cabowabodude

I wish I lived in the warmer climates like some of you. But here is the land of cheese it's looking like a week of below freezing weather. I don't worry so much with the cold temps, but it's the SALT that I worry about. So I'm looking for some advice on storing my car for the winter.
1) I have a 3.5 car insulated/heated (ceiling mounted 60K BTU heater) garage that I plan to keep the car in.
2) I have a de-humidifier that I plan to keep the moisture down.
3) I have seen some people put down some type of moisture barrier (cardboard/plastic) on the concrete floor to help avoid rust on the bottom side of the car.
4) I plan on starting the car every few weeks to circulate everything.
5) I usually put Seafoam in all my engines over extended periods of time.
6) The car will have a full tank of premium (NO ethanol) for storage.
7) I also believe I need brakes all the way around so It will give me a chance to work on this over the winter.
8) I need 2 tires for the rear (dam the E55's eat tires) so I'm not to worried about flat spots on the rear tires.


I will need to open the big garage door to get my truck out and tractor to plow the driveway (Dam you warm weather people) but it will only be for a short time. Anyway I hope I've given enough information.....so any help/thoughts would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Mark

shawnoc2003

Just drive it once every month or two when the roads are clear and you'll be fine.

G_Money

I wouldn't put Seafoam in cars like these.

kompressede

I hate the crap (liquid calcium, salt, sand) that has to go on the roads in the North East also.
I would suggest a battery tender, and when you park the car leave it in the raised position. I find it usually stays raised? I know in the past I would just park it and a few weeks later it would be slammed.

GL

novae500

As long as there is no salt on the roads (snow/ice) i will drive it on fri/sat/sun instead of letting it sit for 3 months. Already put on the winter tires/rims. Luckily i have a daily beater to get me through the winters when the roads do get nasty and dirty.

02C32guy

Yeah, I don't think I can wait all winter to drive the car. I'm just going to drive my beater when the roads are real salty. Unfortunately, I don't even have a garage. I just bought a car cover for when it snows (like literally right now...).

chawkins2001

try to start it and get it up to operating temp at least twice a week. once up to operating temp, rev it up some too. that will help prevent a lot of issues from happening when they sit.

that just my.02

Critter

Park it, full tank of gas, fresh oil change, cover it, put a battery tender on it and start it up when you plan on driving it.
Here in Canada starting and waiting for the oil temp to come up is for what??
What is better multiple dry starts bi weekly or one dry start in the spring?

Zed82

I agree. Empty revving will not get the engine or tranny up to working temp either.

I wash the car inside out and vacuum clean it. Then i put the cover on and connect the battery to a charger that keeps the battery fully charged. I also inflate the tires to 51psi so they stay round until the spring. Since my E55 is in a dry and heated garage i don´t need anything to attract moisture.

Airmatic should not drop at all, unless you have a leak.

Yacht Master

Here is what I do,
Tank, almost empty it is plastic. "non-ethnol is a plus" (if it was a steel tank then full with stabil) that way in spring top it off with fresh fuel.

Battery tender, full automatic 1-1.5 amp charger and I use a 24 hour timer to help control it, so that it is only on 2 hrs a day.

Tires @ 50 psi cold

Here in Florida humidity is tough to overcome, but 4 Damp-Rids (the hanging closet type) 2 in cabin and 2 in trunk, will pull 2 pints of moisture out of the air in 6 weeks. In the cold north I would worry about being too dry for the leather.

Speaking of leather, slather your fav leather treatment on as thick as you can.

Rodent control, I had the carpet in my Porsche ripped to shreads by mice, to make a nice nest in the engine compartment/behind cooling fan. Decon baits and traps got this sorted, mice love wire too.

Ride hight? up or down? years ago i did the up thing, now I do the down thing. I am thinking no pressure on the rubber bags might be better and wish we had a dump valve for storage that would bottom out the car.

mkiv_tdi

Would putting the car up on jackstands be easier on the bags? Are we overcomplicating things?

Critter

I was pondering placing 4x4 inch blocks under the jack points of the E. Measuring from the ground up to that jackpoint and subtract 3/4 of an inch. When or if the car decides to settle the weight of the car will rest on the jack points reducing stress on the deflated bag or bags.
Here in Canada minus temps do strange things to valves and such so leakage is a given, although slight.
What do other thinks about this?

Critter

Never had issues with flat spotting tires from sitting, I recheck air pressure at the start of the new driving season.

cabowabodude

http://www.carbag.com/products/carjacket

Quadcammer

horrible idea.

The car will need to idle forever to get oil temp up to the point that it will burn off condensation.

either take the car out and drive it enough to really get the oil temps up or just leave it alone.

p.s., you are overthinking the hell out of this.

Quadcammer

omg are you guys serious? Its a freaking car, not a rose petal.

It doesn't need heavy leather conditioning, a dehumidifier, a blanket or some cookies before bed.

its a car. Just leave it sitting in the heated garage with some more air in the tires and a battery tender.

veryswag

LMFAO


i would say extreme weather would warrant some extra caution, but the heated garage sorts that out. like you said, extra air in the tire, battery tender, and I plan to take it out for at least a 10 minute drive any day the ground is completely clean

AgSilver

I have been storing the Beast for 7 months at a time for the last 8 years (non ethanol fuel) in a non heated garage. Still on the same air bags after 70k miles. Never driven in snow or on salted roads. Temperatures in this area of Germany have ranged from -5F to +103F.