Hey guys, looking for some input on people who store their Evos for the winter months ill be storinv mine between Mid October to Late April. My questions as follows.

1. What precautions do you take when storing your car?

Battery Tender?
What do you add to your fuel system? (Dual map 93 & E-85 tune)
Do you drain all your fuel out?
What do you do to prevent your tires from wearing from sitting in one spot?
Do you fire it up once a week?
I have a fresh paint job so it will obviously be covered and in the garage (not heated)

Anything else I may be missing or overlooking I would appreciate some insight, TIA

 

1. Battery tender is definitely a good idea. Make sure to keep the battery off the floor and on a piece of wood or something though.

2. Fuel system not sure...I would guess top it off or leave it near empty (but only if the garage is climate controlled, otherwise condensation and freezing lines will be an issue)

3. Top off all fluids in the car.

4. Either put the car on some good stands or inflate the tires to their max (or close to max) pressure.

Why are putting the car to sleep so soon? Don't have a set of all-seasons/winter tires (which is totally understandable)? My dad lives in Iowa and drives his Viper right through November or until the first major snow. He'll usually take it out in the middle of December/January if its nice too, although I think that's mainly from withdrawal.

 

There was a huge thread about this I saw about a week or two ago. Not sure which subsection it was on, but if you search I am sure you'll find it. It had a lot of great tips and pointers.

EDIT: And it is not a good idea to start the car up during the Winter unless you let it run for about 30 minutes at a time. If you only start it a few minutes you will build up condensation.

 

If you're gonna start it up regularly, batt tender not needed. But as said above, don't run it unless you can devote enough time for all fluids to reach temp. You will do more harm than good if u just start it up for short periods. I start mine up no less than every 2 wks, but usually once a week. Either start it up regularly and let it run for 30min or so or don't start it up at all.

I always use fuel stabilizer over winter. I will run the tank with sta-bil to almost empty then fill with fresh gas in the spring before doing any real driving. Stabilizer won't degrade the fuel quality, but I tend to run pretty aggressive boost so I don't push it

I drive the car back and forth in the driveway also. This takes care of the tires and gets fluids moving and up to temp faster. It's also better for the car in general to not just sit and idle for long periods. If you catch a nice dry winter day where the roads aren't wet or salty take it for a spin so u can rev it out a little.

 

Just saw you run e85. Ethanol is not stable enough for long term storage. It will absorb water. There are treatments that minimize ethanol's reactivity with water, but don't bother. Run the e85 out of your system with 93 and then treat the gas with stabilizer

 

1. Battery tender is definitely a good idea. Make sure to keep the battery off the floor and on a piece of wood or something though.

Thats a myth!

Why would you guys store the car on winter? Its a rally car, drive it its more fun. Its like having a supermodel girlfriend and being afraid of f$&@# her cause she'll get pregnant.

 

Agreed storeing a car in the winter is for ******. Its a car drive it. Wash and wax it once and a while and it will be fine.

 

That sounds like me. I drive my Evo right up until the salt hits the ground, anywhere from mid-November to early-January. I usually pull it out a few timed during the winter, if there's some rainfall to wash the salt. Otherwise, I fill the tank, attach a battery tender and close the garage door. Every winter.

 

Always someone to criticize garaging the car over winter lol. The evo does make a good snow car, can't deny that, but I'd rather be called a ***** then let salt destroy the car that I've spent time and money on. It's no show car or collector car that "must" be garaged...if I didn't have a DD or garage space free I would surely drive it, but I have the means to keep the body and chassis clean so it will be done.

I can guarantee two things...they won't make an evo like the 8 or 9 ever again and I'll be an old man driving a rust-free evo.

 

I like simple so here is my storage for winter procedure.

Park it in the garage and put down the door. Anytime the weather is good and the streets are dry, drive it.

End of story.

 

+1
Same exact boat here I have a dd and optimal space to store

Thank you for the information guys if you can think of anything else let me know, much appreciated.

 

How many rally competitions have you competed in using your evo? Care to share some pics? What class were you in? What suspension set up were you running during those competitions? What brand/model tires are you using for snow? What about gravel? Does it snow in El Paso?

 

The solid plastic of today's battery cases do not allow current to flow through it like the batteries from back in the day. So no need to worry about putting it on wood. Actually keeping the battery on the concrete floor might even keep it from discharging since it will keep it cool.

 

What ??? when did I ever said I rally my car ? The evo IS derived from a rally car is it not? I DD my car thats why I bought it, I didnt buy it to be a garage queen and just to stare at it. You gotta realize the Evo is not a 1962 Ferrari 250GTO just to drive it on sunny days. It does snow in el paso but not a lot. Enjoy it while you have it, you never know what could happen tomorrow.