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scourtaud23 12-03-2017 05:23 PM

X5 to the arctic circle
 
Hi to all,

I'm looking for input from people that drive or have driven around the arctic circle in the winter as my family is planning a roadtrip from geneva, switzerland to finland, sweden, norway (the route is not completely defined) but the goal is the arctic circle.

As of now we're going with 2 classic range rovers LWB, maybe a 322 Range rover and my x5 4.6is. (no diesels, all V8s)

What should I add to the car (beyond supplies)? I have the OEM webasto heater fitted (nice surprise when I bought it) but I'm wondering about a second battery (optima maybe), oil heater pads, ...

What would you recommend?

Thanks for the help

andrewwynn 12-04-2017 02:10 AM

Most importantly: proper cold weather survival kit: food water blankets, heat source, ideally Emergency beacon. I go nowhere without my battery powered impact wrench for tire changes.

For the car, if I would be driving in temps below about -15° C I would add a proper block heater so the oil doesn't have to start at -15° each day.

When temps get to -30 in Wisconsin, I will go out and run my car a couple times a day to keep the parts working.

Make sure your mirror heaters are working your wipers are all in great shape and get your window spray up to snuff. I use -35 spray.

For overnight parking outside I use a window tarp and some ice melt spray: one spray over the window before installing the tarp and window is Frost free in the am. Brass window scraper is a must for frost.


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scourtaud23 12-04-2017 01:43 PM

Thanks for the reply, tools and survival kit will of course be taken care of but my main worry was the car ad its less easy to find practical information.

I looked into the block heater which seems like a nice addition even though there seems to be no internal spot for it on the v8 so it'd be a pas stuck on the oil pan. They also all seem to be made for plugging into a wall outlet and I'm not sure we'll find them in hotels.

I would have loved to have a programmable remote start to run the car at set intervalls during the night but that seems to be a nightmare on BMWs so probably not happening.

I don't know if my webasto has the remote module so I'll have to check and maybe add it so I can start it early and give it time to heat the engine coolant and see if I can get it to also turn on ventilation so it slightly defrosts the car.

What do you mean by window tarp? juste a tarp put on the window? how do you hold it?

Looking and yearly weather in the region we're planning on visiting, the lowest temps seem to be around -24°C (don't know if it includes wind chill) so maybe not as bad a I thought.

andrewwynn 12-04-2017 04:50 PM

Normally oil pan heater is not very effective but the x5 has the entire bottom of the engine covered it would keep it much warmer. You could use one of the battery based 120v inverter to apply power to a heater with no mains power. I wonder if there is a DC oil pan heater.

The tarp is meant to keep the snow off. It uses magnets to keep in position and flaps go inside the door seal when shut to keep wind from blowing it away. Works great to keep frost off with just a little anti frost spray.

Remote start is difficult when you have an immobilizing circuit. They have to take apart a working key to integrate into the starter. (which could be taken advantage of by a thief).

-24 is plenty cold to piss off a car. My wife's car does not like that temp much.

You should have the likes of a power boost start battery. Mine can supply 900A. And was $90 the 500A model is $60.


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Crowz 12-04-2017 05:26 PM

Electric heaters and dc are not a good combo. With an alternator charging they work ok but off a battery it wont run long before killing the battery.

scourtaud23 12-04-2017 06:14 PM

I don't think the pads would be worth it on a battery.

I'll look into the tarp, it seems like a great idea.

We'll be taking a battery booster and sleeping with it in the hotels so it can be charged and warm in the morning if needed.

I'm thinking I need a second battery and remote start the webasto so it gets time to heat the bloc via the coolant and help with the oil. There must be some sort of load balancer to insure the battery power stays sufficient to start the car. I haven't been able to find the fuel consumption of the petrol webasto or its power needs but the diesel one seems to be 100ml per hour average which is quite ridiculous and require between 35 and 50W. A good optima battery or similar should be able to let it run an hour or two without hurting normal starting power on the main battery.

wpoll 12-04-2017 06:20 PM

The diesel Webasto will only run 30 minutes - programmed that way - and won't run again until the engine has been started at least once.... Not sure about the petrol version but it's likely to be the same.

There is the same limitation on the timer Vent function - it is to limit the drain on the battery to allow the car to still start.

I have fitted a remote to my Webasto - a $10 eBay remote tx and rx with a built-in timer is all you need. I did a writeup about it here somewhere - useless since Photobucket went mad...

scourtaud23 12-04-2017 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wpoll (Post 1122663)
The diesel Webasto will only run 30 minutes - programmed that way - and won't run again until the engine has been started at least once.... Not sure about the petrol version but it's likely to be the same.

There is the same limitation on the timer Vent function - it is to limit the drain on the battery to allow the car to still start.

I have fitted a remote to my Webasto - a $10 eBay remote tx and rx with a built-in timer is all you need. I did a writeup about it here somewhere - useless since Photobucket went mad...

thanks for this info, 30 minutes might be enough if it works like the eberspaecher in my 73 beetle...

Are you takling about a bmw remote or generic remote? is there any incentive to using a generic remote if I find out I have the remote reciever next to the battery? (haven't checked yet)

wpoll 12-04-2017 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scourtaud23 (Post 1122668)
thanks for this info, 30 minutes might be enough if it works like the eberspaecher in my 73 beetle...

Are you takling about a bmw remote or generic remote? is there any incentive to using a generic remote if I find out I have the remote reciever next to the battery? (haven't checked yet)

The OEM kit, called a Telestart T91, consists of the receiver module that is fitted in the trunk and a remote fob. Unless you car has had the option fitted and a PO has lost the remote fob, you are going to need both parts.

I went with a generic remote set and wired it up myself. Very easy to do - only three wires needed, all off one connector. Works very well.

If you do in fact already have the OEM receiver fitted, you'll need to track down the Webasto T91 remote fob (tramsmitter).

andrewwynn 12-04-2017 09:18 PM

With always on power outlets in back can you add a parallel battery by simply plugging in so it charges when car is on and supplies current to the system when car is off. They make them with current limiting cords so won't blow the fuse when you start the car.


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