Synth made a HUGE difference in the diffs for me as well, and I drive an auto. When it got waaaaaay cold, instead of it feeling like freewheeling, it really felt like I had to push the front end down the driveway in 2wd. It was hard to keep the rear wheels from breaking loose before I got down the drive little ways. After the synth it stopped doing that....

 

Thanks! I haven't done any wheeling around here but would like to do some this winter if you are interested.

You should be able to spot our JK pretty easily, we are still roaming around with my wife's AZ plates from her previous car. I need to get them changed asap, you'll understand when you see the tag.

There is also a redrock lifted with 35's+ and chrome rockstars in Roch. I keep waving but they dont wave back.

But back to the cold weather . . . I did the grill insert mod and noticed that it does keep in some of the engine heat.

I think the synthetic diff fluid is a must.

Thanks to all those who posted.

 

Keep in mind wind chill doesn't effect the jeep like it does your skin, -20 is going to stay -20 to our vehicle and fluids regardless of the wind (ambient temperature does not drop in windy conditions).

Wind chill is the perceived effect of a cold wind against our skin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_chill

The only effect wind chill will have on hardware is how quick a warm object will cool to the ambient temperature (a warm radiator will cool to -20 quicker in windy conditions).


Knowing this, its still a good idea to get an engine block heater if you expect super cold conditions, however I will say that we regularly see -20/-30 here and have no issues starting up on the stock battery and no heater running.

Just sayin...

 

Having a block heater on your engine makes it a lot easier on your engine as well. Here in Alaska......well I should say not here but up in Anchorage, they want you to plug your vehicle in at 20 degrees. That's 20 above. They say this because they try to keep the air cleaner up there in the Anchorage bowl. A warmer engine at start up supposedly puts out less emissions that a cold one. Personally I don't plug our rigs in until it's down below zero. And it's on a timer as well. Just comes on 3 or so hours before we leave for work.

 

As many others have mentioned a block heater is a nice thing to have when the temperatures start to get cold. I start to plug mine in when it hits -20C (-4F). Also something to consider it getting a timer for your block heater, why heat it all night when you can have it heat the engine for an hour or two before you leave for work.

Another option is an Espar, or similar, fuel fired coolant heater. We have these things installed in most of our Army trucks here in Canada and they a great. When it gets cold, we flip the switch or program the timer and they come on and heat everything up before we crank the engine over. Might be kind of pricey, but you don't need a power outlet and it uses less fuel then running your engine.

h t t p://www.espar.com/html/products/coolantheaters.html

 

Sounds pretty much like everything has been covered for the vehicle, and as was posted, wind chill has no effect on a vehicle, however as everyone knows it does effect the skin in retaining warmth. With that in mind, Minnesota can be a cold and windy place. Whenever venturing out in the rural areas, make sure you are dressed accordingly with perhaps an extra pair of warm dry socks.
Here in SE Pa it does not get that cold, however I've seen it as low as 10* with a windchill of -20*, and it just amazes me that I sometimes see people go out driving whith nothing more than a light jacket thinking that they will be warm in their vehicle. That might be true, however if that vehicle gets stuck while out on a country road, those people are in for a very cold awakening.
Also make sure you're toolbox includes some recovery equipment. Included in my recovery equipment, I also stash a good cold weather sleeping blanket in the Jeep during the winter. Just in case.

 

So after all this talk on being prepared, l leave work and jump into the jeep..... click click click the battery is dead.

Quick jumpstart and a trip to napa I'm back on the road.

Upgraded the stock 600 cold crank amp to a 800.
Should be good to go.

Good idea on the sleeping bag. ^^^ I think I may throw a few blankets in the back.

 

here's another invaluable tips.. okay two. one, always park so you can drive forward when its below 10 degrees. second, when backing for pulling into a space (during snow fall or snow drifts) pull in or go back then move it back a couple a feet. this gives you room to rock it a bit.

 

this summer i found the wire for my block heater.
it was hidden under the TIPM.

 

I've left my wipers up like this knowing we were going to get a mix of sleet & snow