Winter...What would you do?
09-12-2013, 05:25 PM
#43
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: WV
Posts: 750
I stored it outside, for 4-5 months straight, under a cover, during 3 consecutive winters. Having mice get into the heater box once, and having exacerbated clearcoat issues only on the roof, that were already happening anyway, on the last year I stored it in that manner, are not what I consider severely negative.
11-10-2013, 06:51 PM
#45
2nd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: New York
Posts: 263
Updating this:
Car went off the road yesterday. Did mostly all the suggestions here, cleaned the car and bought a customer car cover from AM with a large tarp tied down on top of it. I removed the battery and used toilet paper, dryer sheets, moth ***** and a few traps around the car. Covered the exhaust pipes.
Driving a Hyundai accent in the meantime. It's killing me ahaha. Though I'm saving a good bit of gas money each month as well as insurance money.
Hopefully everything goes well and spring comes soon.
Car went off the road yesterday. Did mostly all the suggestions here, cleaned the car and bought a customer car cover from AM with a large tarp tied down on top of it. I removed the battery and used toilet paper, dryer sheets, moth ***** and a few traps around the car. Covered the exhaust pipes.
Driving a Hyundai accent in the meantime. It's killing me ahaha. Though I'm saving a good bit of gas money each month as well as insurance money.
Hopefully everything goes well and spring comes soon.
11-21-2013, 09:38 PM
#47
I drive a V6 because I'm a giant wimp
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: MN
Posts: 101
Oil with something less than about 7-800 miles is fine but 4000 miles on it, change it now and you don't have to in the spring
As far as car covers go, my car is under a car cover about 350 days a year, every time it gets back home it is clean and goes under the cover. I don't have any issues with scratches or dulling of the clearcoat.
I don't drive it all that much, maybe 20-30 times a year and 2-3 of those are 1500-3000 mile road trips. My car sits from sometime in October until sometime in April or even May depending on weather, I don't start it not once, but I do go out once a month and put the battery on a charger for about 30 minutes -pigtails from a tender hanging off the battery down under the chassis-
Been this way with most my vehicles, had my last truck for 10 years and this was more the summer regiment than the winter one as I ride motorcycles nearly everyday from April to sometime in Oct/Nov and have a winter beater for the winter months.
Wash, wax- go for a 30 minute drive, change oil/filter, clean up anyhting collected on that brief ride, park in back yard behind 6' fence on 6" tall blacks so air can flow under car easily-there is a heavy rubber mat that extends about 2' outside of the car each direction so ground moisture isn't much issue- duct tape over both exhasuts although the car cover does cover those-then I have a 5 layer outdoor car cover that I tie on really tight, 3 strings through 6 points on the cover. Then it just sits. no brooming it off or doing anything with it until spring,besides the city snow plow and then shoveling the driveway piles the snow so high next to the driveway I usually couldn't get the car out even if I wanted until that all melts. I haven't had any rodent issues, they likely enjoy the 4-5 cord wood pile 100' away far more?
As far as car covers go, my car is under a car cover about 350 days a year, every time it gets back home it is clean and goes under the cover. I don't have any issues with scratches or dulling of the clearcoat.
I don't drive it all that much, maybe 20-30 times a year and 2-3 of those are 1500-3000 mile road trips. My car sits from sometime in October until sometime in April or even May depending on weather, I don't start it not once, but I do go out once a month and put the battery on a charger for about 30 minutes -pigtails from a tender hanging off the battery down under the chassis-
Been this way with most my vehicles, had my last truck for 10 years and this was more the summer regiment than the winter one as I ride motorcycles nearly everyday from April to sometime in Oct/Nov and have a winter beater for the winter months.
Wash, wax- go for a 30 minute drive, change oil/filter, clean up anyhting collected on that brief ride, park in back yard behind 6' fence on 6" tall blacks so air can flow under car easily-there is a heavy rubber mat that extends about 2' outside of the car each direction so ground moisture isn't much issue- duct tape over both exhasuts although the car cover does cover those-then I have a 5 layer outdoor car cover that I tie on really tight, 3 strings through 6 points on the cover. Then it just sits. no brooming it off or doing anything with it until spring,besides the city snow plow and then shoveling the driveway piles the snow so high next to the driveway I usually couldn't get the car out even if I wanted until that all melts. I haven't had any rodent issues, they likely enjoy the 4-5 cord wood pile 100' away far more?
Last edited by 13V6coupe; 11-21-2013 at 09:46 PM.
11-21-2013, 09:58 PM
#48
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: sweden
Posts: 1,128
not a single start is a good thing to do..it will introduce condensation into the motor oil and the inside of the exhaust.
mine wont be started now untill april..it's in a garage with heating though..charge battery once a month ..and that's it
mine wont be started now untill april..it's in a garage with heating though..charge battery once a month ..and that's it
11-22-2013, 06:06 AM
#49
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Colorado
Posts: 2,652
Threads like this are starting to bore me. Living in CO, not even my Shelby gets stored for the winter. When its nice enough to get out, she comes out if even for some short sprints. I get it and run it if its been more than a few days and let it idle in the garage. The wife's GT vert has summer tires and the way it's built, it's also parked outside. I struggled with the cover thing but my rule is if the car is clean and I beat the weather, sure Im going to cover it. But if it's got ANY visible dirt (and her cars usually do) then no cover and I brush it off post storm with a broom. And nope - it doesnt get driven until the stuff melts off. As for places that have icy and snow packed roads year round, I might have to change my tune, but Denver's little secret is we might get pounded by snow but its almost always melted off everything in a week.
