Heat can increase the risk of an accident by up to 22%, and therefore the ideal recommended driving temperature is 22 degrees. Brakes, radiators, tires, and fluids are the elements that suffer the most from high temperatures.
Today no one imagines a vehicle without air conditioning. When we think of buying a car, we consider it as a standard.
Although the truth is that not long ago, it was a supplement for which the buyer had to pay. The passage of time and technology has made even dual air conditioners – those that allow the driver and passenger temperature to be adjusted separately – form part of some vehicle’s basic equipment. And it is that achieving the right temperature is essential not only for comfort but also for travellers’ safety.
Before getting behind the wheel, we seek maximum comfort to face the road. It is checked that the passenger compartment is as cosy as possible. It is also necessary to adopt a correct posture while maintaining the steering wheel’s distance, adjust the backrest, and, above all, the headrest, an element studied in-depth regarding safety.
After checking these elements, the car must be acclimatized to prevent the heat from becoming a distraction and making us sleepy, for example. The recommended ideal temperature is 22 degrees, but how to achieve it when it seems that the city has turned into hell?
1. Increased risk of an accident
Achieving this balance that oscillates between 21 and 23 degrees is vital for the driver since it is a way to increase comfort when driving and reduce the feeling of fatigue and preserve both his safety and that of the rest of the people travelling in the car. And it is that the heat increases the risk of suffering an accident: at 27 degrees, the chances of having an incident are 11%, while at 32 degrees, the percentage rises to 22%.
Therefore, any precaution is little. Not surprisingly, a study revealed that with a constant outside temperature of 25 degrees, the car’s interior could reach 40 in about 42 minutes. If it were 35 degrees, the vehicle would reach 55 in approximately one hour, and after 40 minutes, the dashboard’s surface has reached temperatures of 72.8 degrees.
2. Does colour influence?
Body-color has sparked all kinds of theories about its influence on the higher or lower temperature inside the vehicle. The Solar Energy Laboratory of the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that it does not affect since the greenhouse effect heats cars. Sunlight is absorbed by indoor surfaces and is reflected into the air as heat; As this radiation cannot escape to the outside, the interior temperature increases compared to the exterior. Of course, the colour of the vehicle’s interior can determine the amount of heat accumulated: dark surfaces absorb more solar energy than light ones.
3. Prior maintenance
The proverb says that “prevention is better than cure.” A tip applicable to many areas, also to the protection of the car against high temperatures. For this reason, it is advisable to turn on the air conditioning or the air conditioning unit for 10 minutes every 2 weeks throughout the year so that its maintenance is as correct as possible.
Before the arrival of summer, it is necessary to review certain aspects of vehicle maintenance related to air conditioning and climate control, such as, for example, cleaning the cabin filter, the correct gas charge, or that the exits are clear. In line with this, it is convenient to know how often to change some of these elements:
4. Before Driving
With the car in the daytime and the sun raising the temperature, some gestures can help the car not exceed 22 degrees from balance. Before starting the journey, it is advisable to open all the windows to ventilate the car well and dissipate the accumulated heat.
In this process, a system consists of lowering one window and then opening and closing the door on the opposite side five times.
The pressure-depression effect causes a suction current inside the passenger compartment, thanks to which the hot air leaves the door and is replaced by the fresh air that enters through the open window.
Next, it is best to renew the air that is still in the vehicle. To do this, you must start recirculation mode for approximately 5 minutes.
This gesture not only improves the operation of the air conditioners or the air conditioner, but it also lengthens its useful life. And it is that turning on either of these two systems before starting the march would be a mistake because it will work at maximum performance and deteriorate more.
5. While Driving
When driving, there are a few tips to keep in mind. It is advisable to keep the windows down for the first few kilometres to finish the ventilation process and then start the air conditioning or climate control.
In line with this, it is best to first opt for outside air circulation and then move to the interior. Once the optimum temperature is reached, the most comfortable thing is to automate it.
In addition to these tips, it must be borne in mind that should not point the air conditioning outlets at the driver or passengers, but rather that the air should arrive indirectly.
Read Also: Use a Car Sun Visor for Fuel Saving in Summer
6. Park in the shade
It is not always easy, but after a long winter, it is normal to forget how hot it is in a car that has been exposed to the sun. In this way, if there is an option, remember that it is best to always park under a shade.
Another good idea is to try to calculate where there will be shade in the next few hours, taking the sun’s movement as a reference, so that when you go to look for the car, it has been in the shade for the maximum time during the last hours.
If you have a sun visor, try to place it whenever possible to keep the vehicle’s darkness.
7. Extract the hot air from inside
Before turning on the air conditioning, you need to remove the vehicle’s hot air to make it more effective. In this way, many drivers roll down the windows during the first few minutes of Driving, something that works well for the air to be renewed, and the driver can cool off during the first minutes of driving.
Anyway, there are some tricks to be able to refresh the car before starting. One of them is to lower a window completely when the car stopped. Repeatedly open and close the door in the opposite direction. So that hot air is expelled from the passenger compartment and renew with fresh outside air.
8. Leave the car with the windows down
If you feel safe or control your car either because you have left it in front of the house or because you are parked in front of the restaurant where you are eating, you can dare to leave the windows slightly down when you have the car parked.
It is by no means the definitive solution, but it can help us find a slightly more serene situation when accessing the vehicle.
9. Home remedies
We can add other solutions to these tricks related to the car more than walking around the house. One of them is to put a damp cloth in the central vent to achieve a cooler thermal sensation, something that can also achieve by driving with a wet head because as the humidity disappears, the body temperature is reduced.
The effects of heat in your car
The temperature rise is not only noticeable inside the vehicle. Its effects can cause failures and mechanical problems in the parts that suffer the most in summer, which are concentrated in the brakes, radiator, tires, and fluids.
The braking system is probably the worst part of the heat. The pads act by friction on the brake discs or the drum and are constantly exposed to the heating effect. To this must be added that the discs can be deformed by the heat of the pressure and the friction of the pads or by the outside temperature, affecting the brake lines.
As for the radiator, it cannot forget that its mission is to cool the engine. For this reason, you have to pay attention to the liquid levels, analyze their condition, and check that there are no solid materials in suspension that can cause problems with temperature changes.
Besides, you must not lose sight of the other fluids’ level because if the car is exposed to heat for a long time, it can be affected.
On the other hand, the tires also suffer quite a bit in the heat. Its state has a direct impact on the safety of the trip. Although it must always control the pressure, it must be done in summer, especially because it increases with the rolling and the ambient temperature.
Suppose we add to this that the asphalt burns and wears the rubber of the tires precipitously. In that case, it is best to do delicate Driving without braking, skidding, and sudden movements, including periodic stops.
And not only do you have to check these components, but you also have to be careful with the fittings, radiator seals, condenser, and intercooler because high temperatures can modify both their behaviour and their operation.
Finally, we cannot forget the car’s air conditioning and cooling system because any leak will cause the engine to heat up, causing a breakdown. To this must be added that by avoiding forcing the air conditioning, less fuel is used, and premature wear of the adjustments, plastics, and coatings is prevented.
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