So I will be moving to Portland, Maine by the end of november and my 09 Fit is coming with me. I am hoping some of our Portland, ME member would recommend a good place to service my Fit.

I am new to the area and the weather so, I was wondering if the Fit is going to need stuff like snow tires, block heater and maybe different oil viscosity.

Thanks.

 

Definitely get some snow tires.

I've never needed a block heater with Hondas in Canada but some people like their engine pre-warmed.

Stick with the recommended 5w20 oil.

 

We've had dedicated Snows on all of our Hondas (save for the Ridgeline) here in VT. It makes a world of difference and would probably benefit you too. You look to be about even with Rutland VT (which is just south of me) but since Portland is on the Coast, you may actually have a little more Mild temps than we get here. (but potentially a bit more Ice). NorEasters will probably hit hard so get yourself a good strong portable shovel, a bag of Kitty Litter, and keep a warm blanket in the car and you'll be all set. Best of Luck in Portland

~SB

 

I'm in New Brunswick, Canada, about three hours northeast of Portland. Your car will start on cold mornings without a block heater even if overnight lows go down to -30 or so. But having said that, this is not good for your engine. A block heater should only cost around $100 installed (tops) and will keep your engine from being run cold at such low temps.

At the very least spring 5 or 10 bucks for a battery blanket and plug that in on colder nights. this will insure a strong-cranking battery on those cold mornings. Switching to synthetic oil rather than the regular stuff is a good idea too, because synthetic will maintain it's low viscosity even in extreme cold--- unlike dinosaur oil, which takes on the consistency of molasses at those temps. This is very hard on components like oil pumps and oil filters.

Speaking of which: Stay the hell away from Fram oil filters, especially the cheap ones with cardboard and glue elements. Thick, cold oil has been known to rupture them, causing bits of glue and cardboard to migrate and then plug oil passages and wreck engines. Use Napa filters instead. They're made by Wix (one of the best) and cost no more than the cheapie Frams.

Buy decent snow tires. (ie: NOT "all-season" tires, which are placebos). The genuine snow tires will have a raised "snowflake" pattern on the sidewall and have softer rubber than all-seasons do. You'll want to mount these on a separate set of stamped-steel rims, both to save your mags from winter conditions (and sliding into curbs when morons who don't know how to drive in winter cut you off) and also to save the cost of having a shop remove them from the rims each and every year, which gets very expensive.

Things to keep in your trunk: Jumper cables, blankets, jumper cables, kitty litter, jumper cables, a shovel, jumper cables, window scraper, jumper cables, snow brush, jumper cables, gloves, jumper cables, winter (-45) washer fluid, jumper cables, flashlight, jumper cables, a lighter/ matches, jumper cables.............

But having said all of this, you'll find that temps here don't drop much lower that what you've experienced in New Jersey--- it's just that there are more of those cold days here than there are in NJ, and we also get more snow.

 

So I take it you recommend jumper cables ?

 

LOL. It's amazing how often you or someone else needs a boost, especially in the winter months. And it always seems to happen the weekend you cleaned out the trunk to make more room for more urgent needs--- like beer....

 

I work for a college here and students are checking out Jumper Packs constantly... especially right before Break when cars have been sitting for an extended period of time.

~SB

 

Thanks guys! Thats' a ton of good information. As for jumper cables, I learnt my lesson long time ago, so I always keep a set in my car. Even if I don't keep anything else

Time to start looking for some good snow tires and good place in portland where I can get the block heater installed.

 

Most shops can install a block heater in short order. Best to find a shop that's competent in all maintenance issues and is HONEST. You might need to start a thread on that subject for Portland Maine owners to respond to.