TEST: Saxon Brand Sonax Car Valeting Gear

With all this wonderful Wintery weather comes a ton of gritting salt – corrosive in the extreme to your prized motor. So, with this in mind, we decided to get hold of a multitude of quality, brand new Sonax valeting gear from Saxon to give our press cars on test and Road Magazine project cars a post-Winter treat, to keep them sweet. Saxon's Sonax brand has been used by the McLaren F1 team and the Red Bull Racing team – and if they’re good enough for Mark, Sebastian, Jenson and Lewis, then they’re certainly good enough for us and our old faithful project cars! 

Saxon say: "We are on hand to help show your car some love, offering everything from car cleaning products, chamois, sponges and touch up paints to car tidies, in-car entertainment and the famous Little Trees® air fresheners, ensuring your car looks as good as new, and stays that way – especially after a harsh Winter. And with a new valeting range from its Sakura brand for 2012 the job has never been easier, so roll up your sleeves and rid your car of signs of winter wear with Saxon."
The Sonax collection, which has been specifically designed for the UK, includes a Deep Gloss Shampoo, Polishing Wax, Paint Renovator, Wheel Cleaner, Glass Cleaner, Interior Cleaner, Cockpit Shine, Cockpit Cleaner and Tyre Care. Prices start from £3.99 for a 500ml bottle of shampoo, which can last up to 20 washes.
Saxon’s brands are available from independent retailers, supermarkets and retail chains nationwide, to find your nearest stockist simply call Saxon on 01488 689 400 or email info@saxon-brands.com with your postcode and they will tell you where to go to get hold of the good stuff.

We will wait until the snow clears here before getting to our post-Winter valet, and let you know how we get on soon, using the expert help of our pal, Stuart Staples, a pro-valeter who runs Auto Genie Car Care. His opinion will count. More updates here soon. Meantime, thanks to Porcha at Whitefoot PR and of course Saxon.

NEWS: Prodrive Winter Driving Course

Rally and race Gods, Prodrive are running a great value Winter driving course – aimed at teaching you how to control your car on snow and ice and give you more confidence this Winter.

The course takes place at their own private proving ground in Warwickshire (where legendary Prodrive rally, race & road cars cars are tested), which has specially designed low friction surfaces to simulate driving on snow or ice. Prodrive say: "Many courses use a skid car, which simply raises or lowers a car on casters. Using low friction surfaces not only replicates snow and ice more accurately, but allows you to use your own car for the course. This means that you can learn how your car responds in these conditions – after all this is what you will be driving this Winter."
The course includes:
1. Briefing: including a theoretical overview of driving in snow (15min)
2. Demonstrations: our instructors will demonstrate what happens on our skid pans. (15min)
3. In-car tuition: (90 mins session)
They add: "You get behind the wheel to get a feel for driving on snow and ice and receive expert tuition in firstly, how to avoid getting into the situation where you lose control and then how to regain control should you need to. There are 2/3 people per instructor and you will get a total of 30 minutes at the wheel during the session, split into two 15 minute periods. For the remaining time you may ride in the cars to continue your learning."
The day ends with a de-brief; to review what you have learnt in theory and practice and how to prepare your car for Winter, including using Winter tyres (20min).
By the end of the Prodrive session you should have a clear understanding of what to do should you ever find yourself in driving in snow and ice this Winter.
The course can be undertaken in either your own car or a Prodrive car (sadly, not the Group N STi Impreza you see pictured, as tested by us here: http://issuu.com/roadonlinemagazine/docs/road_3). 

Prodrive say: "We recommend using your own car as your experience will be more faithful to that you may experience on the road. Due to the speeds and nature of the driving, there should be little, if any, wear and tear on the vehicle."
Prices are £125 per person in own vehicle or £150 per person in a Prodrive vehicle (all prices are inclusive of VAT).
To book a Winter driving course session, phone the Prodrive Performance Centre on 01676 536006, or click here to send an email.

NEWS: Winter Is Coming! Make Sure Your Car Isn’t Caught Out!

With America’s east coast being thoroughly battered by the recent super-storm, British complaints about the weather seem a little inappropriate. Still, a blast of arctic air has ensured things feel a little cold around these parts (a second pair of pants only go so far) and the snow that fell offered a timely reminder to motorists that winter may as well be here.
The distinguishing feature of a British winter is that you don’t know when it’s going to start, or what it’s going to do. In this guide from Nationwide Vehicle Contracts we see how being prepared for winter may spare you from unpleasant journeys and genuine danger.

Combating the cold

• Cold weather creates treacherous road conditions, but low temperatures are a threat to the normal operation of the car itself. 
• Wake earlier and run your air conditioner to de-mist your windscreen. You can speed the process up a little by adding de-icer to your windscreen washer fluid and running your wipers. 
• Your radiator and engine block can freeze, and possibly even crack. Make sure you have a solution of 50% antifreeze and 50% water in your cooling system when winter comes along.
• Ensure you use the correct anti-freeze in your car: Your owner’s manual should make a recommendation, but most modern cars use long-life antifreezes. Avoid mixing types of anti-freeze. 
• If your engine makes any unusual sounds or your car begins to overheat, frozen water may be causing a blockage. Immediately stop somewhere safe, turn off the engine and investigate. 
• Keep de-icer in the car, but also have a backup supply outside it in case the locks freeze. 

Coping with the roads

Though local councils appear to be getting better at gritting roads and clearing snow, you are still going to encounter problems when out and about in winter. A lack of grip and poor visibility will blight your drive, and it’s important that you prepare your car and yourself for driving in these conditions:

• Winter conditions make checking tyre tread depth and factory mandated inflation absolutely critical.
• Change your fuel habits: top up more regularly.
• Bring a second pair of shoes for driving (snow covered shoes obviously offer poor grip).
• Avoid back-road routes and hills, if you can. Plan you route before you set out.
• Accelerate gently, turn slowly, brake carefully and early. Drive with more distance between you and other cars.
• Bear in mind that snow-chains are only useful in deep snow, and will need to be taken off on concrete. 

Getting stuck

Even if you keep your car in tip-top condition, it only takes a sudden snowfall on an inadequately gritted road for you to be well and truly stuck. Before you set off, it’s a good idea to travel with the following in the boot, so you can react to any problem or simply sit it out without risking exposure to the elements:

• Jump leads.
• Small shovel.
• Small knife.
• Blanket.
• First-aid kit.
• Flashlight with spare batteries.
• Energy / Granola bars. 
• Large bottle of water.
• Bag of sand or cat litter (to create traction).
• A spare phone.
• Map.
• Something to read!

Safe Winter driving folks!

NEWS: Subaru FREE Winter Inspection

Subaru are generously offering owners a free-of-charge vehicle inspection and top-up of essential fluids this Winter via their dealer network, to "ensure Subaru owners stay mobile in poor conditions."
Recent research from the AA suggests that 80% of roadside breakdowns could be avoided if fluid levels were checked and topped-up regularly, and Subaru is offering this service to customers, absolutely free. The inspection, carried out by trained Subaru technicians, includes checking tyre pressures, and topping up engine and gearbox oil, the engine coolant and screen wash. A full visual health check will also ensure that cars are operating to the best of their abilities.
Haydn Davies, Marketing Director of Subaru UK, commented: “Winter brings more hazardous driving conditions, with cold temperatures, damp or icy roads and poor visibility. Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system is already designed to keep our customers as safe as possible whatever the weather, while an enviable reliability record helps keep owners mobile, too. At the same time we like our dealers to have regular contact with our customers so we hope many of them will make use of this latest offer.”
Subaru UK’s latest offer for the season comes on top of the opportunity to store wheels and tyres at the dealer over winter, as part of the ground-breaking ETC aftersales package.
To find out more about Subaru’s winter health check and to find your nearest Subaru dealership, visit www.subaru.co.uk. Very nice eh?

NEWS: New Falken Winter Tyre

So, the leaves are starting to fall, along with the heavy rain... and soon it will be ice and snow. Time to consider some Winter boots for your motor? If you have never tried these, you really should. The difference in grip in ice, snow and cold, wet conditions is staggering. And here is a brand new Winter tyre from Falken, the Eurowinter HS449 winter tyre, with "an innovative tread pattern and compound delivering improved control and grip." The tyre is available in 57 initial sizes, with a further 32 being added in January 2013. Falken say: "A comprehensive set of ten product improvements has led to the creation of Falken’s new Eurowinter HS449 winter tyre. The HS449 incorporates tread, compound and construction changes to improve wet braking, stability and noise – following a rigorous testing programme in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. Cold weather tyre compounds typically contain silica helping the tyre to be more flexible at low temperatures (below 7˚C). For the Eurowinter HS449, Falken’s engineers have increased the proportion of silica to improve braking on wet surfaces by 11 percent (compared to the predecessor model HS439). A higher concentration of polymer in the tread compound enhances stability, delivering an increase of 13 percent over the HS439.
Whilst relevant for all cold weather scenarios, Falken has made strides to ensure braking is particularly improved on snow. In such conditions, the 45 percent increase in tread coverage is designed to improve stopping distances. The novel three-dimensional zig-zag lamellar structure was chosen to boost grip on snow and ice, whilst three dimensional fins optimise even wear of the tyre. Though not a prime consideration for many customers, Falken has lowered tyre noise by incorporating five-phase shifted tread bars. The Eurowinter HS449, the fifth new tyre introduced by Falken to the UK market this year, is available now from a wide range of dealers.