Let me start by saying I’m not really a car guy.  I can do basic maintenance like oil changes and changing tires.  I’ve helped my older brother work on our cars some, but it’s not really my thing.  Though, coming to my wife’s rescue with a tire change definitely was a good move.  (I’m pretty sure it’s why she started to date me.)  Besides routine car care (oil changes and tire rotations) there are a couple tips we have for winter.

Wisconsin winters can be tough on cars.  It’s important to regularly check the air on your tires, have decent tread on your tires, have good wiper blades, and keep your gas tank from getting too low.  Keeping at least a quarter tank of gas is suggested!  Thankfully we haven’t had any issues with frozen gas lines, but it can happen.  We don’t normally do much for fuel line or engine care ourselves.  It seems like Heet or something similar gets used after there’s already been an issue trying to start a car suspected of having frozen gas lines.

When we went shopping for motor treatment, the choices were overwhelming.  I don’t really know what is necessary or not.  It seems like most is not.  We were familiar with Heet and it dominated the endcap so anyone approaching the automotive section couldn’t miss it.  If I was looking strictly for something for frozen gas lines, that’s probably as far as I’d go.

STP Multipurpose Motor Treatment is meant to work with any and all gas powered engines and even diesel engines.  It is supposed to help with things like rough idle, prevent gas line freezes, lower emissions, stabilize fuel and oil, and fight the tough cold starts.  The multipurpose can was not easy to spot quickly and blended in with the other brand’s multipurpose treatment.  Thankfully STP’s was cheaper.

I decided to just try it in the gas tank for now.  It’s only been a couple days, so I can’t quite tell you if I’ve noticed a difference.   It’s really easy to pour in though.  Maybe running a little smoother?  I’m not sure.  Darcy asked about the lawn mower since it runs on gas.  I’ll try it in the spring.  It usually is rough to start the first time after sitting for months in the cold shed.  We normally would have a bunch of snow right now and I don’t want to risk dragging it back out right now.

You can see the whole shopping experience and running commentary on Darcy’s Google+ Photo Album.

Get a $2 mail-in rebate when you like STP on Facebook.  Where to buy: Walmart, PepBoys, AutoZone

_____

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias All thoughts are my own. 

About Brian

View all post by Brian