Quote:
Originally Posted by pessemist
I have a 1999' mint condition 996 with 100K miles. I live in the Midwest and our winters can be brutal. I do not drive the car in the winter so it sits covered up in an unheated garage.
I've talked to a couple people. Right now once a week I start the car and just let it idle for 20 minutes. My thinking is this lubricates the internal seals and keeps everything coated with a layer of oil inside.
I let the car idle at full temp for 10 minutes or so to make sure the exhaust is good and hot to burn off condensation. If we get a break in the weather with no water or salt on the road I may take it out (couple times during the winter months is usual frequency).
I have a battery tender on it but prefer to have it charge itself up during these once a week runs.
I've talked to two different Porsche mechanics: One says this is the perfect way to store it while the other suggests I may be doing more harm than good running it once a week in idle for 20 minutes.
What are the thoughts of the experts on here about storage and running the engine weekly?
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What you are doing is the
worst possible thing, starting and running the car while it is in storage helps foul the oil with moisture and fuel, breaking it down and allowing acids to form which will attack the bearing surfaces. What you should be doing is changing the oil and filter just before storage, adding Stabil to your fuel system, clean the car from top to bottom more, hook up a quality battery maintainer, and then just let it sit until spring.