Winter Storage options - jack stands or in the garage as normal

[dictoresno]

just took over ownership in May of my fathers 1986 911. Spent the past few months rejuvenating it after sitting in a garage undriven for almost 10 years. she has a current odometer reading of about 48,800 miles. the car was maintained prior by a well known NJ Porsche mechanic and had a fresh oil change, filter, tires put on before storage. the Toyo Versado LX II tires consistently ran flat in the garage for months on end while stored. date coded 2013, they had under 1000 miles.

the car is now driven 2-3 times a week, up to operating temp and enjoyed. all regular maintenance has been done on it, except a valve clearance job which ill decide to tackle myself over the winter or outsource to a Porsche mechanic. new fuel (93 octane only), new fuel filter, oil change with VR1 and filter, fresh Swepco 201 gear oil, new Continental Extreme ContactSport 02's because the Toyos permanently flat spotted, and all new Textar pads, Zimmermann rotors and reman PMB Ate sourced calipers from our host and new Motul 600 brake fluid. from small to large, the car has been brought back.

my question is what to do for winter storage.

I don't plan on driving it when it's 20 degrees and snowing, or when there's been salt or brine spread on the roads. but im not against reasonable light winter driving (around the neighborhood conservatively) with the summer only compound tires.

debating on the following:

1.) keeping it on jack stands for the entire winter in the unheated garage, running the engine periodically at idle to operating temp while keeping it on a battery tender and monitoring tire pressure and dumping some fuel conditioner in the tank or;

2.) keeping it on the cold concrete floor and rolling it back and forth a foot in either direction every week so it won't flat spot the tires, so it can be ready to be used depending on the temp and conditions of the winter weather. im sure ill be tempted to drive it on mild days with no snow or salt.

my dad, since 1987 when he got the car, never did anything special for it over the winter in our NJ garage. however he never drove it in the rain or snow. now that I have it ive taken it over, im trying to not let long term storage be detrimental to the car over the winter months.

[H-viken]

Leave it on the ground. Pump up the tires. Roll it back and forth every now and then

Fresh oil and full gas tank. Don’t start it up unless you intend to properly drive it

Battery tender on

This is how I do it

[dictoresno]

Originally Posted by H-viken

Leave it on the ground. Pump up the tires. Roll it back and forth every now and then

Fresh oil and full gas tank. Don’t start it up unless you intend to properly drive it

Battery tender on

This is how I do it

Ok thanks. I’ll only have about 600 miles on the current oil change by the time I lay it up so I’ll leave that and start it to idle warm up temp every now and then when I can drive it over the winter. I didn’t wanna leave it on jackstands so this is what I kinda wanted to hear.

[KNS]

On the garage floor is fine.

If you're going to start the engine (and then not start it again for days or weeks) drive it around and get it up to temperature - as in - hot. And then drive it for at least 20 mins, 30 on a cold day. Prolonged idling isn't really good for any car (I know, everybody does it in their daily driver). Starting up a cold engine and idling it doesn't really get it hot the same way as driving and putting a load on the engine.

[Bucketlist]

I start mine at least once per month just to circulate the fluids but don't warm it up because I feel the condensation created would do the most harm. I keep it on a trickle charger and it sits on wood planks over my scissor lift.

[KNS]

Originally Posted by Bucketlist

I start mine at least once per month just to circulate the fluids but don't warm it up because I feel the condensation created would do the most harm. I keep it on a trickle charger and it sits on wood planks over my scissor lift.

Probably one of the worst things you can do is to just do a brief start and then shut down. It's not just the moisture but also the fuel dilution. See link below, I think Charles Navarro (in video) is well known on the board. Fast forward to 7:50 min.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7hvTWsLIP8

[darrin]

One other point/thought - replace those 11 year old tires (especially if they're not holding air). General rule of thumb is to replace tires that are 10 years old or older due to the rubber decomposing due to environmental exposure. Replace them with a set of high performance all season tires (Michelin Pilot Sport A/S4 and Continental ExtremeContact DWS are favorites around here) which will be great performance tires in warmer weather but remain quite sticky/pliant in colder weather. https://www.discounttire.com/learn/tire-aging#:~:text=Any%20tire%20over%20ten%20years,aged %2010%20years%20or%20older.

[EC900]

I drive year around but not in snow or rain and never on salty roads, or at any time when snow melt will contain salt/brine residuals in puddles of splash from traffic. Dry winter driving is beneficial and medicinal for 4 season folks.

Rather than a short start-up/20 minute run-on in the garage during deep freeze periods, I prefer not to start and/or drive at all until conditions improve and allow.
I’m in agreement of that hot/cold fluctuation of the oil will cause condensation in the oil tank to form, and only a good long drive regularly at 185° + will burn it off.

Use fuel stabilizer in a full fresh tank of gas, dilute accordingly for proper ratio….more is not better with these products.

Jack stands - I don’t use them for storage. Just in case of fire, natural disaster (or any other garage or building repairs that may arise). You want be be ready to more your car immediately even if your have to push it out of harms way.

As others mentioned, I over-inflate tires 5 psi when overwinter, this amount will compensate any leakage and won’t dramatically change driving performance for short winter drives. Also I never had experienced any “out-of”round” flat spots on tires when they’re kept at recommended psi, even on motorcycles but as a good measure I add the 5 psi.

[dictoresno]

Originally Posted by darrin

One other point/thought - replace those 11 year old tires (especially if they're not holding air). General rule of thumb is to replace tires that are 10 years old or older due to the rubber decomposing due to environmental exposure. Replace them with a set of high performance all season tires (Michelin Pilot Sport A/S4 and Continental ExtremeContact DWS are favorites around here) which will be great performance tires in warmer weather but remain quite sticky/pliant in colder weather. https://www.discounttire.com/learn/tire-aging#:~:text=Any%20tire%20over%20ten%20years,aged %2010%20years%20or%20older.

I ended up replacing the all season, 2013 date code Toyo's for a fresh set of Continental Extreme Contact Sport 02's. no need for DWS, as I really don't plan on taking it out in the winter. I used to run DWS's on my Subaru WRX and loved them however.


I guess I'll end up keeping it on the floor as opposed to on jack stands (my dad never put it on jack stands during the cars life from 1986-2015 in NY and NJ winters). I like the idea of getting it off the concrete floor and putting it on wood 2x4's as to keep it somewhat insulated from the cold concrete. the car has fresh oil in it with about 500 miles on it, and ill fill the tank up and add some STA-BIL to it for the winter.

I have a battery tender, a Noco Genius, my only question is to tend the battery on my wood work bench or in the car itself over the winter?

[AlBackus36]

3-piece wheels have the tendency to leak. They can develop leaks over time through the split ring seam or through the valve stem if it's a multi-piece stem vs a rubber grommet type. Your old tires may have been leaking through one of these paths. It would be odd for all 4 to leak flat at such low mileage without another flaw present. My guess is the tech who put 4 new tires on has solved this leak issue.

Insulated from the concrete? Like the tires do? How cold of a storage area are you talking? Cars are designed to handle pretty large temperature swings. Think -40F to +120F. I would assume the car will be stored at somewhere between +50 to +70F, in which case I think you may be over thinking this. The guy letting his car's ankle show likely has a lift in there to get up and over with the wood blocks.

The tender can go anywhere it fits and won't fall or rub. I go back and forth between my charger being on the floor or in the frunk depending on what's going on around the car.

[911obgyn]

Worst thing for a car in storage is critters.
They do make round tire ramp things to help prevent flatspots. If they leak that wont help.

[fallingat120mph]

I have stored 911's for years at a time moving around the globe. In fact, the one I am driving now, was stored for 1-2 years (at a time -over a 5-6 year period) with no issues other than flat spots on the tires, of course - it has 200,000 miles on it and one broken head stud. I drive it almost daily. I actually started another 911 after sitting for 3-4 years and yes there was smoke, but it ran and idled fine - no leaks, compression was good, fuel tank was fine (I might have posted a thread/video here to record when I started it)...you can search for long term start up procedures if you need to.

My German mechanic, in Germany, told me not to overthink it...easier said than done for some.

So...if it's just for the winter:

Fuel stabilizer (full tank).
Clean-ish oil.
I would pull the battery out and trickle charge it in the area if possible.
Tires over inflated a bit and yes, I would roll it a few feet or so, when you can...
and...yes, the critters.

Mouse prevention, best you can. I had a thread about a mouse that got somehow in my garage, in the car, and how shocked I was. I am in south Texas and generally not an issue in this area, insanely clean garage, well, taken care of yard (and landscaping) around said garage - so, if it can happen to me, it can happen up north.



Battery and tires might not be needed to worry about, come spring you might want new of each and start your own records of maintenance. Especially if the tires and battery have older date codes.



These engines and cars are tough and I have seen these driven in the hottest deserts and the coldest climates, year around. Our neighbors in Germany had one and drove it all year around, every year we lived there for 5 years. Washed it frequently for corrosion prevention, but still drove it all the time.

It was eye opening for me.

Honestly, changed my whole attitude towards ownership


Listen to the pros here, I am just one opinion. Hopefully, with the input, you can find a happy medium and make your own checklist/process...glad to see you aren't opposed to driving in the winter...heaters on mine are like blast furnaces.

Best of luck!
Erik

[dictoresno]

Originally Posted by AlBackus36

3-piece wheels have the tendency to leak. They can develop leaks over time through the split ring seam or through the valve stem if it's a multi-piece stem vs a rubber grommet type. Your old tires may have been leaking through one of these paths. It would be odd for all 4 to leak flat at such low mileage without another flaw present. My guess is the tech who put 4 new tires on has solved this leak issue.

Insulated from the concrete? Like the tires do? How cold of a storage area are you talking? Cars are designed to handle pretty large temperature swings. Think -40F to +120F. I would assume the car will be stored at somewhere between +50 to +70F, in which case I think you may be over thinking this. The guy letting his car's ankle show likely has a lift in there to get up and over with the wood blocks.

The tender can go anywhere it fits and won't fall or rub. I go back and forth between my charger being on the floor or in the frunk depending on what's going on around the car.

I wanted to insulate the tires from the cold concrete, not the car. My garage is detached and has no heat. It’s common for the garage in the winter to only be 5-10 degrees warmer than the outside air and sometimes it can get down into the teens on cold winter nights. After reading that cold concrete floors can more easily cause flat spotting on tires, I wanted to try to keep the car from sitting directly on the cold concrete floors and potentially ruing the tires.

I like the idea of putting wood under them so they aren’t directly on the cold concrete and I’ll just roll it back and forth each week.


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[nickelplated5s]

Mothballs to keep the critters out. I also use a dehumidifier rod for the interior. Any good sporting good shop carries those.

[Otter74]

Originally Posted by nickelplated5s

Mothballs to keep the critters out. I also use a dehumidifier rod for the interior. Any good sporting good shop carries those.

Never heard of dehumidifier rods until I read this and googled it. For a small volume I can understand, but is that going to do anything to a garage?

[AlBackus36]

OK, now we're talking. 5-10F deg is pretty cold. Being from NW I don't have experience with storing in that cold so maybe another user should help more. I'd love to hear stories.

I have used closet desiccant bags hung from the oh crap grips in other cars with good success. You can get 3 packs online. They fill up in about a month. This is a good idea for OP to keep interior dry. I've also experimented with a plug-in oil heater and dehumidifier. Not clear if you have power.

Listen to these guys about the critters if the garage isn't sealed.

[dictoresno]

Originally Posted by AlBackus36

OK, now we're talking. 5-10F deg is pretty cold. Being from NW I don't have experience with storing in that cold so maybe another user should help more. I'd love to hear stories.

I have used closet desiccant bags hung from the oh crap grips in other cars with good success. You can get 3 packs online. They fill up in about a month. This is a good idea for OP to keep interior dry. I've also experimented with a plug-in oil heater and dehumidifier. Not clear if you have power.

Listen to these guys about the critters if the garage isn't sealed.

Garage is pretty well sealed. It was recently remodeled, sealed better and drywalled with basic insulation. Most entry points are sealed up so I’m not too worried about critters. I’m always in and out of the garage so it’s not like it’s an old barn that’s semi abandoned for months and months.

I got some wood planks I’ll put the car on, and roll it every few days. Debating whether I should remove the battery from the car to keep it on a tender or keep it in. My dad never removed it so I guess that’s fine. Considering if I should just bring the battery inside the basement with heat to keep it tended so the cold doesn’t degrade the battery which is already 8 years old (but barely used) so it’s already on life support even though it works and charges fine. A new one will probably Be purchased in the spring.


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[blucille]

The past 3 winters they only salted my area of northern NJ 2-3 times with rain afterwards to wash away most of the nastiness. I drove 10-11 months of the year. Maybe this year we’ll get walloped. But I’m betting it won’t be too bad.

[dictoresno]

Originally Posted by blucille

The past 3 winters they only salted my area of northern NJ 2-3 times with rain afterwards to wash away most of the nastiness. I drove 10-11 months of the year. Maybe this year we’ll get walloped. But I’m betting it won’t be too bad.

Yea last winter here in north Jersey wasn’t that bad. But winter before that was worse with multiple weeks in a row of 10° weather.


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[nickelplated5s]

Originally Posted by Otter74

Never heard of dehumidifier rods until I read this and googled it. For a small volume I can understand, but is that going to do anything to a garage?

You put it in the car.