Putting Talon Away for Winter

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to see if there's any advice for me.

Putting her away for the winter to sleep.
Wakey Wakey in May 2019.

I have no garage, so an open driveway.

Any words of wisdom to avoid unpleasantness next year?
Should I be turning her on every now and then?
Cover her up?
Drive up and down the driveway?
Will be going Fire and Theft for insurance.

Appreciate anything.
Am I needlessly worrying?

Any words of wisdom to avoid unpleasantness next year?
Storage tires or ever inflate a bit so you dont have issues with flat spots
Fill the tank to the top or throw stabilizer in if you like.

Should I be turning her on every now and then?
NO!!!! Unless your going to take her out for a drive and completesy warm it up don't bother starting it.
If you start the car and just sit there then the car may not get fully to operating temperature and this could create condensation in the block.

Cover her up?
I personally would but I guess that's on you on how nice your paint is or if drainage is working perfectly.

Drive up and down the driveway?
Covered by other questions

Toss a ton of dryer sheets all around the interior, trunk, engine bay, etc. That should keep any rodents from trying to setup shop inside the car.

This, also buy a set of wheel/tire covers like these - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T36CCD0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - to help keep your brakes/calipers from getting all rusty and seized up. Take out the battery and put it on a trickle charger in your basement/other similar place. Make sure before you park her you put in fuel stabilizer and fill her to the top with fuel, then let the engine run/drive around for at least 5 minutes. The stabilizer isn't necessary, but it certainly helps. Make sure tires are a little over-inflated (mid-high 30's should do the trick on stock-size wheels).

Wouldn't bother with covering the car up unless you get a good, outdoor-rated car cover. Would be more concerned with covering the car up if it were summer with the long, long, hot days.

I take the battery out and charge it fully, then place it on a wood plank in the garage. As long as it’s fully charged it should be OK in the freeze, and then charge it again in the spring. Keeping it off the concrete is important for physics that I don’t understand

Leave e-brake off!

If it's going to stay outside, I would park it away from trees or anything that could potentially fall on it in the event of an ice storm or whatever, uncovered. I've seen cheap car covers just destroy paint from the wind whipping it around over time.

Either charge the battery full and put a tender on it or pull it completely and keep it in a cool dry place topped off.

Some people say to top off the fuel before storing it, saying if not moisture will form in the tank. I don't, I prefer to have the tank pretty much empty so I'm not stuck with 14 gallons of old stale gas in the spring and if it's a 2g awd, it's a plastic tank so no worries of moisture rusting it out. I've never had any issue in 10 years like this.

You don't got to do anything special at ALL. I never heard of stale gas in 6 months lmfao, unless of course your using sh!t gas or you have a leak in the tank to begin with.

Fill her up or not, no need for stabilizer imo. Take the battery out and keep it in a warm place thats all you need to do.

I've been doing this since the 1990s, I would even leave the car for 2 years with the same fuel and go bang 10 second passes off on the same fuel in spring , and this was over 10 years ago....

If stuff is going wrong in 6 months of sitting, there are probably other issues with the car

Maybe spray the rotors with some wd40 and throw a car cover on it, that's all If fuel stabilizer makes you sleep better, just get a gallon jug of methanol, it's the same thing and cheaper....

lmfao. Spray your rotors with wd40? That's one of the dumbest thing I have ever heard.

Its because he's storing it outside LMFAO, if you used your brain you might realize his rotors will be rusting over the winter. Spraying them down with WD40 and cleaning it up with brake cleaner in the spring will ensure his rotors and pads are not garbage. Don't you run a little tiny shop up North? Surprised young chaps like you didn't know simple common sense things like that. Nobody should definitely be taking your advise on anything if that is the first time you EVER heard of that LMFAO.... Let me guess if you stored it outside your shop for him, you'd probably be charging him for new brakes and pads in the spring right ? The stuff I read on the internet, gets more and more stupid everyday. You definitely have ZERO experience storing a car outside in the winter. First time/winter in Canada I'm guessing, LOL ? I'm guessing you didn't even read the OP first post and just jumped in here because you wanted to quickly reply to my post? That was pretty friggen weak though, I'll give you a -1 for that

Even a car sitting 6 months throughout the summer gets rusted rotors and pads. Winter is coming up, its gonna get worst. I have several cars that I do this to every winter. Its called EXPERIENCE

Lmfao. wd40 is a solvent/lubricant that is hygroscopic, ya it's great to put on your brakes

I am no scientist or mechanic, but I am a tool and die maker, and when I had my own shop, when I finished machining a fussy piece of steel or an assembly, I always sprayed it with WD40 so it would not rust before I delivered it. I could see not wanting to get it on the pads, but I DO believe it would protect the rotors from rusting

Just an FYI your rotors are much less likely to rust being left out in the freezing winter than they are if you left the car inside a warm garage all winter. If you do decide to spray WD40 on your rotors use brake cleaner on them before driving the car in the spring. If you're going to put your battery on a charger make sure it's a float charger. Do not use one of the cheap trickle chargers. It will likely cause more damage to your battery.

As far as wd40 for your brakes.. Spray wd40 on a bike chain.. And don't put any other oil or lubricant on it.. It will rust faster then if you did not put wd40 on it. I read years ago that Wd40, strips metals of oils and other lubricants.. And will cause it to rust faster. Since then I've replaced all my cans of wd40 with pb blaster... And ALL4. With noticeable results. Altho I have never considered spraying my rotors.

Wd40 even released a special wd40 for rust prevention.

That is my opinion on wd40


As far as winterizing.. My Talon.. I put my tires and battery in the basement.. The car on jack stands. I start the car in the spring and change the oil right after to get rid of any condensation.. And I don't do any real serious pulls till I put a fresh tank of gas in. I also sprinkle cloves into the carpets for the mice. And this year I may wrap the motor in a blanket to stop the mister from rusting my metal bits.

Wd40 works for me and all shops next to me who are all licensed mechanic. You don't even need to use brake cleaner in the spring. It generally dries up enough and your safe to start driving. Been doing this for decades

On the other hand the cars in the lot that don't have this done need new rotors and pads. Our lot can fit about 40+ plus cars.... Yes we know thing or two about making cars last forever and keeping them driving year after year.

My DSM has 425,000km on it. Lol I must know a thing or two about keeping them preserved Also most parts that come out of my industrial hot tank parts washer get a coat of wd40 because it prevents rust. All my machinists do it when they machine my parts too. It's funny reading some above posts, I'm almost wondering what these guys been using there whole lives.

Anyone else here have a DSM for 20+ years and over 400k still running or did they all die to rust lmfao ?

On a side note Corte, I just finished building up a 2g DSM that you and your brother blew up twice and the customer never got to take home.. He finally brought it to me, we built the motor, trans, its up and running 100% now and he's enjoying the car...The amount I had to unhack in this DSM was incredible. Your work hands down proves some of the things you say lol.

Meh.. Just spoke to a few others who agree with my theory on wd40.. Including one who is a university engineer.. And started nodding his head as soon as I started explaining it.

Maybe you got lucky.. I've seen first hand bike chains rusting with wd40.

I ain't touching it.

Anyway.. Steve.. Take my info as you want.. I'm just adding my experience.. Not here to start a war

Just want to hang out and be freinds.

This makes sense to me:
http://bicycletutor.com/no-wd40-bike-chain

So on a stationary part (for a time), and if cleaned up properly after, what’s the problem?

Interesting. Ya everything I been reading is all from random people having different results. I won't put it on my rotors. Or my tools. Anything I want to do inhibit the rust I use that chain oil that Mike sold me. But as far as rotors. Mine stay dry and any rust on them after the winter.. is usually no more than what happens sitting out side for a few days after it rains.