parkin car for winter

For those of you who park your cars over winter, what do you do to prepare for it?

Im told its a good idea to fill the gas tank FULL.

Change the oil.

And put a car cover over it.

But,

Is it better to just leave it the entire winter without starting it, or start it every so often? or?

Im debating putting my car on jack stands. The tires are junk anyways so i dont care about flat spots, but is there any other reason to put the car on jack stands other than to save the tires?

My car WILL be outside. No garage to park in sadly..

Suggestions?

i started mine a couple times last year. sept i took out my battery and brought it inside so i could charge it with a charger inside. and my gas was not full, didnt think anything of that

Take your battary out, it will freeze, or lose the charge. If parked outside.
If in garage, take it out because your vehicle still draws small amounts of current.

If possible life the vehicle off the tires, so you dont get flat spots.

If parked outside, make sure your fluids can handle -40 (windchill doesnt effect vehicles)

I just wash it and dry it and then park it, And then I start it like 2 or 3
times during the winter, let it run until it reaches running temps and then your
good. I'm thinking about putting a cover on it this time cause dust is annouying. But ya that's all all do and it's been solid for 2 winters

Silvianow wrote:

Take your battary out, it will freeze, or lose the charge. If parked outside.
If in garage, take it out because your vehicle still draws small amounts of current.

If possible life the vehicle off the tires, so you dont get flat spots.

If parked outside, make sure your fluids can handle -40 (windchill doesnt effect vehicles)

Good idea.. I'll definetly have to drain my washer fluid tank so it doesnt crack.

My suggestion is to winter drive your mustang?

I still think Adam parking his wrx is some sort of sick joke.. I mean I really hope it is.

i heard its better to start it often or not at all. If youcar has a block heater i recommend plugigng it in and letting it warm up before you start it.

I personally left the civic all winter without starting it.

Fill the gas tank full and put in fuel stabilizer make sure to do this.

theres plenty of debate on jacking the car up or not. The two arguments are you let it sit on the tires it ruins the tires. You jack it up and its said to hyper extend your suspension which isnt good for it. Since your car spends almost its entire life with weight on the suspension i recommend leaving it on the ground if you dont care about the tires

Although I have no experience with this this is what I am going to do this year with my car.

Wash it.
Take battery out.
lift and set on jackstands.
take sub out.
put a soft blanket on the car, then put a tarp on the car(its gunna be outside)

Moneypits wrote:

theres plenty of debate on jacking the car up or not. The two arguments are you let it sit on the tires it ruins the tires. You jack it up and its said to hyper extend your suspension which isnt good for it. Since your car spends almost its entire life with weight on the suspension i recommend leaving it on the ground if you dont care about the tires

Good point!

I just parked mine.

heres my plan:

Pull engine, make it better.

taylorvw wrote:

Moneypits wrote:

theres plenty of debate on jacking the car up or not. The two arguments are you let it sit on the tires it ruins the tires. You jack it up and its said to hyper extend your suspension which isnt good for it. Since your car spends almost its entire life with weight on the suspension i recommend leaving it on the ground if you dont care about the tires

Good point!

i would just take out the tires and rest it on blocks so you dont screw your suspension or tires...

i TRY to wash it (isnt working so far)
put in garage start once a month let warm up to running temp
leave little gas in it not sure reasoning of putting a full tank in it just goes stale
check fluids for freezing point most important is the anti freeze caus if that freezes well i think we all know the out come
jack it up so tires dont get flat spots and sag the susp
and never put fuel stabalizer in it expires in 3 month anyways and i have always found it makes it a bitch to start in snow mobiles anyways .
main reason i jack it up is to keep the mice out !
oh yeah and r comps + random oct blizzard = very shitty highway driving almost hit the ditch like 3 times doing 50

jdm_itr wrote:

i TRY to wash it (isnt working so far)
put in garage start once a month let warm up to running temp
leave little gas in it not sure reasoning of putting a full tank in it just goes stale
check fluids for freezing point most important is the anti freeze caus if that freezes well i think we all know the out come
jack it up so tires dont get flat spots and sag the susp
and never put fuel stabalizer in it expires in 3 month anyways and i have always found it makes it a bitch to start in snow mobiles anyways .
main reason i jack it up is to keep the mice out !
oh yeah and r comps + random oct blizzard = very shitty highway driving almost hit the ditch like 3 times doing 50

i was doing awd drifting in my sisters lexus tonight after work

i was trying not to curb the te's tonight not as fun

I think keepin the tank full is just to keep moisture out. Which I understand, the tank and fuel pump in my supra was completely corroded from sitting a few years with hardly any fuel in it

Gas shouldnt go stale after like 5 months?

Put a trickle charger on your battery then if your going to leave in your vehicle.

Or disconnect it.

Silvianow wrote:

Gas shouldnt go stale after like 5 months?

Put a trickle charger on your battery then if your going to leave in your vehicle.

Or disconnect it.

Last winter i just diconnected battery and left it in

Yah that works like i said.

Just if its connected, your car still draws current.

i had about half a tank of gas, put in a bottle of that fuel additive.
started it once a week when possible, to operating temp.
put my rims and tires inside the house, if you cant wrap them in a garbage bag because the tire will go bad.
jack the car up off the ground on jackstands, less chance of mice getting in.
and i changed the oil

thats about it.

how to winter park a miata.... Cali tho so pointless....haha

im just gonna put steelies on tonight and put fuel stabilizer in and leave it be...

Change your oil
Over inflate the tires if you don't jack it off the ground
remove battery(place it somewhere warm, and NOt on a concrete floor, preferably with a trickle charger on it)
Probably best to change your coolant, or jsut make sure it can handle the temps
Wash and wax it.
Car cover
put a few moth balls in it if you are worried about rodents getting in.
do a full interior clean, to protect the dash and what not if your dash is prone to cracking.
might as well remove the stereo if you dont want it to get stolen.
and keep a license plate on it all the time. I'm told there is still "some insurance" on it if there is a plate left on, or just get storage insurance.

And Adam, drive your car in the winter, you already don't daily drive it, you might as well keep it to have some fun with.

mine will be going inside a non heated garage but i am still going to

-Clean/wash/wax everything
-grease any nipples/greasable u-joints etc(just so i can hop in and go in the summer)
-fill the tank(this is to keep condensation and moisture from forming with tempature change)
-fuel stabilizer(kyle fuel stabilizer in a sled is different becuase its a 2 stroke motor and requires the octane more to run at peak(hence premium makes ur sled run better) where as a car in the summer wont run at TOP it is not going to affect it like a sled would.
-jack up and place on blocks with jackstands to support wheels in their "usual" position
-rims and tires and battery will be coming inside

i have been told going out and starting it every once and awhile and not driving it is still hard on the battery , especially with current draws of todays accersorys(alarm systems,sat radio,chargers)

hope this helps anyone?