Winter Storage Routines?

[NPTR]

Hey guys - as we start thinking about winter in the northeast, I was going through my storage check list and wondering if there was anything I could improve / do better this year. Here’s a brief rundown of what I do. I don’t drive the car sub 50 degrees or with salty roads, so she’s likely hibernating from mid-November to sometime in March. Would love to know if there’s any other tips / tricks / hacks you guys use…thanks!

Winter Storage Routine:
*Full gas tank and add Stabil fuel stabilizer.
*Full deep clean / deep detail and completely dry car before moving to storage.
*Check tire pressure / fill.
*Store car in a dry place under a car cover and on a trickle charger (my storage spot is not climate controlled, but is weather proof)
*Rodent deterrent under front and rear of car.
*Last year I had a fan on low moving air under the car, but that’s probably overkill.

Thought about wheel dollies this year to make moving her without starting a little easier if needed, but TBD on utility in my use case.

Would love to hear if any good ideas you guys have / would add…thank you!

-Chris

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[skinnyb]

Pretty much what I do minus the fan. I put mine away around Thanksgiving usually unless it stays unseasonably warm... I put the rodent sticky traps all around the walls in my garage to be safe. Haven't actually seen any rodents, but I do see evidence of them (droppings)... I have also found a couple snake skins so maybe they are taking care of them for me and I have a bunch of feral cats running around my house so I am sure they keep the outside in check

 

[galaxy]

Pretty straightforward list. Soooo glad you didn’t say “crank it up once a week!” LOL. Although I don’t understand not driving below 50°. This car absolutely LOVES cold weather. It’s an animal below 50°. Only thing that makes me put mine away is salt.

I would venture someone will add change the oil before storage. I personally do not even consider parking a car for four months during the winter as storage. Storage to me is when it's gonna be parked close to a year, or longer.

 

[gsxr1300]

If it gets below 40 degrees where you store it should not be sitting on summer only tires.

 

[NPTR]

I don’t drive below 50 because of the summer rubber on the CF wheels - safety concern to me as temps drop, they turn into rocks. I’m shopping for a different set of wheels and will put ultra high performance all seasons on…that will help with driving it in colder temps and will reduce my storage window to just the dead of winter really…but I’m not certain that’s gonna happen until December given other priorities so I’ll probably just put her away for now and swap the wheels / tires in December and have a longer season next year.

Thank you guys!

 

[V8 Voodoo]

I’m pulling my wheels and placing them in wheel covers and storing them inside the house where it is warmer.

Is stabil recommended to be added? I’ve seen conflicting opinions on that.

My plan is to change the oil in the spring.

 

[93_SVT_3503]

Pretty similar routine. I keep mine covered and stored in the garage. It can get to -40 here with the windchill in the winter. I have ZERO trust in trickle chargers, so I pull the battery and put it in my basement, and charge it in the spring. I'd rather be a little overcautious than have to call my insurance company and tell them my car and garage burned down just so I could keep an unused battery charged for 6 months in a vehicle that isn't driven during the winter.

 

[robvas]

Drag radials go in the basement for the winter

I don't fill the gas tank or add anything

Wash, cover, park in the garage on the battery tender

If we get 60-65 degrees for a few days and there's no leftover salt on the roads, I'll take it out on a drive during the winter. Otherwise no starting it ever day/week/etc.

I don't change the oil before/after storing it. No point. I'm not tossing oil with only 2,000-3,000 miles on it, that's still very clean, and that's otherwise good for 15,000 miles because the car is going to sit (or sat) for 4 months.

Is stabil recommended to be added? I’ve seen conflicting opinions on that.

I don't use it anymore. It can't hurt but I've seen it not help:

I put in my snowblower, and had to dig that yellow ethanol goop out of the carb in the spring

Now I just run rec gas for the last tank of the year in it, and I run it dry before storing.

Funny thing is my mower doesn't have that problem.

 

[galaxy]

@NPTR I'd argue you don't need to go full all-season, unless you're gonna drive in the wet, or you just want an AS. I run my Conti SportContacts in any temp and it has to get pretty cold before they become...loose. I'd say maybe high 20°s is absolute worst case they'd ever see around here. And even then, I'd not label them dangerous. Yes, I am aware SC2's or equivalent are a different animal. Certainly not enough to make me run an AS. But I'm also talking that cold in full dry, sunshine day only. The Conti is a 310 TW tire.

On a side note, I did get stuck driving my S197 car from Charleston to St Louis in Dec, in low low 30° weather on R888R's. Not a single bit of issue, and that's a 200 TW tire also.

 

[Trap]

Your whole program sounds really good. One thing you didn't mention, is I would inflate the tires to the max allowed on the side wall of the tire.

 

[gfitzge2]

Clean, a full tank of gas, Ford Performance battery maintainer, cover to keep the dust off. Climate controlled garage. Some time during the winter, usually on a snowy or rainy day, I will do a detail, and a good coating of 303 Graphine. Makes for a good winter day, and it is ready to go as soon as the winters salt has been washed off of the roads.

 

[luca1290]

If the oil is only a 2-3.000 km's old it's no point in changing it, just go for a good drive before storing to get the moisture out.

In my case it just happens that the Mustang has it's yearly scheduled maintenance just a few days before storage usually happens.
But it's not the same for the others, anyway, if it's a garage queen it's probably going to be a low miler anyway...


If we were talking about longer storage, not just a winter pause, but 1/2/3 years the only thing I can say it's don't skip maintenance items during those years.
Fluids get old anyway and they need to be renewed when scheduled, also, be sure to run at least a full tank of gas through the car every year.

 

[Hack]

I don't cover cars, but then I live in a somewhat rural area and there are too many mice around. They love dark, covered areas. Don't cover anything if you want fewer mice is my advice. I also don't wash because it will just get dusty anyway.

I use fuel stabilizer on the last few tanks and try to fill the tank prior to parking. That way I can get more driving in if good weather holds out a little longer. Oh, and I hook up a trickle charger and put fresh cab inside the car to help keep the mice out. I do a trickle charger any time it will be parked more than a couple days.

 

[Thomas]

Anecdotal I know...but my GT500 has to live outside (covered, dry location, no rodents thanks to highly efficient cats) and it has sat through two winters on CUP2s and about to be a third. It get's cold here. Not midwest cold, but can hit single digits. The key is not moving them if (when) they get cold, and waiting if they do. I've had the car >160MPH each following spring after all the usual flushing/new gas etc. I monitor them for cracks, bubbling, other defects but they refuse to do so...I have to keep waiting to put different tires on. Michelin of course, does say to store them inside. I can't at the moment, so far it hasn't been an issue.

 

[robvas]

Anecdotal I know...but my GT500 has to live outside (covered, dry location, no rodents thanks to highly efficient cats) and it has sat through two winters on CUP2s and about to be a third. It get's cold here. Not midwest cold, but can hit single digits. The key is not moving them if (when) they get cold, and waiting if they do. I've had the car >160MPH each following spring after all the usual flushing/new gas etc. I monitor them for cracks, bubbling, other defects but they refuse to do so...I have to keep waiting to put different tires on. Michelin of course, does say to store them inside. I can't at the moment, so far it hasn't been an issue.

The Goodyears that the Camaro ZL1's are famous for cracking just sitting on the lot in the cold

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