What do ya'll do to get your car stored? What fuel saver addative do ya'll use? Any rubber lubricant for the tires? Car covers? etc etc... Im dropping the insurance on the Camaro until the spring so I can save some $$$ since it wont be driven anyways, and dont want to get her out in the spring running like crap with dry cracked tires :P Its being stored in my garage.

 

assuming it's a new vehicle just clean it and keep it away from humans... unless your storing it for a long period any of the older storing meathods really aren't needed any more.

if you really wanted to do something you could add some stabil just to keep your mind right but todays fuels don't beak down that easily. then again you could go crazy and do all the many things that many people do.

keep it simple. clean her, air up the tires and keep it out of the elements.

 

If you are worried about the tires, put it up on jackstands, i dont think they will crack from one season though. Cars sit at dealerships for months in the winter.

 

jackstands aren't good for a car..

 

Just make sure to park or put some type of carpet underneath the car ---to eliminate cond.. for rust, fill the tank up full, add I bottle of fuel strabilizer, Put the cover on it and last but not least say to your camaro -- 6 more months buddy till you tear the @$@$ out of those new mustangs -

Tires will be fine just make sure they have air in them and when you pull out the car in the spring time just add some fuel injector cleaner. Also most people start there car once a week or so when stored. I stored my car for 2 years - 6 months without starting it --Runs great no problems what so ever.

 

i have mine parked on the remnants of a pool solar cover, and i have a full tank with some dry gas added. thats about all i do besides throw the cover over it.

 

What dry gas/fuel saver do ya'll recommend? She's got almost a full tank -- but if theres no snow coming in the next day or two I'll be filling her up.

 

I've done it every winter since 1992, except one:

1) Change the oil & fill the gas tank
2) Park it
3) Pop the hood & plug in the trickle charger to the battery posts.
4) Air the tires to 40 PSI
5) Cover it with a covercraft Evolution 4 car cover.

It's worked pretty well for me and I've never used Stabil.

 

if your going to bother use stabil.

 

Out here in Vancouver we can drive our rides all year round. Some of us take it off the road for a few months but we only get snow on the mountains most winters. Some good advice here, fuel additive, over inflate tires to 40 psi, a few coats of zaino then add the car cover. Start it up every couple of weeks if possible. Heated garage is a bonus. This is a good recipe for taking care of your ride.

 

another good idea is to take the batt. inside the house. it'll be more likely to be good still if its been in a temp. controlled environment. Ive never added anything to my gas tank. but I do the reverse of most on here. I leave it half empty, so in spring I can fill it up w/good fresh gas to dillute anything that may have developed or evaporated whatever. if its got leather, fall was the time to clean/condition it. I always do a good detail job on the car before storing it. that way dirt doesnt attach itself to the paint. another real good tip is to use GM die-electric grease on the weather striping to condition them for longer life/looks. try to only start it on the warmer days, so the oil will be thin as poss. as quick as possible to avoid internal wear. and make sure to warm it completly, not just a couple min.s.

chris

 

Like Chris says, if you are going to start it up during the winter, make sure you let it run until the car reaches full operating temperature. This is because as you start the cold internal combustion engine, the combustion process creates water vapor that precipitates out onto your engine's cold metal surfaces, including the oil pan, exhaust pipes, and more. Not only that, but the newly formed water in the oil pan attracts acids that are usually suspended and rendered harmless by the additives in your motor oil.

If you shut down the engine before it is completely up to operating temperature, this water will remain in the engine and tail pipe, causing rust and corrosion to internal engine surfaces such as your bearings. As you go through the winter, starting it once and a while, and NOT letting it warm up, the water builds volume and acidity until it becomes a major contributor to internal wear.

If you start the engine and bring it up to normal operating temperature, the water will evaporate, the acids will be absorbed and neutralized by your motor oil, and your engine's seals will be properly lubricated and maintained. IF I start my engine in the winter, I will choose a nice, dry day (not necessarily warm) to start the car, then will let it idle until the electric fans kick in.

 

If your not going to drive it and completely heat up everything and burn all the moisture out it I wouldn't start it at all.

Mine sat from oct-april of last year and it fired right up. Same thing this year.

Everyone has a different opinion when storing a car and none of them are really wrong.

All I do is wash it, park it on carpet and cover. Nice and simple.

 

Thats all you basically have to do.
1) wash it /wax it if possible
2) fill the tank - add some treatment to it
3) park it with some type of carpet or so underneath it
4) cover it with a car cover


Just leave it be untill it's time to pull it out. I also never had a problem with my car. I put it away Nov 1 to about end of April without even touching it - Mike

 

Agreed dont start it unless it gonna be drove or fully warmed, and when getting the car out of winter storage, the oil really should be changed, after starting and letting fully warm to help remove the condensation/ moisture that may have collected during the warm/cold days..

i like to make sure the car has a good waxing before storage, and ive always heard a full tank of gas is best because the gas tank will condensate on the portion without fuel on it ie half full..

a little stabil never hurts either,

The hardest part is to watch the poor car just sit without being drove especially on those unusually warm winter days

Later,
Greg