---
title: "What Do You Do for Winter Car Prep?"
date: "2024-01-16"
modified: "2024-01-16"
authors:
  - name: "Andrew P. Collins"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/andrew-p-collins"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/what-do-you-do-for-winter-car-prep"
categories:
  - "News"
---

# What Do You Do for Winter Car Prep?

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/16/Winter-Car-Prep-1.jpg>)
*\<em\>Facebook, Adobe (edited by the author)\</em\>*

A Kia Stinger owner's [homemade "engine heater"](<https://www.facebook.com/groups/234274037153092/posts/1485306525383164/>) has caused quite a stir in a Facebook car group (it's already [resurfaced for a second round of comments](<https://www.facebook.com/groups/234274037153092/posts/1487169798530170/>)). I thought you all might get a kick out of it, but it also got me thinking about what other winter-mode tricks are popular this time of year, as super-low temps and snow sweep across the country.

For those of you scratching your heads: An engine stays cool largely because there's a big radiator at the front. The idea behind this Stinger's cardboard ski mask is to help the engine retain some heat in extreme ambient cold.

This was a common practice in the days before computerized cars, and you'll still see it with some diesel vehicles; they hate the cold even more than gasoline-burning cars do. The original post seems to come from Grande Prairie, Alberta, which recently hit preposterously uncomfortable ambient temps of around -40ºF.

There could be merit to this, though honestly even in extreme conditions like those I would be more inclined to let a late-model car use its fans and thermostat to manage its temperature, rather than a few pieces of cardboard. If your car's relatively new and unmodified, you might want to leave the engineering to the people who designed it.

But I will be curious to hear how many of you are still blocking off your radiators in the winter in 2024.

Meanwhile, on a potentially more practical note, my colleague Jerry Perez has a handy little list of [winter car prep tricks](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/heres-how-ill-midwest-winter-prep-my-honda-civic-this-weekend>) he goes through every year. I personally just like to make sure there's at least a good pair of waterproof gloves, a high-quality collapsible shovel, and of course winter tires on anything I'm driving regularly in sub-30ºF situations. How about you?

*Got tips? Send 'em to tips@thedrive.com*

## Author
As Executive Editor, Andrew touches everything on the site from daily news coverage to feature stories, sponsored content, product reviews, road testing vehicles, ecommerce, and more. He's held pretty much every role there is to have at an automotive news site and has been with The Drive's publisher Recurrent since 2020. Andrew's a lifetime gearhead and longtime writer with a particularly strong penchant for road trips, off-road adventures, and archaic vehicles. His passions outside of the automotive world include skiing, obsolete video games, and his dog Bramble who occationally helps review cars.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/andrewatlarge>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetercollins/>)