Quote:
Originally Posted by doug_999
Uh, I think F87source might have thought you said 30 months. 
Look, 3-4 months, you don't need to go crazy - heck there are people here that don't even put it on a charger for that long.
But..for me, a guy who parks his 1M for 6 months at a time...besides the CTEK...
1. A Car cover is the best thing you can have for a car that you are storing.
2. If you want, you can over inflate your tires - not the worst idea, and yet, any flat spots you might get in 3 months are gone in the first drive.
3. No need to change fluids unless the car is due for them
4. Fuel stabilizer is optional - however, you would add it to a FULL tank and drive the car for a bit. I seem to remember, that's not an option for you.
5. As noted above, a FULL fuel tank is great to help keep the moisture out, but if you can't, don't worry about it.
6. You can leave it in gear and you can put the parking brake on it
I think people forget that these cars can and often do, sit on dealer lots for months. They are amazing - and unless you are storing it for a year or so, you really don't have to over think it. Based on your condition, just put the charger on it and then drive it when you are all better. And seriously, just connect the charger to the charge point in the engine bay (red capped point) and the ground that you have already found. You can still close the hood - no need to permanently wire it.
CRAP! I forgot #7! If you don't have a loan on the car, turn the insurance off (the collision). That will save you some money and see #8
#8 put a note on the steering wheel (charger connected, put insurance back on) - it is easy to forget that you have the car on a charger and even easier to forget that you shut the insurance off. |
Lol, I'm just cautious since I want the car to last problem free.
YES number 7 and 8 are crucial. I don't know how insurance works in the states but in Canada we have parking insurance and I switch to that in the winter so the cost goes down, but if something happens to the car while it is parked i'll still be covered.
1. Yup car cover is great
2. I over inflate the tires because it makes any flat spots go away faster, modern day tires are really good at reforming back to normal shape so no real worries there. You just dont want the pressure to drop if it is cold.
3. I always change fluids, because oil gets acidic as you drive and any sediments like metal will sink to the bottom of the pan as it sits. So unless you want acidic oil wearing away at your engine internals or your oil pump to take a big gulp of particulates on start up then change it. Oil is cheap, engines are not so don't be lazy. Dealerships do have cars sitting for a long period of time, but most of those cars are on new oil.
4. Going without fuel stabilizer for 3ish months probably will be ok, but honestly this shouldn't be optional. I know alot of American fuels have 10% ethanol in it, the 94 octane I use here in Canada also has ethanol in it, so it is best to use fuel stabilizer to prevent the ethanol from absorbing water. Fuel also starts to gum up and go stale which drops octane over time, so if you don't want to replace direct injectors or get knock it is best to get stabilizer. This is also super cheap, so I definitely recommend it. Take a look at the bottom of a lawn mower fuel tank that has sat over winter, and tell me fuel doesn't gum up.
5. Agreed, 3 months is pretty short so it should be fine.
6. Yes you can leave it in gear, but it will stretch out the return spring over time creating more shifter slop. It might not do it after one sitting, but over time it will. Same goes for the parking brake. IMO it's not hard to chock wheels, just use a brick or some wood.
Otherwise yeah don't forget about the insurance thing, you'll save alot of money that way.