Weather proves to be tough on cars

NORWALK — In the middle of the recent “bomb cyclone,” many people chose to stay home from work.

Then when a polar vortex brought days on end of single-digit temperatures, they did the same.

But for one Norwalk institution, the wicked weather meant business as usual.

Currie’s Tires, on West Avenue, was bustling Friday afternoon when temperatures peaked around 15 degrees despite the misleading sunbeams pouring across the lot.

Cars in front of the shop were hoisted on jacks as employees hustled to get tires changed and customers on their way. For the guys at Currie’s, the extreme weather meant double the workload and no way to bring it inside.

“Extreme weather will always bring in more customers,” said Mark Currie, co-owner. “Whether it’s extreme heat or extreme cold.”

Currie said the frigid temperatures cause more flat tires as air condenses when it cools. Many customers also visit Currie’s on the hunt for snow tires once the first flakes fall.

Rather than turn people away and head home when it is miserably cold, they set up a space heater in the corner, stock up on coffee and tea, and hope their hydraulic jacks and air compressors don’t freeze.

In between customers, employees held their gloves up to the space heater, which is set up inside the circa-1930s shop where, even though the

walls offer protection from the wind, every breath is suspended in frosty air.

“The cold makes it a lot tougher,” he said. “It’s very physically straining on a body, and it takes a toll. You burn a lot of calories in this weather, so you gotta keep eating hot food and hot coffee, hot tea.”

Next door at European Auto Center Repair, it was quieter, but no less busy.

The cold weather is taking its toll on car batteries, alternators and plastic parts.

“There’s no way to really prevent it,” said shop foreman Joe Samela. “We’re pretty busy all year, but it picks up a little the first time it gets really cold or hot.”

With cold and icy weather also comes chloride-based de-icers — salty roads — which can cause additional damage to cars. A new AAA Automotive Engineering study reports salt chemicals are causing an estimated $3 billion in vehicle rust damage annually.

“It doesn’t really affect the tires,” Currie said. “It’s more the undercarriage of a vehicle you have to worry about.”

Currie and Samela said it is difficult to avoid the harsh effects of winter weather on a vehicle, but offered a few tips to ease the pain.

Avoiding driving as much as possible, Samela said, is the best approach.

“They really just shouldn’t be out there driving when the weather is that bad,” Samela said.

But when abstinence isn’t the answer, Currie suggested checking the tire pressure on your vehicle monthly and rotating them every 6,000 to 8,000 miles, or every other oil change.

“Just keep an eye on them,” Currie said. “That’s really all you can do.”

Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media Employees at Currie’s Tires, including Jorge Badella, above, work on motor vehicle tires at the shop on West Avenue in Norwalk on Friday. Severe cold weather effects vehicles adversely, particularly wheels and tires.

Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media Severe cold weather effects vehicles adversely, in particular wheels and tires. Employees at Currie’s Tires recommend customers avoid driving as much as possible during bad weather and frigid temperatures.