928 GT R

I suppose that a bunch of us have to store our cars for winter. What are the techniques we use?

I'll go first and throw out my ideas for slowing the aging process during the winter months.

Assuming a clean, washed/vacuumed car.

Seafoam additive in the gas tank and top it up...

With the engine HOT, I do an oil change and if it is an even year, drain the coolant and re-fill with 50/50 Zerex G-05 and distilled water plus a bottle of Redline Water Wetter (total overkill).

Disconnect the ground strap at the rear of the car.

Cover and clay/wax detail over the winter...

Sad to put them away. But I do love winter and skiing!

928 GT R

Anyone have ideas for reducing the flat spotting of tires subjected to 5-6 months of sitting in one spot?

It's no fun heading out for that first beautiful springtime drive with tires that feel like like stop signs!

WyattsRide

I put my car up on lift bars and take off the wheels and store them off to the side of the garage.

rbrtmchl

I use these:

http://flatstoppers.com/

hacker-pschorr

This will be a 26th or so winter storing a 928.

1. Rodents - traps, poison....something. Nothing will do more damage (except maybe a fire). I prefer the "natural" poison that dehydrates the little f*ckers. Forces them to go outside in search of water where they die. Nothing is worse than the really strong poison that makes them sick, go back to the nest (in your HVAC box) and die. Such a wonderful spring aroma.
2. Moisture - this isn't always easy, but anything form silica gel packets, hardware stores still different things, shop around, might vary by region
3. Tires - I've accumulated enough wheels / tires I have enough "stock" wheels with **** rubber I install and put the good ones in the basement. Otherwise crank up the pressure to the sidewall max. Could try something like this:
   
   Amazon
   Amazon
4. Oil - I change in spring. I've read countless papers on why it should be done in the fall but I still don't get it. Why expose 10 quarts of oil to the atmosphere just to sit for 4-6 months. My pre-flight spring checklist is way longer than the storage one so maybe it's that since most people tell me they change in the fall so they can turn and go...one less thing to worry about.
5. Gas - Cannot say I've ever used any stabilization fluids, even in my small engines. I do top off the tank at a pump 1/4 miles from the house that is ethanol free premium. Really 4-6 months isn't long term storage.
6. Cover - yes, anything is better than nothing IMO. Years ago I saw the aftermath of a small drip that formed in a garage ceiling that damaged paint. It's also just nice to pull off that cover and see that shiny clean paint.
7. Battery - on the shelf in the basement connected to a maintainer
8. Insurance - make damn sure your winter suspension of coverage will actually cover if something happens to the building. If storing at a commercial location, do not assume their insurance will cover you.
9. Check all nooks and crannies (glove-box, door pockets etc..) it really stinks on a bright shiny winter day you cannot find your good sunglasses and suddenly realize they are in the glove-box of the 87 that's packed into the furthest corner behind 4 other cars.
10. Tape up openings - I forget to do this often. Keep rodents from making a nest in the exhaust, intake filter box, timing belt breather holes etc... This point should be moot if you successfully follow #1
11. Cry
12. DO NOT START THE ENGINE TO WARM IT UP - bad, bad, bad, bad........Rule of thumb I follow year round. Never start an engine unless you will be driving it to full operating temperature. Yes there sometimes are necessary exceptions like when I'm swapping cars in January for projects. Sh*t happens, but I don't like it.
13. Check on them at least monthly, read a story to them, they are lonely. I recommend "The Last Open Road" - lots of European flavor most Porsche's can appreciate.
14. Depending on where they are being stored I've been known to "cocoon" the car with very thick painters plastic underneath, car cover on top with the plastic tapped to the cover. The reason for this is moisture. Concrete sweats, and all that moisture will wreak havoc on your undercarriage. Step #2 can almost be as damaging as step #1. Get a cheap humidity gauge. If you see anything close to or over 60% at any time.....that's bad. Nothing like trying to back out of storage and the rotors are rusted to the calipers. I've seen this way more times than I'd like to remember.
15. Plan for the worst - this contradicts #5. Have it in the back of your head "what if" something happens and you end up leaving it there until two springs from now.....it happens..... "Ran when parked" - this is where it begins for many
16. Big hug, yes, you should hug your cars often.
17. Don't forget to add BC, Randy V, and Mark Anderson to your ignore list on your cell phone. Otherwise you'll be forced into heavy drinking when they send you text messages in February of the nice sunny beach just down the road from their places of residence with a 928 in the background. Not nice guys, and you do it every fricken year!!!!!!
18. This space intentionally left blank as I think of more stuff. First snow today...and I'm a bit behind schedule.

Wisconsin Joe

Inflate the tires to full pressure. I usually go 40 -45 psi.

They make cradles that give the tire a much larger contact patch. They aren't cheap. The link in the post above is one model. There are others.

I use 2" thick styrofoam wall insulation (the pink stuff that goes on the outside of a house under the siding). 4' square pieces are a few bucks at Lowe's or H-D or similar. I cut them into 4 2' square pieces and put them under the tires. They squash down under the contact patch of the tire and spread the load out. Basically same function as the cradles.

Hacker's list is pretty much the same as mine. I put Seafoam in the gas, partly to 'preserve' it, partly to clean out the injectors.

His comment about the insurance is very correct. I suspend liability and collision on the cars when stored. Comp stays on. My agent understands winter storage, so it's no big deal. They send me a big orange tag stating the car shouldn't be driven until coverage is reinstated.

I know someone who owns a storage unit place. They have a big statement in the contract for renters that they have no insurance coverage for the contents of the unit. It had always been in the contract, but after a big storm (probable tornado) damaged the roof and let a lot of rain into several units, the renters were surprised & upset that there was no insurance.

Adamant1971

I inflate to 50lbs and put 3/4" rigid foam insulation under the tires.

Petza914

If it's a car you don't plan to drive at all, it's hard to beat the protection of a car capsule - http://carcapsule.com/

They also make a model called the "showcase" that is free standing for drive-in / drive-out capability.


There's a slightly different version from another company that also has an integrated frame for drive-in / drive-out capability - http://www.airchamber-carcapsule.com/


I don't have either of these as I'm lucky to be able to dive everything year round, but if I needed long term storage for one, I'd go this route.

Fuel stabilizer is a must for me. Even Top Tier fuel can go stale in 3-4 weeks. 2 years in a row from limited use of my 997, I had a stuttering problem after it sitting for 3 weeks. Ran that tank of gas out and refilled, and it never returned until the next winter when I did the same thing. Not knowing when or how far I may drive one of the P-cars, I now put 1 oz / 10 gallons of Stabil 360 in whenever I fill them at the gas station. The 928 gets SeaFoam too.

German wire insulation was extruded right next to a cheese factory (or so it seems), so the Rodent prevention is also a must as stated.

Also best not to put the car up in the air and let the suspension droop for an extended period of time. If the car isn't going to be moved, the better solution is a set of hub stands (928 MS makes some really nice ones and has recently beefed up the design from the older version). This keeps the suspension under load, the car nice and secure, and lets you remove the tires to avoid flat-spotting.
https://928motorsports.com/parts/wheel_hub_stands.php

hacker-pschorr

This must vary by region since I've never had an issue with gas that was even 3-4 months old, much less weeks. Many years ago due to some unfortunate circumstances I left our Scirocco in storage for almost two years. This is a 10:1 compression motor that requires premium. It fired right up like it was parked yesterday. Now granted, I didn't hammer on it with the old gas, but no running issues.
Small engines too, with so many I occasionally forget and find myself in spring having to start something with 1/2 tank of 5-6 month old gas. No issues, but all of these get ethanol free premium.

Reading stories like yours though is making me paranoid. The fuel quality (or whatever differences there are) could change with the next tanker.

Honestly I think that's an old wives tail. I know people that regularly store cars on 2-posts lifts and never a suspension issue. I agree it doesn't seam the best option to have the rubber bushings sit for that long away from their preferred resting point. But long term I don't think it actually ends up being an issue.

I think about regular projects like doing an engine out service on a Ferrari. No way to avoid having the suspension dropping for weeks if not months on end.

Petza914

Unfortunately, where I am, I can only get 90 octane non-ethanol, which is fine for the pick-up and the yard machines, but the other cars are all forced induction (turbos or supercharged) and need the higher octane, so I'm forced to use 93 with up to 10% ethanol in those and that's the fuel that I had the issue with in the 997, so maybe it's the ethanol blends that don't have the same stability as the non-ethanol.

hacker-pschorr

Yea that sucks, and E-15 is going to start showing up at more pumps (already seeing it around here). That's part of my storage routine, top off the tank with 91 ethanol free.

I'm now buying VP Racing 50:1 2-stroke fuel in 5-gallon containers for the small engines.

Bertrand Daoust

From my side:

- Put 80 ml of fuel stabilizer (Sta-Bil) in the tank and fill it up. Do a little ride to make sure it goes through the system.
- Wash and dry it well.
- Put it on lift bars and remove the wheels.
- Remove the battery and take it Inside the house. The garage is not heated. I put the battery on the maintainer few times during the winter.
- No promblem with rodents inside the garage but always put few mott ***** around the car.
- Beside opening the door when the weather is real nice, I leave the car alone until April! I never start it during the winter. Never.
- Change the oil usually the spring after.

Arnoud

What I do, during the winter sleep from usual start November - end of April:
- Fill the tank up.
- Wash and dry well.
- Clean and maintain the inside leather.
- Put/have winter wheels on it (i.e. I normally do not drive much during the pre-winter months here in Finland of September + October + November, even though first snow can fall already during October - as it also did this time).
- Put big chunk of steel-wool in the exhaust tips, as most smaller rodents - like mice - do not like to eat that stuff (so stop them from nesting there).
- Over inflate the tires to 45 PSI, and have thick 1/2" plastics underneath them (truck mud flaps are good and cheap options for this)
- Car cover
- Have the battery on a maintainer about once a month.
Thus far always starts right up after the winter sleep, and then I change the oil + oil filter some (week(s) later.

andy-gts

I love all your recommendations, in regards to Hackers note of moisture from concrete, I place a long term box fan at front of car and blow under car and have a box fan vent in the garage to help circulate and prevent moisture build up esp if in basement or under ground structure....every bit of air circulation helps ,,,,never put plastic over a car long term due to moisture..... on concrete

Koenig-Specials 928

+1
HD sells the sheet of foam that you divide into 4 large pieces.
I bevel one side that makes it easier to drive up on