winter storage

just wandering how many of you guys take your challengers off the road for the winter.if so change your oil before or after, and gas how much do you leave in the tank.my insurance runs out in november and I'm not going to reinsure it till april, it will be covered in a non heated underground parking.anything else i should do

 

I always change the oil prior to winter to get rid of any acidic contaminants. I add Sta-Bil and fill the tank to eliminate the possibility of condensation forming in the tank. I also give it a good cleaning and wax, top up other fluids, check tire pressure. I usually decide on any projects I want to do and get the parts on order....this was usually donee on older vehicles needing work, no so much now. I plan to do the active exhaust delete this winter. I have a Quickjack lift so I will probably leave the car up on it most of the winter.
I hope you keep fire and theft insurance on your car, I wouldn’t want to take that risk.

Edit; after reading Katshot’s post...I connect my battery tender to it as well.

 

For many years I dealt with winter the same way as many people, change the oil and detail my car in the fall and then tuck my baby away for the winter hooked up to a battery tender. When I moved to Florida, I assumed all my long-term storage concerns were over but not so much. Down here you don't have to worry about snow and sub-freezing temps but there IS a concern that's potentially worse. Mold, mildew and salt air. Everybody loves the beautiful tropical landscape down here but they forget that it takes a lot of water to support it. We get a lot of rain and it tends to be rather humid down here. Couple that with the fact that especially during the winter months you can get wide swings in temperatures from night to day which creates a lot of condensation in garages and you have a perfect storm for mold, mildew and corrosion. This was a real concern for me when we were only part-time residents down here so I had to leave my car windows open and run fans in the garage. Luckily now that we're full-time residents, it's not so bad.
Oh, one point I wanted to comment on was the myth about condensation in your gas tank. The only way you're getting water in your fuel tank is if it gets pumped in there from a fuel stop. Your fuel tank simply cannot create condensation inside it due to the fact that it is a closed vessel containing a liquid with a vapor pressure that makes it impossible for outside air to enter the vessel. This is the main reason why you can safely operate an electric fuel pump submerged in gasoline. Without air in the tank, there is insufficient oxygen to support combustion. Since condensation is caused by water vapor in the air being cooled and turning to a liquid, if there's no air, there's no water vapor.

 

I've pretty much followed 2017 Redline HC's to do list including a battery tender if you can plug one in. Otherwise disconnect the battery, it'll have to re-learn all the sensor settings, etc. when you start it back up.
Some guys take the battery home and keep it charged on a shelf so its ready for spring.

Just a couple other hints you may want to follow:
1. I use Stabil 360 vs. using their regular red stuff. It give better overall protection while the car's in storage. Compare the labels to see what I mean. Use something, you don't want to run on 6 month old gas in the spring.
2. Assuming you park on concrete, try to put a plastic tarp under the car. It'll help keep the condensation from the ground from attacking the underside.
3. Throw a few dessicant bags in the interior, one in the trunk to absorb moisture. You can get them at most grocery stores or online at Auto Geek, Griot's, etc.
4. I have never done this with any of my cars but some guys will put the car on jack stands or purchase curved blocks to set the tire on to avoid "flat spots" on the tires from sitting all winter. I've never had a problem but have not used performance summer tires. Mine have always been all season tires - not sure if that makes a difference.
Good luck, enjoy driving your car while you can, I am!

 

Tire "flat-spotting" is annoying but luckily in all but rare cases is a temporary condition. Fortunately, I've never experienced a case where they were permanent. You can definitely eliminate the possibility of it happening by raising the car off the ground and leaving it on jack stands. There are also several curved blocks available that can be placed under the tires. You can also do what the OEM's do; over inflate the tires. When the cars leave the factory, they inflate the tires to their max pressure (usually about 50psi) which helps reduce the likelihood of flat spots while they sit for long periods of time before being sold. Dealerships are supposed to reduce the tire pressure once they take possession of the cars but all too often I've found cars on the lot and even being delivered to customers with tires still heavily over inflated.

 

I usually park mine on Nov 1st or the first road salting (Northern IL), whichever comes first. I park it in my garage. The temp in the garage is always set for 65*. I drive it into the garage with no oil change, no cover, and put a smart charger on the battery. After March 1st once the road salt is all gone I will get it back out and take it for an oil change, check all fluid levels, and change the diff lube. It is the only oil change it will get all year so I use good oil and filter (I only put 3000-4000 miles on the car each year). I have stored the car like this every winter since new and when the original engine was pulled and torn down at 5 years old and 38000 miles it looked fantastic.

 

I like putting mine away with new fluids. There can be contaminants in the oil from combustion or condensation that I’d rather not leave in there all winter. I’m the same, first sign of snow or ice coming, I take it for a good ride, bring it home and get her up on the lift and let it drain over night or until O get to putting new fluid in. I usually will start it up to get the new oil distributed around the motor.
I usually put a cover on mine to keep the grand kids away.....

 

For years all my "fun" cars got a complete service (including raising tire pressures to 50psi) and detail in the Fall just before hibernation. In the Spring I'd drop the tire pressures and they were ready for fun! Down here I no longer have to worry about that.

 

Oh ya...well you cant build a snow fort anymore!!!!

 

I'll try to live with that!