Driving to the arctic with the QX4

[RR425]

So I plan to do something crazy this december: drive my 01 QX4 to the arctic. I'd like to go all the way to the arctic ocean in Canada (Tuktoyaktuk), but not sure if I'll be able to handle the 35 below zero temps, so I'll see how far I'll get. Either way, wondering if I should leave my car turned off at night, or keep it running? I got a new alternator and battery, will add liquid to gas to keep the fuel lines from freezing, but not sure what else I could/should do?

Don't have a engine block heater and don't think I will have access to an outlet anyway, so keeping the car running all night while I sleep seems like the way to go. I'll have 15 gallons of extra gas with me.

ps. This winter is the last one to drive on the ice road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk.

[DAiNiUS]

That sounds amazing! I was actually thinking of doing something like that as well, but it's more of a pipe dream.

Where are you heading out from? Also, are they prohibiting travel on that ice road going forward?

[RR425]

I'm heading out from Seattle. From what I know they will close the ice road from Inuvik to Tuk next year, because they are building a regular road that is supposed to replace it and slated to open before winter 2017.

[Z31toZ32]

I was in Calgary for a few years, and I parked mine outside for the most part. I had more than a handful of -30c starts and I didn't have any problems. I did use full synthetic, so I would imagine if you are on dyno oil you would definitely want a block heater if you are lower than -15c. I would just change to synthetic and call it a day, and if you are going lower than -40c I would install a block heater. Plugins are common up there.

[Densetsu]

Edmontonian here who's also had his share of starts in -30c to -45c weather with dino oil, usually with no plugin for my block heater. It should be fine, though once it dips below the -35c mark I try to plug it in whenever possible. If I don't have access to a plug, starting it up every 3-4 hours and driving it around a bit helps to keep residual heat in the engine block.

Oil: I've never made the switch to synthetic oil (Nissan recommends against it for 2003-04 models for some reason), but I've used 0w30 dino oil in colder winters. I don't notice a huge difference; it's more for peace of mind that the oil is flowing easier in cold weather.

Fuel: I've never used a fuel additive for my vehicles up here. Most stations in Canada have a "winter blend" of gas that already has additives to help with freezing. I'm sure it's just more ethanol, which has a much lower freezing point than plain gas.

Coolant: Replace your coolant before you go and adjust the ratio for the colder weather. Premixed coolant with a 50/50 ratio only has freeze protection to about -35c. You can usually push the ratio to 70% coolant / 30% water for arctic temperatures, though the specific ratio might differ a bit depending on what brand you use.

Battery: How many CCA is your new battery? For peace of mind you might want to invest in a portable booster pack or a battery warmer, if you'll always have access to power. That, or stay in an area with at least a few other people around and make sure to have cables with you.

4WD: Don't be surprised if it's below -20c and you select 4WD Auto but it stays locked in 4Hi. It does that in cold temperatures until you drive a few miles and the transfer case warms up.

[RR425]

Thanks for the tips! Much appreciated. Plans for christmas changed, so I gotto postpone the trip to after new year. But jan. or feb. for sure

[ArmedAviator]

As mentioned above, you don't need fuel additives as long as your fuel isn't contaminated with water. Winter blend fuel should have enough alcohol in it to absorb any small contamination.

Also as mentioned above, adjust your coolant mix for proper freezing point protection. If you pop a freeze plug out of your block, it's game over.

Take hand tools and emergency gear including fire starting tools, blankets, flares, a well-equipped first aid kit, lots of hand warmers, spare gloves, etc. I'd also bring a good tire inflator so if necessary one can let air out of tires for traction and fill them back up. Also bring a radio, probably a CB to communicate on an emergency.

As far as the oil goes, get some Castrol 0-30. No need to keep the engine running all night.

Bring a second battery and jumper cables.

Bring a camera so you can take alot of pictures to show us your journey.

[Densetsu]

Bring a camera so you can take alot of pictures to show us your journey.

Definitely bring a DSLR -- or at least a point and shoot that does long exposures -- and a stand. The northern lights in person are amazing, but it you capture it in a 10+ second exposure they're breathtaking. Astrophotography is also something to look into in a region so remote and dark -- star trails are a popular and easy one to do: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_trail

[RR425]

QX4 in the Arctic:

[Kev90]

Awesome!! You must have quite a load in your hitch rack

[RR425]

Not really. First the hitch carrier was sagging because it had a hinge to fold up. But then it started sagging more and I noticed the hinge had a crack. I junked it soon after taking these pics and bought a new one without a hinge.

[Kev90]

Not really. First the hitch carrier was sagging because it had a hinge to fold up. But then it started sagging more and I noticed the hinge had a crack. I junked it soon after taking these pics and bought a new one without a hinge.

So the official stress test puts it at 2,500 miles in the artic for the rack How many days did you take for the whole trip? Looks like if all you did was driving would take ~8 days of 12 hours of driving to get there and back.

[RR425]

1 week driving 8 hours per day to get there. Another week to come back.

[JPK Omaha]

Thanks for sharing the photos. Any mechanical or starting issues? What was the coldest temp?

[RR425]

-35c-30f was the coldest (pretty warm considering locals said January had -50). No starting issues with my 4 year old DieHard battery (brought a new spare one with me but didn't need it). Like Densetsu mentioned above "4WD: Don't be surprised if it's below -20c and you select 4WD Auto but it stays locked in 4Hi. It does that in cold temperatures until you drive a few miles and the transfer case warms up"- that's exactly what happened and had to warm it up for the locked diff light to turn off.

The only issue was in strong wind and snow drifts air filter sucked up snow and power dropped for a while, check engine light came on and threw out the code P0100. I shook the snow from the air filter and it seemed to run fine after that.