I have had my car stored for two weeks now. This year I put my car up on jack stands. Is there anything wrong with that?

 

Some people say it is not good to let the wheels hang from the suspension for an extended period of time, although I personaly don't know if it matters.

 

depends where you are located, 0 degree F air holds very little moisture

 

It's 25* here now and 82% relative humidity.

 

As this is in the C6 section, these are new cars... Not old **** that is tempermental and needs to be babied....

What do you think is going happen? I guarantee that my "unwinterized" parked in the freezing garage corvette is going to start up and run just as well as the one you spent a week getting "ready" for winter come spring....

And if it doesnt, guess what? I press the onstar button and the tow truck comes and gets the POS and the dealer can fix it......

It makes NO sense to change the oil just to let the car sit for 4-5 months. Its not running, you may as well just drain the crankcase and leave NO oil in it. Change, no change, drain the oil, up to you. I dont see the reason to waste the money as its no running anyways and I dont want 4-5 month old oil in my car come spring anyways. It gets a short drive and changed its first day out.

So clean it up, wax it, whatever.... But changing the oil, putting it on stands, parking it on plastic or on carpet, does not matter. It has radial tires, there not going to flat spot...... There isnt going to be moisture getting into the car as its to damn cold and dry in the garage to create any!

The only thing I see being worthwhile is a battery tender, no one wants a dead battery. The rest is just things that make people "feel good".

 

I put mine in my bubble and put on the battery tender and let her sit also stabill

 

I put mine up on the lift.

 

you do understand that 82% relative humidity means that the air holds 82% of the water that air at that temp can , which is very little at 25

but yeah, if the weather where you live is moist, it could be a problem, where I live it's dry as a bone except for the occasional snow storm, which so far, is much more than normal

 

Seems like so much trouble just to store a car IMO.

I just drive mine occasionally if the roads are dry and salt free. Problem solved

Even with all the snow we had last year, I think I didn't go more than a few weeks without driving it.

 

just so y'all know, a long time ago I learned that snow and ice evaporate even in the coldest of temps such as the upper elevations of the Rockies. evaporation means ice turns to vapor and vapor is gaseous/liquid state. if you don't think it happens, go look at ice left in your freezer; it evaporates. once it's in the air, it can and does go everywhere. there is no such thing as it's too cold for water in the air no matter what the relative humidity level.

here's the USGS description of the "water cycle."

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercy...densation.html

 

I would agree with most of this, although I would add Stabil.It is cheap and easy insurance. I do love my Vette , but it is just a car. To many other real problems to worry about other than if you put your car away with some dust on it or if the oil is a little dirty.

 

We're a paranoid bunch, just like every other car forum group. But people do go too far I think, but if they sleep better at night, and its their time and money, what do I care?

As for storing cars, just go to a few car dealerships in Oct/Nov, take some pictures, and come back in April. You'll see the same cars in the same places, never having been moved. They still start, are sold, and run for years and years without any issues. So if dealerships leave thousands of cars sitting outside all winter without all these protections, storing your car in a garage with no preparation will be just fine.

 

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!

Someone who gets it.

 

I guess I never thought of it , but I wonder if they put some sort of stabilized gas in at the factory. Like you said, some cars can sit for months or even years on the lot.

 

Clean Car
Stabil in fuel tank
Battery Tender
Car cover (indoor no heated garage)

Done. Simple.

I actually did park the car on a tarp this year only because my other car drags a lot of salt into the garage, and I like to keep the area clean where the vette is parked...yes it does make me "feel" better I'll admit

 

I drove mine today!! Although there is a lot of rain coming soon, so will likely give it a bath tonight and under the cover for a couple weeks.

 

Sure dealerships leave cars outside all the time. Where the heck would they find that much under-roof storage? That's a self-serving comparison tho. And the best example I can think of is a real car-guy who was looking at a brand new, but leftover DSOM coupe. How leftover? Say about 2+ years.

He asked on here for someone to go by the dealer and look at the exterior of the car. That's AFTER seeing pics posted of the car, fairly close up. It was pretty awful per the two or so CFers who went by the dealership. He didn't buy it. Someone maybe did. Or maybe the dealer had it buffed, who knows, but is that really what we're comparing our cared-for cars to? I don't think so.

I sleep well at night and when someone asks the question of how to take care of their car during the winter, I give them what I think is worthy. It's always up to the individual to decide what works and what doesn't. But reading some of the responses just convinces me more and more that I don't want someone's supposedly well cared-for used car. It may look good, but on my watch it could easily crap out, and for cause and good reason.

 

I was referring to keeping old oil in the engine through the winter. Old oil has many contaminants including acids. Because of the low miles driven I only change the oil once a year. I don't want oil sitting in my engine for 3-4 months that has been collecting contaminants for the past 8-9 months. It is best to drain the old oil and put new oil in before letting the car sit for months. When you start your car for the first time next spring, the oil will be just as fresh as if you just changed it.

The only thing I do for ALL my cars that sit in the garage for months without being driven, it to make sure the tires have ~5# of air over what I normally run, I change the oil, I connect the float charger. I don't add anything to the gas tank as I only run ethanol free gasoline in my cars. That's the regiment I use for my 1956 Corvette, my 1964 Corvette, and my 2009 Z06, along with my riding lawnmower( I do drain the gas tank and run it dry before putting it away for the winter).


w2ner.net/storage.htm

"Make sure to top off all fluid levels. These include coolant, brake fluid, clutch/transmission fluid and most importantly, oil and fuel. Over time, motor oil can become contaminated by dust, condensation, and even antifreeze and metallic shavings. Some motor oils contain additives which can break down over time and also act as contaminants. As these contaminants accumulate in the oil, sludge can form which will gradually adhere to internal engine components, causing your engine to perform less efficiently. Left long enough, this sludge can cause permanent engine damage. Combustion gases can also accumulate in the oil that will gradually lower the pH of your oil making it more acidic. Even if you only put 1,000 miles on your Corvette per year, make sure that you always change your oil and filter before placing it in long-term storage."

 

Joe, what station do you get your gas at. I tried 3 different stations this summer in Mo and each one told me a law the state passed does not allow gas without ethanol to be sold in the state anymore. Not only that but there was no straight diesel, only bio diesel.

 

RH is the amount of moisture in the air compared to what it can hold hold at that temp before it condenses. We use wet bulb/dry bulb slingers in the HVAC field to determine this.