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Not letting engine sit all winter

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Frank.Herbst

Frank.Herbst

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So I love the idea behind your thoughts. You want to preserve your engine. We all want that I think.

But I'm not sure your theory is correct. Your theory as I understand it is that more oil will drain out of the bearing areas in an entire winter than in a month. Right? Because you are saying that you want to start the car once a month to preserve it.

I'm not sure that's right. I think most of the oil will drain within HOURS. I think the difference between the amount of oil on the bearings and in the top end of the engine THE NEXT DAY after shutting down versus a MONTH later versus 3 or more MONTHS later is virtually identical.

I think a surprising amount of oil will stay in nooks and crannies for a long time as long as the engine doesn't move. However, the oil that's going to drain out - my theory is that it drains out relatively quickly. Certainly less than a week for it to drain down.

I think if you aren't driving the car daily and you are storing it, starting once a month just means a few more dry starts. The starts are virtually as dry as they would be if you let the car sit all winter. The best thing you can do is to have the storage area be cool, dark and dry. Additional starts I think are actually worse for the engine. Not a huge amount worse, but still slightly worse.
I understand what your saying. For me it's more that just getting oil on the moving engine parts. All of the seals dry up. New engines probably have improved seals but we learned over the years it's just not the best answer to let an engine sit unnecessarily. I know it's best for some owners to cover the car and put it in a trickle charger. Here is what I like to do.
1. On a nice day regardless of what month it is, take the Shelby out for a local drive. Fully warming it up and giving all fluids a chance to circulate. By driving this includes everything like the trans and rear.
2. If I have a month where it's just to cold or we have snow on the ground, this almost never happens, I would just skip that one month. This would still be better that from late Fall through Spring.
3. Earlier in this post I mentioned we would take the coil wire off and spin the engines in our older cars to circulate the oil during long periods of bad weather. With the help of another adding to this post I now have the option of circulating oil on my new Shelby by keeping the gas pedal on the floor. (see his information earlier in this post for full details)

I understand this is something each of us might want to handle differently, and it really might not make that much difference in the short run.

Have a good one.
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Frank,

In the great / cold state of Wisconsin I keep mine in the garage. I have cup 2 on the car so the tires are coming off and I have some shit tires going on for storage.

I will get fresh oil just before it goes down for the winter. Want clean oil for the long storage.

I have a battery trickle charger that will get hooked up. Or you can take the battery out.

Fill the car with 92 non ethanol fuel, full tank

Clean it and put the cover on it

If it does get nice I might run the car for 20 min or so around the block. Gets stuff moving around.

Plan all the track days for 2021...
 

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The more I think about this, I'm going to test this the next time I have the Shelby out. It will already be warmed up so if I mess up nothing can get hurt.
Thanks
I live near the 45th parellel. My Shelby stays put for up to 6 months at a time.

Advised by my dealer who has classic Stangs going back to 64 1/2 NOT to start the car just to let it idle. Bad for the engine, creates un wanted moisture too.

I use the floor it method every time it first comes out- wait for the pressure to build. Then take ‘er out. Don’t just let it idle.
 

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I understand what your saying. For me it's more that just getting oil on the moving engine parts. All of the seals dry up. New engines probably have improved seals but we learned over the years it's just not the best answer to let an engine sit unnecessarily. I know it's best for some owners to cover the car and put it in a trickle charger. Here is what I like to do.
1. On a nice day regardless of what month it is, take the Shelby out for a local drive. Fully warming it up and giving all fluids a chance to circulate. By driving this includes everything like the trans and rear.
2. If I have a month where it's just to cold or we have snow on the ground, this almost never happens, I would just skip that one month. This would still be better that from late Fall through Spring.
3. Earlier in this post I mentioned we would take the coil wire off and spin the engines in our older cars to circulate the oil during long periods of bad weather. With the help of another adding to this post I now have the option of circulating oil on my new Shelby by keeping the gas pedal on the floor. (see his information earlier in this post for full details)

I understand this is something each of us might want to handle differently, and it really might not make that much difference in the short run.

Have a good one.
I agree with you it's good to drive the car as much as possible and I also would take any car out on a dry winter day and get it fully warm. Even a special car like the GT350 that I really didn't want to expose to too much salt - when I owned one I drove it on dry winter days.

I don't think that exposure to oil/petroleum products extends the life of modern rubber seals. I think seals mainly go bad from hot/cold cycles and aging. Many years ago when products like hemp or cork were used it's possible that exposure to oil helped those types of seals stay flexible. However I don't think that's the case for the modern materials that seals are made from in the last 20+ years.

Bottom line to me is that our cars were made to last and will last a long time. 10 more dry starts every winter are nothing. What could be tough is if the gas goes bad in the injectors, etc. So I would definitely argue for fuel stabilizers and non-ethanol fuel whenever possible. Also, the fuel argument is the one that I agree with most when it comes to thinking about starting a car more frequently.
 
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Frank.Herbst

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Frank,

In the great / cold state of Wisconsin I keep mine in the garage. I have cup 2 on the car so the tires are coming off and I have some shit tires going on for storage.

I will get fresh oil just before it goes down for the winter. Want clean oil for the long storage.

I have a battery trickle charger that will get hooked up. Or you can take the battery out.

Fill the car with 92 non ethanol fuel, full tank

Clean it and put the cover on it

If it does get nice I might run the car for 20 min or so around the block. Gets stuff moving around.

Plan all the track days for 2021...
Sounds like a good plan.
 

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Does the 0w40 apply to all model years or only 2020 with the new engine bottom?
It's from the 2020 manual, but I doubt that it reflects an engineering change in the engine as much as it represents some cold weather issues that came up in development of the GT500.

Think of it this way: used MC 5W50 is the same viscosity (within a small margin of error) as new M1 0W40 when it's about 10 degrees C warmer. That is, if the EOT is 70C with 0W40, then 5W50 at 80C is the same viscosity. So, would your engine run cooler at outside temps of 7F or colder? I'd have to think "yes", in which case the thinner oil provides the same protection as the thicker oil when the weather is warmer. If it was that cold where I live, I'd use it in my 2016.
 

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This is what I did with my Hellcat last year. It's very easy to do so no worries on messing it up and starting the car at full wide open throttle.

The engine will crank without starting and the oil pump should begin to circulate the oil through the engine.

I plan on doing this with all three of my rides next spring.
Can someone please explain how this is done? I just tried and it didnt work?

- Press the pedal to the floor and while doing so hold start but dont let go start?

Or

- Press pedal and clutch and start button all together

Makes no sense to me
 
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Frank.Herbst

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You can hold the accelerator to the floor before starting. The engine will crank without starting until you release it. Or push the start button again to end the cycle without starting.
Here is what ZX3AT wrote. There may be more earlier in the post.
 

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Can someone please explain how this is done? I just tried and it didnt work?

- Press the pedal to the floor and while doing so hold start but dont let go start?

Or

- Press pedal and clutch and start button all together

Makes no sense to me
Clutch and accelerator all the way to the floor. Tap the start button like you'd normally do when you start the car. Engine will crank without starting.

At this point you can do 2 things. Tap the start button again, it will stop cranking. Or release the accelerator pedal and it will start.

This came in handy for a turbo swap on another car. I needed to prime the new turbo and that was the easiest way to do it.
 
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Frank.Herbst

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Clutch and accelerator all the way to the floor. Tap the start button like you'd normally do when you start the car. Engine will crank without starting.

At this point you can do 2 things. Tap the start button again, it will stop cranking. Or release the accelerator pedal and it will start.

This came in handy for a turbo swap on another car. I needed to prime the new turbo and that was the easiest way to do it.
Thanks for your input.
 

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Clutch and accelerator all the way to the floor. Tap the start button like you'd normally do when you start the car. Engine will crank without starting.

At this point you can do 2 things. Tap the start button again, it will stop cranking. Or release the accelerator pedal and it will start.

This came in handy for a turbo swap on another car. I needed to prime the new turbo and that was the easiest way to do it.
Perfect, this is great and it worked.

How long should you crank the engine? Is there a harm in doing this every morning on cold days? My car sits outside 24/7 and some mornings will be sub 30.
 
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Perfect, this is great and it worked.

How long should you crank the engine? Is there a harm in doing this every morning on cold days? My car sits outside 24/7 and some mornings will be sub 30.
You will get different answers on this one.
1. Do you have a way to keep the battery charged?
2. How often depends alot on what the analysis of the oils ability to cling to the metal is. I don't know the answer to this. I would guess a couple times a month would be OK. Maybe once a week if you are a little over cautious.
3. If you have the option to wait untill the warmer part of the day, that's a little better. Maybe not a big deal
4. Once you get good pressure the oil has circulated and coated your moving parts.
 

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You will get different answers on this one.
1. Do you have a way to keep the battery charged?
2. How often depends alot on what the analysis of the oils ability to cling to the metal is. I don't know the answer to this. I would guess a couple times a month would be OK. Maybe once. Week if you are a little over cautious.
3. If you have the option to wait untill the warmer part of the day, that's a little better. Maybe not a big deal.
I should have given more info. GT350 is my most normal car and is our daily driver. It sees around 16,000 miles/year and is driven all the time. In normal (non Covid) times, it would be started several times a day, driven, etc. I changed the battery this year and got a more powerful 440 crank one plus I have the ability to jump start with a standby battery.

The only issue I have is up until this year GT350 would be stored inside and the coldest it saw in cold start was 50F as my garage never got too cold. With the RS being added to my garage, GT350 sits outside 24/7 and it will easily see 20F startups. I am worried 50W oil being thicker than play doh hurting the engine.

So to sum up, if I do this pre-start cranking, it would be every single time I start the car.
 
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Frank.Herbst

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I should have given more info. GT350 is my most normal car and is our daily driver. It sees around 16,000 miles/year and is driven all the time. In normal (non Covid) times, it would be started several times a day, driven, etc. I changed the battery this year and got a more powerful 440 crank one plus I have the ability to jump start with a standby battery.

The only issue I have is up until this year GT350 would be stored inside and the coldest it saw in cold start was 50F as my garage never got too cold. With the RS being added to my garage, GT350 sits outside 24/7 and it will easily see 20F startups. I am worried 50W oil being thicker than play doh hurting the engine.

So to sum up, if I do this pre-start cranking, it would be every single time I start the car.
Yep, that's the idea. We all use our Shelby's a little different. The purpose of this discussion was intended to address people not wanting to let their Shelby sit from late Fall through Spring. Some times after enough replies the intended information may not apply.
 

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Yep, that's the idea. We all use our Shelby's a little different. The purpose of this discussion was intended to address people not wanting to let their Shelby sit from late Fall through Spring. Some times after enough replies the intended information may not apply.
No worries, I should have been more specific. Apologies.
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