{"id":884,"date":"2019-03-07T11:32:44","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T11:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/?p=884"},"modified":"2019-03-07T11:35:43","modified_gmt":"2019-03-07T11:35:43","slug":"a-smooth-drive-into-spring-tips-from-iam-roadsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/?p=884","title":{"rendered":"A smooth drive into spring: tips from IAM RoadSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">  It\u2019s time to get your car hale, hearty and \u2018beach body ready\u2019 in preparation for the spring.  This week\u2019s tips give advice on getting your car ready for the warmer weather, from IAM RoadSmart\u2019s  head of driving and riding standards Richard Gladman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong> Lose weight<\/strong>;&nbsp;clear out those coats, boots, scarves and bags that took up permanent residence during the winter months.   They add weight as well as taking up space, and surplus weight means wasted  fuel<\/li><li> <strong>Cut down on the salt<\/strong>;&nbsp;modern cars are much less prone to rust than their forbearers, but corrosion-causing salt from gritted roads can build up under the wheel arches and the suspension.   Use a  hose pipe to flush the wheel arches clean; if you have a pressure washer, even better. If not, try washing the arches after driving on wet roads \u2013 the mud and grit will have softened.    The neighbours might think you\u2019re peculiar but you\u2019ll reduce the risk of  expensive repairs<\/li><li><strong> Test your vision<\/strong>;&nbsp;the demister puts a film of grime from traffic fumes on the inside of the windscreen which can spread bright sunshine into a blinding glare.   Get the screen squeaky clean with  water and detergent, dry with a microfibre cloth and crystal clear vision will be restored.   Don\u2019t forget the other windows; clean screens rarely mist up so you\u2019ll need the heated rear window far less \u2013 another fuel saver<\/li><li> <strong>Keep hay fever at bay<\/strong>;&nbsp;most cars have pollen filters, but they need changing periodically to remain efficient.   Look in your handbook to find out how to get to the filter and if it looks bad, change  it now.   Some very good after-market filters are available online, often with a charcoal layer to filter out pollutants as well as pollen<\/li><li> <strong>Don\u2019t get hot and bothered<\/strong>;&nbsp;air conditioning is a boon as the temperature rises, but it contains a special gas which can slowly leak away.   If it gets too low, the air-con will blow warm instead  of cold.   Test it by turning the heater control to minimum, the heater fan to maximum and make sure the air-con is turned on (i.e., not in \u201ceco\u201d mode).   If you don\u2019t feel an icy blast after a couple of minutes, the system may need \u201cre-gassing\u201d; a simple job  which most garages have the equipment to do.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Richard said: \u201cIn conjunction with other spring cleaning treat your car, the efforts to wash and polish it will last a bit longer now the winter salt has gone.   Now is a good time to spend a therapeutic  Sunday morning tinkering.\u201d<br> <br> Do you want to find out more ways to stay safe on the road?    Try our&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/icm-tracking.meltwater.com\/link.php?DynEngagement=true&amp;H=5eXH0qSKdBRphS6WO4YlQwwSTi8wtQOqejFjZKiddbCzZ5Bbl4XDYQcZq9nVEntvr8a9%2Bdk7SN%2BWbZKft%2Fif51RhMIOwR1wfNl%2FBmGCcXzB5w%2BcVdfvOOEFzlBgjDwqo&amp;G=0&amp;R=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.iamroadsmart.com%2Fcourses%2Fadvanced-driver-course-&amp;I=20190306050216.0000005921a1%40mail6-43-usnbn1&amp;X=MHwxMDQ2NzU4OjVjNzk1ZmNhZDcxZTA4NTBkMjc0MGU0NTs%3D&amp;S=bDQWyOE_S6rGiNVcCWfEtf456xzeH4lzVUOWpGRr34A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Advanced  Driving Course<\/a>&nbsp;and get the best out of yourself and your car.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s time to get your car hale, hearty and \u2018beach body ready\u2019 in preparation for the spring. This week\u2019s tips give advice on getting your car ready for the warmer weather, from IAM RoadSmart\u2019s head of driving and riding standards&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}