Winter Storage

[catch_twotwo 0]

So tommorrow night i have to tuck up my new baby in the underground garage for the harsh German winter... Before I do however I wanted to ask some tips from those who store there cars over winter on what to do / not to do.....

 

It's a G60 as spec'd below, with no alarm (currently).

 

So far I've got to the stage of thinking about cleaning it as well as possible, making sure it's dry and the inside is cleaned etc. Also been thinking about putting some of these water gathering packets around the car. However that's about it.

 

- Should I disconnect the battery

- Should the tyre pressure be changed at all before storage

- How often should I start her up over winter

 

You know, stupid questions like that ;)

[Taggart 0]

You'd want her on axle stands maybe? If you're not going to move it, as you'll get flat spots on your tyres.

[Toad 0]

How long will it be in storage? Might be worth sitting it on blocks so that the tyres don't perish so badly, or putting some old crap tyres on.

 

Probably could leave the battery connected, if you will start it regularly. If you do, unplug the stereo, as that drains the battery too.

[catch_twotwo 0]

Well I'm leaving it standing from now until 1st March next year.... so 4 months in total.

 

I have an underground garage so can move the car about if i need to, just to stop the tyres getting flat spots.

 

I don't have axle stands here unfortunatly so that's not really an option right now.

 

Is it worth parking it without the handbrake in (leaving it in gear) as it's on the level and I don't want the rear brakes to start playing up.

[Goldie 2]

Is it worth parking it without the handbrake in (leaving it in gear) as it's on the level and I don't want the rear brakes to start playing up.

_________________

 

Yes, just chock the wheels. Leaving it on thye handbrake for ages could make it stick the next time you move it.

[herisites 0]

Never really though about how much you have to think about to store a car for winter but it makes sense now :lol: I however will be using mine throughout winter as its my daily driver :( but frequent washes and some good layers of wax should help with the weather.

[catch_twotwo 0]

Yeah i thought the same last winter.... and we all know how that ended.... in a ditch :lol:

[herisites 0]

Oops :lol:

[Tempest 0]

Considering that the weather in Munich will be harsher than in Blighty, it at least is also a lot drier (in terms of relative air humidity), whereas Britain suffers from severe air humidity swings (noticed that again over the weekend: Saturday, although it was mild, the engine block in my garaged G60 was wet to the touch :shock:), so a slightly different set of rules may apply compared to laying up a car in Blighty.

 

It is actually easier, as the relative humidity is the biggest enemy (build up of condensation in box holes :shock:).

 

Anyway, the tips normally given on the German Sciroccoforum are:

 

Yes, use those silica-bags, leave the windows and tailgate opened a little to allow circulation of air into the car. Stuff an oily rag into the zorst, place car on axle stands to minimise wear on tyres (best way to store these is to lay them flat on the ground), cover up car with a cotton or fleeced sheet to keep dust away, and that's pretty much it.

 

That's also how I lay up my cars in Blighty, but as mentioned, here I'm faced with the dreaded air humidity swings that I haven't really found anything against yet (heating the garage or sticking in a dehumidifier is not an option, as I have no electricity in 2 of my 3 garages :-( )

 

Tempest

[catch_twotwo 0]

Thanks for the hints tempest... much appreciated.

 

silica-bags, i need to find a nice source of these.

 

As for leaving the tailgate open, that might be a bit tricky as it's a shared underground garage, so I might be asking for trouble there. Still people here are more liekly to just close it for me than rob me blind :lol:

 

Looks like I'm headed shopping for some bits tomorrow night then.... busy night for me.

[Phil K 0]

Photography/camera shops will stock silica gell pouches...

[Toad 0]

I don't have axle stands here unfortunatly so that's not really an option right now.

 

How about some wheels from a scrap yard? they don't even need to be legal tyres, although if it's a shared facility they'd be better looking a bit reasonable.

[catch_twotwo 0]

I don't think the wheels will be a problem as I'll try and move the car once every couple of weeks, even if it's just a little. Also after hearing the road noise on the way down the autobahn yesterday I think a new set of tyres might be on the cars anyway :lol:

 

Thanks for the hint about the Silica gel Phil, but I've secured 3 pouches (450g each) from eBay for a good price.

[fla 9]

it may also help to "over inflate" the tyres to say 45 psi to avoid flat spots. Justmake sure you deflate them when to normal pressure when you're back on the road. Also, disconnect the coilpack but every few weeks just crank the engine over. Try and empty the tank as much as possible to minimise gumming. When you start up again run a full tank of petrol through it - you may find some steam from the exhaust for a while due to condensation buildup.

[catch_twotwo 0]

I was thinking about the tyre pressure..... might just give them an extra few PSI to help things along.

 

Unplugging the coilpack ??? What benefit will this give ?

[Tempest 0]

Try and empty the tank as much as possible to minimise gumming.

 

Has anyone ever tried one of these "fuel stabiliser and preservative" liquids? With my Roccos you' re not meant to empty the tank during storage, as being a metal tank, it would rust :-( This year I was toying with the idea of chucking some of this magic potion into my tanks.

 

Still people here are more liekly to just close it for me than rob me blind

 

Not if you rest the tailgate on a block of wood, so as to only have a small gap between the tailgate and boot edge (that's enough for air circulation), then cover the C with a cotton sheet or car cover, and the neighbours should leave the C alone.

 

Tempest

[Toad 0]

I was thinking about the tyre pressure..... might just give them an extra few PSI to help things along.

 

Unplugging the coilpack ??? What benefit will this give ?

 

It will stop the engine from firing. It's better to remove the power supply to the coil rather than unplugging the HT leads, simply unplugging the HT leads can damage the coil.

 

Turning it over a few times ought to get the oil pumped round and stop the seals drying out, and would be worth doing before starting it after a period of not running.