Drivers: please someone address my Q&A's for winter '06 storage.
1. Tire pressure setting? Has anyone used nitrogen in their tires?
2. Fuel stabilizer?
3. Battery trickle charger?
4. Engine oil, coolant thoughts?
Again, thank you members in advance! Joker

 

Man you are getting ahead of the curve Jokerz !!! I'll be watching this thread too...definitely a battery Tender or this thing will be dead as a doorknob in month. Just had a fresh oil/filter change. Fuel stabilizer is a smart move too. I will cover mine after a thorough detail . I always debate whether its worth starting it once every couple weeks to keep fluids moving around. If you do start it....make sure you run it until it is hot , don't just fire it up and run it a few minutes. The tire issue has my attention...sounds like they may flat spot from sitting over an extended period. There was a thread about this somewhere. There are devices that you can put under your tires that will supposedly minimiz/eliminate this problem...

 

1) If you're not planning to drive the car occasionally, I personally would put the car up on some inexpensive jack stands to prevent flat-spotting the tires. This is not mandatory, since current generation tires won't take a permanent set like tires of days gone bye. Softer compounds tend to flat-spot more easily. Either way, keep the air pressure at the factory recommendation.

2) Fuel stabilizer is not really needed with current grades of gasoline, but it won't hurt, so put some in if it makes you feel comfortable. Make sure the tank is full. This will minimize the air volume, which is a source of condensation.

3) The battery is the item most likely to fail in a stored car. It should be removed and kept in a warm, dry location if possible. Use a quality trickle charger that has circuitry to prevent over-charging.

4) The cooling system should be full with the proper amount of anti-freeze if you're in a cold climate. Change the oil right before storage - old oil contains contaminates from the combustion process that can be corrosive. You don't want these sitting there unattended eating away your oil pan. Change the oil immediately after storage - it probably contains moisture from condensation.

5) Remove the spark plugs and squirt some light-weight oil into the cylinders. Crank the engine over a couple of times before you re-install the plugs. This will inhibit rust formation on the rings and cylinder walls. Don't use WD-40 or similar products - they will dry out over time.

6) Clean the car thoroughly just prior to storage. A quality car cover is highly recommended. If you don't use one, put on a couple coats of wax. Any food stuff left in the interior will attract insects and could cause odor problems. If the storage area is accessible to small critters, stuff some towels into the tail pipes and air inlets. Don't use anything that will block air flow.

If you plan to drive periodically during storage, make sure you drive it long enough to thoroughly heat the motor and exhaust system to drive off moisture. Also, parking the car over a large piece of plastic (drop cloth, ect) will help contain moisture eminating from a concrete floor.

 

Grump, thanks for the informative post. I was aware of most of that information but I did not know you should actually remove your battery and store it inside. Is a trickle charger basically a battery charger or is it something different?

 

It is just a "nice" charger, in that it slowly draws the battery down and refills it, keeping the cell memory active. The best can be programmed to draw as much as you'd like and ensure not to fill too high. Personally, I gave up on them and just started removing the battery and replacing it annually.

I agree with all of what Grumpy said, but I'd add a comment. Back when I actually had to put a car down for the winter, we used to just leave the spark plugs in and change them during the wake up. It all depends on the air moisture cycles and if you want to leave eight holes open. If the car will be in a garage that gets cool and warm, causing extra cendensation, I prefer to keep the engine closed up. Your choice. The oil spray is a great one. The old school sprayers are best with good old motor oil in them.

The flat spotting of the tires is a for sure issue. Get the coasters, or put in on jacks (scares me dunno why). Or do as I did and buy a cheap set of wheels and rims to use as a spare.

 

A trickle charger is basically a low-amperage battery charger. Most put out one amp or less. The better ones will charge a battery to about 14 volts and then reduce current flow and maintain the charge, triggering around 13 volts - essentially acting as a float charger.

 

My plan for winterizing my E55 is getting some Dunlop M3Wintersports for it!

 

M3 and Blizzak LM25 are my top choices for winter tires.

However, be careful of idiotic drivers on University Avenue (the portion past campus drive and University Hospital).

 

Winterize a car? I feel bad for you guys that have to do this.

 

I had the Dunlops on my M3..and it worked great for the last three winters.
I actually drive country roads to the office daily,and rarely need to be downtown anywhere.Which is fortunate,the honda scooter gangs still ride those damn things all over town in the winter now too!

 

I've only experienced one earthquake(mild) in California.But between those,wild fires and the general over population.. I'll take winter in Wisconsin.

 

Grumpy: excellent tech input! For the Battery Tender, which battery do you connect to? Does it matter? How hard is it to get to the plugs? Finally, what type of jax are OK and where are the acceptable hard points on the frame to lift at?
Vader: last winter was so mild I drove her all season, this winter Im fairly neurotic that we'll get punished so...
Sorry to be a curious young boy Joker

 

I went to undergrad and gradaute school at UW, so I didn't have much of a choice as far as roads are concerned. I used to drive my W203 on campus almost every day. The scooters / mopeds are definitely a nuisance and they were buying even larger ones as well in the last two years I was in Madison. The worst combo I've ever encountered is drunk 250lb football player in their free mopeds.

The other reason why one would need to have winter tires is for the traction to go up and down hill. I don't know if you encounter slopes during your daily commute. However, for my commute (I used to live on Sheboygan Ave and by the West Towne Mall), there were a lot of slopes and some are quite steep, e.g. University Ave at Segoe Rd. I got stuck there a couple times with my all-season tires.

 

I have cars stacked on lifts here so I've been thru a few winter storages. Fortunately heated storage. My main worry about winter driving is the damn chemicals they throw on the streets. Nasty stuff. OK now you have me wondering where the safe jackstand points are for the rear of the car too. And another thing...I only saw 1 battery under there...where the hell is there another battery ????

 

Ive stayed in Wisconsin for work,nice place.But between the bugs,humidity and slow pace of life,I'll stick with California and its great weather.

 

Well I will take the beach club in December, endless canyon road at my disposal, track days in January, cycling the Santa Monica Mountains in February.... bla bla bla. We all have our opinions but so-cal is the place for me!

Ive been some earthquakes and as long as your house is built well and on solid ground its going to be fine.

Fires are scary and I have had 2 in my canyon this year so far and its not even "fire season." But then again the fire insurance will cover that if it goes up in smoke... just keep all the items you need to get out in a location thats easy to load into your R350 as quickly as possible

Lifes little trade-off's!