hey everyone

winter's coming and some bad news for me. I HAVE TO PUT THE RX8 AWAY FOR THE WINTER!!! living up here in the northeast, we gets lots of snow and i was just wondering about my winter storing

the car is gonna be garage kept which is a good thing, but i was wondering if i should disconnect the battery?? if not, how often should i go and start the car? i figured once a week should be fine, unless it gets blistering cold.

how does this sound to everyone?

pls let me know if u have any suggestions

thx

 

Dont just start the car and leave it idling.
When its not snowing and road is clear, take out for a short drive.
Also, get some of this and run your car for a few minutes to get it in all the fuel lines though: http://www.por15.com/product.asp?productid=150

 

Generally, you should change the oil and remove the battery. The battery is in danger of freezing if it discharges too far - either drive the car (not just start and idle for a bit) every month or so, or take out the battery and put it on a trickle charger in the (warm) house. If it freezes in the car, you need to replace it, but it can also leak and damage various other parts of the car.

The oil change is another issue, and I may open another "oil thread" can-o-worms with this, but here's the reasoning: The old oil may have some chemicals within it that may corrode your engine if left there for a long time. I don't know if I agree with this, but it seems like cheap insurance, especially if you plan to change your oil in the spring anyway. I'm certainly no expert, and I don't know why storing a car with "old" oil in the pan is any different than driving the car for the same time with the same "old" oil in the pan. Anyway, that's one suggestion.

During storage, you should maintain air pressure in the tires regularly. I doubt many people would suggest placing the car on stands, as this really only avoids tire problems if the air pressure drops during storage.

Some people use gasoline stabilizer for storage, but I never felt good about this. I don't know how/if that would affect the injectors or ECU. You should fill the tank up before storage, though.

 

Oh, I forgot - you should also run the air conditioner when you start it each month. This circulates the coolant, and lubricates the seals.

 

The RX-8 has a small battery, so it loses it's charge pretty quick. I found that out this summer. All it takes is a couple of weeks and it is dead.

 

I changed the oil, removed the battery, increased pressure to 40lbs, and put steel wool in both tail pipes and behind the front bumper there are 2 cabin air intakes that I also blocked with wool to keep mice out. Finally I placed dryer sheets, 1 inside and a few on the ground outside, to keep mice away. Just dont forgert to set your tire pressure back to 32 and remove all the steel wool before driving

 

Oh Yeah, I forgot,

When you car becomes your hobbie as I feel most of us are in the same boat. Be prepared to go through serious withdrawl! You are lucky to have access to your car while in storage. Mine is locked away until 4/16/04....

 

Dryer sheets huh?.......wow, I never heard of that one. I am really worried about mice problems. I stored my car last year without any problems. I used a few cups of moth ***** in the engine compartment and on the floor around the car. I will try the dryer sheets too.......it cant hurt.

 

I've never heard of the dryer sheets either- but like you said, cheap insurance

 

Steel Wool in the exhaust





Interior covered and a moisture absorber placed on floor






Battery charger routed under car and hooked to terminals





Auto voltage sensing trickle charger





Moth ***** in container under the hood(mice supposedly are driven away)

 

Wheel chock. E brake is off to prevent it from sticking, Transmission in nuetral.






Fuel additive for storage





Clean and waxed. Dusted befor covered.







See you in the spring!

 

cool- that's pretty much what I was going to do to mine. I just have to get the trickle charger. those things at Wal-Mart or any generic auto store I'm sure right?

how much was that one?

 

I use the Schumacher "ship-n-shore". I like it because it can be used to charge a dead battery as well as trickle charge a full battery during storage. It will not overcharge the battery.

Most people get just the standard trickle chargers which is fine as long as it says it monitors voltage. Some of the cheap ones just contantly supply low amperage current to the battery. This is bad over time.

here is the website

http://www.batterychargers.com/itemlist.cfm?cid=16


Yes you can get them at most bigger hardware stores as well as some auto supply. I paid something like 40 bucks for mine.

 

I spread mothballs and mousetraps (with peanut butter) under my car if it's gonna sit more than a couple days... doesn't take long for critters to build nests. A common place is above the cabin air filter behind the glove compartment. It's very easy to check; just follow these instructions:

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-aldehyde-cabin-air-filter-installation-8353/

Personally, I got a second set of rims/tires for winter... I didn't buy this car to let it sit 4 months/year

 

I have a question
why do u have to put ur 8 away for winter???

 

Its more or less a personal preference. Some have "winter beaters" they use during the winter so that any inconvience that happens during the cold icey/snowy/season doesn't effect their new car. This includes rock chips from using gravel on the roads for snow. Underbody damage/detirioration from sliding on the snow and the salt/sand used on snow roads. Any damage incurred by drivers not paying attention and sliding out of control, etc..... list goes on really, but it is more or less a preference, pay extra money to have dedicated winter tires, and risk loosing the 8 to a stray/sliding Honda, or reserve it fro summer/fair weather play and use a second car fro winter.

 

your in alaska

I love driving my 8 all the time winter or snow, hence the Blizzak LM-22s on the stock rims...

but I make sure to clean up the salt and such from all over the car

 

Im putting mine away for the winter, the garage isnt heated or insulated very well. What should i do in regards to the engine coolant? Put a more concentrated dose in or should it be drained for safety? Dont want it freezing and wrecking anything.

 

if your a 50/50 mi i think you will be fine. i havent had any issues. i think draining it would cause more harm than good

 

I store my car every winter and i just get a fresh oil change before i put it in and take the batttery out and leave it somewhere room temperature.

No need to start it up. I start it up about a week before i plan on taking it out just so I know if i need to put some money aside to fix it.

 

Whoa...9 year thread bump

 

It's like time traveling... but more annoying....

 

mazda used to recommend a 90% coolant/10% water mix when its just sitting. driving with that though, isnt a good idea.

i think as long as you have fresh coolant and its 50/50 you will be ok.