/trunk. Winter tires are great, "all-season" -- proceed with caution.

winter in winter summer in summer
Easy !!
winter tires from ebay
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=ht...Flanguage_tools
stu

zorpetus, use some glycerine on the door seals, but don't exagerate. Don't use vaseline or brake fluid, will get very dirty (dust + grease = dirty clothing).
Another thing to do is to buy some winter tyres.

I don't know market in Romania, but here in Serbia and in West Europe you can find cheap and very good winter tyres (or tires ) "Tigar Wintera" (company owned by Michelin) for cca 40€ per tyre (R14 or R15")

This post has been edited by jaksa: 10 Oct 2006, 22:08

They are more than likely the ones that we are not allowed to use
Stu

OFF topic
Tires are Tyres we can write it both ways one is american and one is Oxford English

tire  /taɪər/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[tahyuhr] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation, noun, verb, tired, tir‧ing.

–noun 1. a ring or band of rubber, either solid or hollow and inflated, or of metal, placed over the rim of a wheel to provide traction, resistance to wear, or other desirable properties.
2. a metal band attached to the outside of the felloes and forming the tread of a wagon wheel.
–verb (used with object) 3. to furnish with tires.

Also, British, tyre.
Stu

Although none of these is specific to Logan, last winter I have:
- Added antifreeze (coolant) up to the maximum level; use pure antifreeze, undiluted.
- Used winter tyres and also bought snow chains (just in case, but I did not have to use them).
- Applied silicone spray on the rubbers on the doors and boot (every time I have washed the card).
- Used defrosting spray on the windows, also bought one for the door/boot locks. Might be a good idea not to leave these inside your car overnight It is also wiser to defrost the whole surface of the windows before driving.
- Used screen wash liquid that was guaranteed against freezing at –30 degrees Celsius.

Last winter we have experienced temperatures between –35 and –25 degrees for about 10 days in a row. The engine always started on the first try, although the airbag led was blinking and the transmission belt was squeaking until the car warmed up a bit.

From Serbia. Climate around here is more or less same as in Romania.

Not allowed in terms that those tyres are forbidden to be imported to Germany?

Btw. we are talking about those tyres:

http://www.tigarmh.tigar.com/tigarmh/products.php?pid=26906

Those are not bad at all. I saw many BMW and Mercedes cars (rear powered) around here having those in the winter time. And those who can afford BMW and Mercedes for sure can afford any tyre they want :-)

This post has been edited by zorpetus: 11 Oct 2006, 15:00

The winter tyre will help even if there's not to much snow during the winter. A regular tyre has optimal grip on temperatures exceeding +5 centigrades. Under this temperature, the rubber hardens and the grip becomes poor. The rubber compund on the winter tyres has more silica which makes 'em soft and allows you to use them at temperatures below +5 centigrades.

- use some windscreen washer liquid designed for winter usage
- use winter tyres
- clean and lubricate the "key holes" especially the one on the gas tank cap and the one on the trunk lid.
- use silicone or glycerine on door seals
- check the engine coolant

and now for the old army tipp
If you plan a long drive and know that the weather can be bad be sure to have a few candles and a lighter
Because if you get stuck a long way from anywhere you can use the heat of the candle to stay alive
Thats enough of Stuarts Survival lessons
Stu

Beside that, it's good to have:
- a blanket or sleeping bag
- some warm clothes and gloves, a pair of extra socks
- chocolate
- a small shovel and a bag of sand
- towing cable
- car charger for the mobile phone

It may seem much, but if you plan to travel under extreme conditions it may save your life.

Its true as well!!
and now with this crazy weather you never know whats up front
a great trick I used to use was to get a HOT water bottle (like you take to bed ) and put it on the dash on freezinng mornings you get warm air
right away .but dont forget to take it back home or it will freeze
You can also use a wash liquid bottle but the hot water bottle is safer
Stu

OK, then it is, I guess, smart to buy additional 4 wheels (standard, metal) and to mount winter tyres on them?

Then, on each change of the winter/summer season, a driver can change tyres on his own, in a mater of few minutes or so - and risk to damage the tyre during montage on a wheel is no longer an issue.

Original 14" metal wheels in local Dacia dealer spare-parts shop are 50 Euros and aluminium ones are approx. 145 Euros (per piece!) and I think that this might be a bit too much?

Is there any alternative 14" wheel that would be OK for Logan (165/80/14) and that is cheaper? Maybe from Clio?

While we are on the topic of tires I'm thinking of putting Goodyear Vector 5 on my Logan. That's an all season tire.

You don't have to buy the wheels from Dacia representative. Search some local steel wheels producers and ask them.
Off the record, Solenza owners used to use Daewoo Nexia wheels, excellent quality, 30-50% cheaper than Dacia steel wheels. Anyway, there's a little adjustment you have to make before fit them on your car.

Here in Serbia Logan Ambiance is supplied with BARUM BRILLIANCE tyres. Those are declared as "all season" as well, if I am correct. Does anybody has experience with those tyres in the winter time?

Advice to users who use all-season tyres (or tires ) -
get yourself a set of wheel chains for snow and a small (military if possible) showel.

Well the shovel is always in the trunk during winter. When a snow plough passes by your parked car you can not get out no matter what tires you have.

I'll see how the Goodyear Vector 5 will perform and post an opinion here, probably sometime around February.

Zorpetus, read this

Or even a Shovel
Stu

This post has been edited by martin245: 12 Oct 2006, 19:35

One v, two vv, who cares

So, Barum Brilliance got very poor marks for grip on snow It is pitty that only few people gave their opinion, but, in any case, seems that it wouldn't be a good idea to wait for the first snow with this type of tyre.

I got my car equipped with Barum Brillantis. This tyres suck. Not as much as Montana/ Kormoran but they suck. On dry road they're let's say ok but on wet road they suck.
I've tried this tyres on snow (we had some heavy snow falls in March last year) and I don't think you could survive an entire winter with this tyres.

This post has been edited by GoGu: 13 Oct 2006, 10:51

Is there any Winter tyre in 165/80 R14 dimensions (for Logans with 14" wheels)?

It seems that choice is pretty limited?