Storing the car for the winter

[Excelerater]

I use trickle chargers on everything I own,cars,trailers,golf-carts...you can get the cheap
ones from harbor freight for 5 bucks and they work as good as the big name brands

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[bahasad]

I'm storing 2 cars for the next month. The thought of leaving them is depressing me. None of my cars will be stored in the winter, they will be under a carport, but whenever the roads are reasonably clear, the mustang will come out.

 

[MJS-P51]

I'm just planning on covering the car and not driving it during the snowy months. If I start it up every weekend and roll it a foot forward or back should I still be doing all of these things, oil change stabil/startron? I plan on running the motor for 20-30mins a week just not driving it on the shitty roads.

I bought I really nice covercraft weather shield hp cover for the winter.

Any suggestions for this method?

 

[TheDivaDanielle]

park in garage. walk away. come back in spring.

 

[Evolvd]

I'm just planning on covering the car and not driving it during the snowy months. If I start it up every weekend and roll it a foot forward or back should I still be doing all of these things, oil change stabil/startron? I plan on running the motor for 20-30mins a week just not driving it on the shitty roads.

I bought I really nice covercraft weather shield hp cover for the winter.

Any suggestions for this method?

If you're not going to be driving it you are better off not starting it. Put some fuel stabilizer in it, change your oil and put the battery on a tender. And if you're a detailing guy throw a cover over it. Otherwise leave it alone

 

[stealthfrc]

park in garage. walk away. come back in spring.

pretty much. people get way to carried away with the storing of a car for a few months.... the only thing i do is unplug the battery and let it sit. never had an issue. now if it was to get stored for years then yes its a different story.

 

[2015 Silver GT]

park in garage. walk away. come back in spring.

If you're not going to be driving it you are better off not starting it. Put some fuel stabilizer in it, change your oil and put the battery on a tender. And if you're a detailing guy throw a cover over it. Otherwise leave it alone

pretty much. people get way to carried away with the storing of a car for a few months.... the only thing i do is unplug the battery and let it sit. never had an issue. now if it was to get stored for years then yes its a different story.

I agree with all of this. There's no need to overthink things.

 

[Hack]

Thank you for the articles.

I'm honestly not sold. I can't fathom how sitting in oil with 25% of it's lifespan used is more damaging than driving 50 miles a day in that oil, and then sitting in it for 23 more hours a few days per week.

Basically my rationale is this. If I had conventional oil being changed on a 3000/6month rotation and it had been in the car for 2000 and 2 months I can agree with the recommendation. But when we have oils rated for 5+ times that today I think that justification is invalid. If we argue that todays synthetics have has the same amount of contaminants in at 2000 miles (even though it's only a fraction of their lifespan) then it would be as equally not wise to drive any farther than 3000 miles on said oil.

Again, not trying to be a d***. I just can't follow how this makes any sense if the oil would have been fine to DRIVE with all winter.

Yes/no?

Right. The "contaminated" oil is not going to damage the oil pan. It's not even circulating through the engine because the engine is not running. If you change the oil before storage you should still really change it after storage. The reason to change the oil is what happens to the oil during storage.

park in garage. walk away. come back in spring.

I agree with all of this. There's no need to overthink things.

I would just park it. Then in the spring take a good long drive and then change the oil. If you drive on exceptionally smooth roads you might notice some flat spotting, but whether you want to put the car on stands or not it's up to you. The flat spots will come out in a few days worth of driving. I do like the idea of a trickle charger to keep the battery charged.

 

[tsunami]

If you plan on only using your car a few times this winter, make sure you drive it far enough to really warm up the engine. A cold engine will not be able to evaporate any moisture that might build up...the engine needs to get hot to drive off any condensation.
My mechanic told me that it is better to just let my car sit over the winter than repeated short cold runs.

 

[RobHunt]

Mine goes away for the winter.

1. Oil change so she is ready to rock when the snow/salt goes away.
2. Full tank of gas
3. On wheel dollies to easily move around the garage without starting (also push right to wall in garage)
4. Battery minder/tender wired under hood, not taking battery out
5. Cover, just to protect paint, keep dust/dirt off
6. Cry just a little bit inside, every time I see her covered in the garage

 

[montreal ponies]

Mine goes away for the winter.

1. Oil change so she is ready to rock when the snow/salt goes away.
2. Full tank of gas
3. On wheel dollies to easily move around the garage without starting (also push right to wall in garage)
4. Battery minder/tender wired under hood, not taking battery out
5. Cover, just to protect paint, keep dust/dirt off
6. Cry just a little bit inside, every time I see her covered in the garage

^^^ this and:

Fuel stabilizer
I don't use wheel dollies, i simply push it a few feet every now and then to avoid flat spots.

 

[CM581978]

Its a Mustang, not a Bugatti. Drive the thing.

 

[73MachI]

Driving a car in an Ontario winter is brutal - salt and sand just destroy the interior and corrode things like gas and brake lines - and ruin aluminum wheels. I would prefer to park my Mustang for the winter in my garage and drive my beater/DD all winter long.

One issue with storage is the tires - summer tires, due to the compound, can actually crack if you move your car in very cold weather. If you are storing your car in a climate controlled environment, things are easier. I can't speak to the oil change thing but I have the same questions as many here - should I change my oil BEFORE I winter store it, or AFTER? I was planning to do so before I store it, but now I don't know.

Regardless, I'm going to review the research, but when I looked into it earlier this year, it was "there is no recommendation to put your car on blocks like there used to be".

Note that there is a section in the Mustang Owner's Guide on storage, but it doesn't really seem to apply to a typical homeowner storing their car in their unheated garage. However, it has several important notes about starting your car every 15 days and changing the oil PRIOR to AND AFTER storage. Sigh.

This is a good thread for thoughts and opinions. I'm just wondering how much it all really matters when there seems to be so little consensus.

 

[73MachI]

Its a Mustang, not a Bugatti. Drive the thing.

That might work in NJ, but... not so desirable in SWO if you want that "new car feeling" every spring.

 

[ConspicuousConsumption]

Don't have a garage. What's up with all the uppity bs here? Not everyone has the same situation. My car is going to be sitting outside in various snow storms for 3-5 months. So I'm a wimp for wanting to protect a $35,000 purchase?

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