What is @shrimp money gonna do this year? Store or drive?

 

Store again with tires at 50psi.

 

I usually always fill the tank to the top when returning from a drive. In the winter the cars may sit for 1.5 months at a time. If I get a decent day I’ll take them out just to get the fluids cycling. I usually will do a 30 mile drive if not more, while they are sitting I usually have it on the Porsche trickle charger in between drives.

 

We leave a car at the beach that does not get driven but once a month on average (we have a guy drive it for us periodically). My mechanic down there said to leave the tank full with fuel stabilizer, the full tank allows less moisture in.

 

I typically fill tank half way. Add stabil. Fill tank rest of way. Drive for 10 mins to storage facility. Park. Start again in the spring. Stabil recommends a full tank and 10 mins of idling to circulate it throughout fuel system.

 

I use stabil 360 and store with about 5 gallons in the tank. You don’t need to fill the tank when you use 360. After adding I take it for a drive and then park it and plug in the tender. I no longer use a cover because one year on a previous car a mouse found their way under the cover (used it to climb up) and made a home under the cover. Scratched the heck out the car, all over. Buffed out but annoying. had traps out as a precaution, which eventually saved the day, but the damage had been done.

 

My car will sit in storage for six months +/-. I know some of you will say this is excessive, my garage is detached from the house.

1. Fill with non-ethanol fuel and add fuel stabilizer, drive enough to get stabilized fuel into the fuel system.
2. Thoroughly clean the car inside and out (full detail).
3. My car is stored in the back corner of my garage which is heated to 50 during the winter. The garage also has a dehumidifier which helps some but isn't the most effective at 50 degrees (55 works much better but then my heat source runs a ton when it gets really cold -20f+).
4. I put a plastic tarp down on the garage floor since my floor is not epoxied. This keeps any moisture that may come up through the concrete away from the car. Park the car on the tarp.
5. Inflate the tires to 50 psi and I also have some race ramps that I place under each tire. Some people will use 2" thick foam like you could insulate a foundation with.
6. I put a few 1-pound bags of Griot's air dryer desiccant on some tin foil on the floorboards and the frunk to absorb any condensation. Alternatively, you could leave the windows cracked just a bit.
7. Removed the wiper blades and put in frunk, put an old pair of socks on the ends of the wiper arms.
8. Hook up the battery tender.
9. Install a soft car cover and then add a few old sheets over that to help keep dust off and add a little extra padding in case something were to fall against the car.
10. Put a few glue traps for mice along the walls near the car. You could also use peppermint-soaked cotton ***** or similar and put them around the car too, mice hate peppermint. Some people have said that Irish Spring soap works too...I haven't tried that before.
11. Do not start the car until spring when it is time to get the car out, if you do the car needs to be driven until it is a full operating temperature long enough to get any condensation out of the drivetrain.
12. I add air to the tires every 6 weeks +/- to keep tire pressures high.

As part of fall cleanup, I make sure the gaskets on the garage door are tight and sealed well and check the foundation and such for any cracks that mice could enter and fill cracks (I have none). If you have a crack big enough in your garage or house that a pen will fit into a mouse can get in.

 

I can't add any useful information other than to emphasize the need to protect from rodents. It is amazing what they can do and how much damage they can cause. They seem to be particularly attracted to machinery. In Florida, you even have to protect from ants. They can do major damage too.

 

I live in NJ, and the longest I go without driving in winter is around 6-7 weeks as there is usually a spell of decent weather preceded by rain to wipe off salt in street. With that said I leave on a battery tender and that is it. I will leave it with only around 1/4 tank of gas as I don't want to use gas in the Spring that has been in the tank for 4-5 months. When I do drive it in the winter, I go for at least a 30 minute drive to circulate the fluids. BTW it is OK to do the drive if it is only 30 degrees or so outside if you do not push the car. The tires aren't going to crack. If you leave the car outside for an extended period, that is another story.