I will be taking my car off road for winter and need some guidance. I am considering storing at my home in unheated detached garage or in heated off site storage facility. I realize I started this conversation in a previous thread with Sinf, but looking for broader feedback and I missed some of Sinf's recommendations here. Maybe could be combined thread depending on response.

In either case, will need:
Wash and clean inside and out
Oil change (I'm close to 5k miles)
Trickle charger (recommendations please)
Car cover (would like Union Jack one)
To over inflate tires? (How much), Sinf indicates 5 psi
Defend against critters (mice, etc), SinF uses mothballs

Additional (thanks SinF):

Add Stabil or Seafoam stabilizer (is this same as "dry gas"?)
Add dryer sheets to top of each tire and a few inside
Disconnect battery (in lieu of trickle charger?)

Keeping it at home, I'm thinking I can sneak out on nice days that seem to occur more frequently than a decade ago. Salt exposure is an issue. Offsite, insured heated storage is under $500 for the winter, so not a huge cost.

Thoughts and recommendations welcome. Maybe this could be a sticky thread. Where I have "?" , discussion/comments appreciated.

 

Do not use "dry gas". That is an alcohol intended to pull any moisture out of the bottom of the tank and re-disperse into the fuel. Stabil and SeaFoam are intended to prevent degradation of the fuel that can result in combustion problems and gumming of the tank and fuel systems. After adding those products you need to run the enginelong enough to ensure those stabilizers make it through the entirety of the fuel system before shutting it down.
If you were not thinking of sneaking it out occasionally, I would suggest getting the car up on jack stands to further reduce the chance of tire deformation (particularly given your cooler temps in upstate NY.

 

Just heading out to store my Z3 for the winter.
Oil change,
Stabil
Moth ***** in pans in the engine compartment/dryer sheets on floor mats
Block off air intake and exhaust pipes
Will disconnect battery and remove ( if possible...it is fitted very tight and this one doesn't have handles...it is fully charged ...no power in storage otherwise Battery Tender)
Cover
The R stays in the garage, cosy and warm and ready if non salty days, otherwise on a Battery Tender.
Note....a trickle charger keeps on charging...bad...a Battery Tender ( or equivalent) charges till "full" then maintains.....then charges etc...good.

 

I store several vehicles over the winter. I fill the gas tank, inflate the tires to the maximum indicated on the sidewalls and hook a battery tender.

That's it.

Do not be tempted to start the engine just for fun while in storage. Let it rest in peace.

 

I used a carcoon for storing my classics over winter. That and a trickle charger.

 

+1. I've put 40psi in the tires the last three years, and never had an issue with flat spots. I use a Battery Tender Jr.

 

I store three vehicles regularly as I'm away at sea for quite some periods of time, and the other half doesn't want to (need to!) use them.

I use the Jag car cover, but I understand there may be better stretchy, spandex things out there now.

Never used any chemical treatments, and I usually leave the patrol tank in exactly the same state as I last left it, be it ¼, ½ or what have you.

50 PSI is the recommended pressure, but anything over the norm should help reduce flat spots.

I use a CTEK 5 amp (MXS 5.0) as it accommodates the Glass Mat batteries that are used in the F. It's basically the same model as the JLR supplied one, but with a whole host of menus for different vehicles.

I don't heat my garage space any more (waste of time and energy), I use a dehumidifier every now and then just to remove any built up moisture.

Stuff a bit of rag 'up the pipes', was/wax and thoroughly dry and Bob's ur uncle!

BTW, I did cover the underside and all the metalwork with Corrosion Guard from new, so a quick hose off is all that is required..if it did get any salt at all.

 

Just ship them to me. I'll keep them in my garage and exercise them on nice days which we get a lot of in winter.

 

Great response, but not likely any takers.

 

Mothball smell lingers, so never put them inside the car, always outside.

If you add fuel stabilizer (for example SeaFoam) to a full tank of ethanol-free gas it can survive for a couple years. You want fill tank to minimize air, otherwise you can get condensation inside. Do you need it for 3-4 months storage? Probably not, but I have seen inside (and sometimes through due to rust holes) old gas tanks and always add it when storing to not deal with potential damage.

It is a lot more important to use additives if you can only get ethanol-containing gas, as its shelf life is only about 3 months before it starts phase separating into water, ethanol, and low octane gasoline.

 

The short life quoted might be true if the gas was left in an open container where air could get at it, like my idiot former next door neighbour who kept her open jerry can out in rain.

Modern cars have sealed tanks eliminating such issues.

Here's a pic look inside the gas tank of my old Corvette that's seen nothing but E10 since the mid 90s. The gas visible was at least two years old at the time.

 

Oil change is a good idea, as you have stated you plan to do. Fuel stabilizer and a full tank of fuel, followed by a bit of driving to circulate it through the system before you store the car; nothing else needed engine wise, IMO.

I've had success avoiding flat spots with tire cradles and tires inflated to about 50 psi.

Trickle charging is a better idea than disconnecting the battery.

Agree with Mikey. Once the car is stored, do not start it again until the spring. If you start it, you will need to drive it properly to get everything warmed up, and this will result in dirt and salt exposure, as you have already noted, never mind the cold ambient temperatures. The worst thing you can do is start it in the garage and idle it, without driving it.

 

As usual, Mikey is demonstrably wrong and can be disproved even with a quick Google search.

Unfortunately, sealed tank does not eliminate ethanol-related issues during storage, as the sealed system, especially if tank isn't filled completely, can contain a lot of air that can enable condensation. More so, phase separation happens regardless of it being sealed or not. Fuel filter will compensate to a large degree, but it is not adequate if you are into long-term ownership.

 

Warm up and cool down can cause condensation inside exhaust, oil pan, and even cylinder space. You need about 20 minutes of highway driving to fully 'purge' moisture from everywhere. Idling won't do it.

 

Even an extended Google search pulls up no real proof of a relevant problem- just a lot of chatter created by those who stand to profit by inferring there's a 'problem' that needs fixing. This is followed by those who endlessly parrot their words- but have no actual experience one way or the other.

A sealed gas tank has a finite amount of air in it. This air has a finite amount of suspended moisture. Even at 100% relative humidity, the volume of water is not enough to induce the phase separation so feared by the Satan Ethanol crowd.

Since we're on the subject- I see you recommend Sea Foam as a fuel stabilizer. This product is a simple mix of 50% light mineral oil, 25% rubbing alcohol and 25% naptha. None of those products are effective in preserving gasoline.

 

I don't want to get into the nitty gritty stuff with the many experts on here. But... I've been storing cars and boats in 'off-seasons' averaging ~7 months and, in some cases over 2 years for over 30 years and FWIW, this is my story:

Right now, I am living in the Bahamas for the next 8 months. I have done this every year for the past 25 years. My cars in th UK, therefore are in 'winter lay-up.' My new, 1000 mile F-Type is sitting on its tyres in my UK garage, unheated and non dehumidified on tyres inflated to 50 psi to prevent flat spots. Jack-stands would be preferable but I can't be bothered. The battery is connected to a CTek conditioner/maintainer and a large dust sheet covers the car. I have not topped the tank off and it's half-full. I do not add fuel stabiliser or use moth-*****, presumably to keep vermin away (I don't have any) and moths!

I have a concours winning M-B 300SL and since 1989 I have followed the exact same procedure as above with no ill effects to the car and, the fuel is still "okay" after in several cases leaving it for 2 years. However, I am aware that fuel goes bad and, thus, leave the tank no more than one fourth full. I can then fill up with fresh gas immediately I recommission it. Even after two years dormancy, the car ALWAYS starts first time with the old fuel with no sign of water in the fuel, such as spluttering or mis-firing.

I repeat, more or less, the same lay-up procedure with all my other UK-based cars and have had no ill effects with any of them over a very long period of time.

With my Florida based cars (in the fifteen years I owned a home there) the lay-up was more intensive because of the heat and humidity during the summer/ hurricane season Jun-Nov. I always left my cars on jack-stands to take the weight off the tyres and never overinflated them. To do so in such brutal heat can further increase the internal pressure and cause the tyres to delaminate i.e. tread seaparates from the carcase as actually happened to two of my boat trailers. Also essential was to clean all 'touched surfaces' with bleach or hydrogen peroxide i.e. door pulls, steering wheel, seats, control knobs, etc., otherwise mold grew on such surfaces over the summer.
A fuel stabiliser was always tipped into the tanks which I never topped off and C-Tek battery maintainers attached.

In the Bahamas, I live right on the ocean, 50 feet from the water and my Ford F-150 lives under the house, which is on stilts (the house not the F-150!), exposed to salt air, salt mist, tropical heat and humidity. All I do with my truck when I leave for the summer, is block up the rear axle and front wishbones should the tyres deflate, so as to protect the sidewalls - and disconnect both terminals of the battery. I add fuel stabiliser. It stays like this in 95 deg heat., albeit in the shade and 100% relative humidity, sometimes a hurricane and, yet, when I return after as many as six months, I simply connect the battery and it always starts first turn of the key, every time since 2004! Amazing vehicle.

With these procedures, none of my cars has ever given a problem. Just be aware that the climate in i.e., New England is different, more benign, to that of Florida and the sub-tropics and act accordingly.

As a final comment: As a boater, I always understood and practice that it is necessary to leave a DIESEL engined boat in lay-up with a full tank to avoid condensation and water-in-fuel problems. Diesel is more prone to absorb moisture (and grow diesel bugs!) than gasoline which is why boats are fitted with fuel filters and water separators such as Racors. Marine diesel also sits for much longer periods in larger volume than, say, diesel in a car, which is contantly turned over. Of course boats are stored in damper conditions than cars which doesn't help...so IME it is not essential to leave a car in storage with a full tank.

 

I have an extra spot in the garage and would keep it charged and exercised for the winter. You can come down for a few rounds at Pinehurst and pick it up as soon as you thaw out in the Spring.

 

For less-technologically adept people among us, from the first page of Google search using "gasoline degradation during storage" search terms:

Corrosiveness of Fuels During Storage Processes | InTechOpen from Storage stability of Fuels

Liquid Fuel Ageing Processes in Long-term Storage Conditions

But hey, I am sure all of this science is wrong, because, you know, Mikey's took a picture of his gas tank filler neck, and it looked just fine from there.

 

I am by no means an expert BUT I can tell you my first hand experience storing boats over the years as this issue seems to come up for debate all the time. I am more of a fan of adding stabil or other gas preservative to a tank with less gas than a full tank. I often run it down to about 1/10 a tank and add the correct amount then.

Why? Because gas does in fact degrade over time and if you are storing your car for 5 months like many of us will, the gas after 5 months will be less effective than it was the day you put it in there, regardless of which brand preservative you add. And I'd rather add fresh gas to it 5 months down the road, filling the tank completely knowing the new gas will be diluted by a small portion of the older gas and this is fine.

What I don't want is a full tank of bad gas to go through 5 months down the road and this is why I don't fill it to the top, or even close when I put it away for storage.

Am I worried about condensation? No, it's never been an issue. And if there were some degree of condensation occurring it would get absorbed by the ethanol in the gas. In the old days, when we had MTBE the gas and condensation would separate, thus the need for a fuel/water separator on our boat engines. You could literally see the separation in the filter and drain off the water. Once ethanol was introduced any signs of separation went away as the ethanol absorbed the water.

As long as you fill it up with new/fresh gas when you take it out of storage you will be just fine.

 

To Kitesurfer,
My rationale precisely! So it's a +1 from me...

And, to add, I have been laying up cars (and boats) for 40+ years in climates as diverse as the UK during winters and summers AND both Souther Florida and the Bahamas (tropical, humid, hot - and sometimes cold, down to 34 deg F. all with no ill effects.)

Either disconnect the (fully charged) battery completely, if on a lo-tech vehicle, or attach a good quality battery maintainer if on-board systems need to kept powered in a hi-tech vehicle such as our F-Types. Never, ever had a problem.