this is the first time im putting my car away for the winter--any tips--or can i just start it up every week...thanks in advance

 

Fuel Stabilizer. Trickle charger is a good idea....I don't think the alternator will charge the battery just by starting it, I think the car needs to be moving. Don't hold me to that, not 100% sure. Some people say you should put it on stands, or put rugs under the tires.

 

i have done all sorts of fancy stuff on my equipment but they can handle a few months of just sitting.

Add a fuel stabilizer and disconnect the battery is all you need to do IMO. It's only a few months. Cars sit on lots for longer than that.

 

As far as the alternator charging it will charge the battery if just sitting there, and running, but you need to run it a while. This year I will be using a BatteryMINDer. You can search the web for them for a good price. They run around $35 - $40. They are NOT a trickle charge which CAN damage a battery if not watched. They are an automatic battery charger that will maintain the charge as well as condition the battery keeping it in excellent operating condition. They will NOT over charge or damage the battery like trickle chargers can if unattended. Basically you can connect the BatteryMINDer to your battery and leave it for the entire time you vehicle is in storage.

I store my Lightning for the winter and it is usually put a way for about 4 months. If you start it let it run a good 30 minutes or so to insure any moisture is gone before shutting it off. If you start it and only let it run 10 minutes or so it will build up some moisture, especially in the exhaust, and that can eventually lead to rust, not to mention some moisture in the oil causing it to break down some. You want everything up to temperature for a while and 30 – 45 minutes will insure that. Is it ****? Maybe, but its cheap insurance.

This is what I do:

Over inflate tires by 10 psi, most vehicles require 32 psi so I air my tires to 42 psi. It helps to prevent flat spots. Radials can develop flats spots but from all my reading they will usually go away within the first 5 – 10 miles of driving. When I don’t drive my Lightning for a month I notice flat spots and they are gone within a few miles.

As was mentioned add fuel stabilizer to a FULL tank of fuel. You want the tank full so there is less room for any moisture to accumulate and the fuel stabilizer will help keep the moisture out of the fuel. After adding the fuel stabilizer run the motor for 5 – 10 minutes so it circulates throughout the fuel system.

Run the A/C on max. and leave it on max. when you shut the motor off. This will close the recirculation door in the ventilation system closing it off for small rodents, like mice, from getting inside your vehicle.

Roll windows all the way up.

Hopefully you have it in a garage which is the best place. Make sure there is NO food, including pet food, in the garage to attract small rodents like mice.

Use some tinfoil and cover the exhaust tips to prevent small rodents like mice from using it as a home. Do NOT use cloth or rags because mice will use that as bedding material.

If you have a cement floor that is not painted or tiled get a big tarp to lay on the floor and park the vehicle on that. The tarp will act as a moisture barrier between the cement and the undercarriage of the vehicle. Moisture can seep up through the cement and cause rust on the undercarriage.

Get a nice car cover, like a Noah from Covercraft, which can breathe and cover the car with it. Before covering the car make sure you wash it good and a few coats of wax.

When you get ready to pull it out from storage change the oil and filter and remember to check the air pressure in the tires.

That’s all I can think of off the top of my head…

 

I plan to leave mine in the garage all winter. But I would expect to have a decent day every couple of weeks (dry, sunny) to take it to work. We have days like that in southern Indiana. If I lived in Minnesota, I might be singing a different tune.

 

Don't start it during the winter either, tempting as it is, it won't build up enough heat just idling in your garage, and will only produce condensation in your oil tank, and carbon in your heads. (IMO anyways)

 

especially if garage is unheated- top the tank off- airspace will suck in air/vent during temp swings, condensation causes rust...add a bit of fuel stabilizer too.

As I tend to keep cars too long, I hope to add a moroso accusump - its just an acuumulator/solenoid that pressurizes while driving, then sol. shuts off holding pressure till needed at next startup- turn the key, it opens the valve, instant oil pressure before 'dry' cranking. it wont help cylinder walls much, but everything else will be lubed. Not wanting to start a synthetic/conventional oil battle, but i have read a few guys running mobil1 getting a slight puff of smoke at cold start- harmless, just says a bit of oil ran down valvestem- but this makes me wonder if full synthetics 'run off' more than the dinosaur stuff...might be something to consider- accusump always just 'sounded right' to my thinking- dont really see any detrimental problems(well- if you turn the key on and dump ALL the contents into your pan, the level might rise to 'above full' and possibly cause a leak until started/pumping extra oil back into acuumulator...). plus any chance of starving the pickup during hard cornering/acceleration will be gone also. my biggest worry with letting car sit is the dry start...the more time between starts, the more 'dry' the next start will be. start a couple times a week, might be easier on the motor, but will get more water in the exhaust...stainless shouldnt get hurt too much, but...

 

I will be getting my car the second week of January and will be putting it in storage immediately after driving it home (yeah, I know that sucks after waiting since June for it). I have heard some people say that you need to wait a while before putting a coat of wax on it after taking delivery. Two questions for you:

1. Since I will have just picked up my car, is it too early to wax it?
2. Will it be too early to put the cover on the waxed/non-waxed (whichever the case may be) car?

Thanks

 

You can wax a new car from the factory the day you get it off the truck from the factory. Cars painted at the factory are cured as soon as they leave. They are baked were as a car painted at an auto body shop is not, or if it does see an oven its not at the temperatures seen at the factory since you have fabrics etc already installed in the car.

At the factory they are baked with nothing installed and thus higher temperatures in order to actually cure the paint.

If a car was repaired and repainted at an auto body shop you should wait at least 30 – 45 days before waxing.

So, yes you can wax right away. You can put a car cover on right away as well, regardless if it is waxed or not.

Just make sure you wash it real good so there is not dirt on the body of the car. Will it be parked outside or inside a garage? The reason I ask is if it is parked outside it might not be a good idea to put a cover on it because of wind. Any little bit of dust or dirt that will get under the cover, between the cover and paint, can act like sandpaper and do more harm to the paint then without ever having a cover on it.

However they do make different types of covers. Some are for indoor use only, while others, like the one I have, can be used indoors or outside. The difference is that generally the indoor only types are not as thick and durable as those designed for outdoors. If it’s a custom fit cover and for outdoors AND you have it on very snug you might be ok. If you know you’re going to have a windy day I would take it off and wait for the wind to stop, then wash and then recover.

Here is where I bought my car cover from: https://bigskycarcovers.com/catalog/index.asp

Hope that helps…

*** Edited to replace "backed" with "Baked" stupid mistake on my part...

 

I like your explanation the best. I"m going to tell a friend about your max air trick. I don't need to worry about this stuff, but I did read one time about having a light bulb under the cover, I thnk it was a motorcycle article. How about one in the car, one or two under the car?