I feel like this topic has probably been re-hashed many times but I am only finding snippets of information so I apologize ahead of time for asking again. As winter approaches I was planning on storing the S2k covered in my garage from Thanksgiving until April. I have seen some state that they start it once a month and let it run 30 minutes and others say they just let it sit all winter - it sounds like either approach is fine from what I am seeing?

Secondly, I am torn between ethanol vs non-ethanol gas. If I had 91 non-ethanol near me, I wouldn't think much of it, but the highest octane non-ethanol gas around me is only 90 octane. I wouldn't be pushing the car with 90 octane in it, but is it better to store 90 octane non-ethanol, 93 octane with ethanol, or 93 octane with ethanol and stabilizer (e.g. Amsoil quickshot or ethanol stabilizer)? The car is only going to be driven about 500-700 miles a year, so even in the spring that 'old' tank of gas probably won't be through the car until the summer.

 

Do not start the car up during storage, only start when you're going to drive it again. Put it on a trickle charger and leave it be.

I store mine every winter, I just fill it up with premium and it's ready to go in the spring.

 

Thanks Sam, do you bother with non-ethanol gas or stabilizer?

 

Putting my car (BRZ) away this coming weekend and I have a bottle of Redline Fuel System Cleaner in the tank, good cleaning product and an upper cylinder lube. No need for stabilizer. I put a couple extra lbs of air in the tires and they sit on foam pads (those interlocking pads you use in playrooms), fresh oil before storage to get acids out of the engine. That's about it for me.

 

Put it away. Put a battery tender on it. Don't start it until you want to drive it again. This reduces the amount of dry starts and also greatly reduces the chances of moisture buildup in the oil, which leads to pitted cams and other internal rust.

Do an oil prime when you do start it up in the spring. Unplug the ECU fuse and crank the starter for 5-10 seconds at a time until the oil pressure light goes away.

Don't worry about the gas. You don't need ethanol stabilizer for like 4 or 5 months of storage, once a year, on the typical E10 gas. Its important to note that pump gas has *up to* 10% ethanol. So...could be 0...or up to 10.

 

Been there, done that.

Throw some Sta-Bil in the tank and drive around a bit, then top off the fuel tank. Wash it. Park it. Cover it. Put a battery minder on it. Put a reminder on the seat so you don't drive away with it connected.
Relax till you drive again.

 

High test non ethanol gas only for me. Extra air in the tires, good coat of wax, detail the interior, lube up all the many seals with Shin Etsu grease, treat the leather surfaces with your product of choice, change the oil, treat the top, clean the glass. The S2000 sits in a heated garage all winter. I use an OEM cover, but it's good to have it off sometimes to brighten up the scenery, on a cold blustery winter day.

I used to try and not start the car during the winter. I'd wait till spring, pull the # 46 PGM-FI main relay fuse, and give the starter a few short cranks followed by a couple of longer cranks till the oil light went out. Then replace the fuse and fire her up. Did this for years, then I read somewhere that this is not what you should do. The reasoning given is that you are just moving the pistons in dry cylinders which causes wear, and you are better off starting normally, and get the oil circulating quicker. I would be interested to know which method is indeed the proper practice.

The problem for me with not starting the car during off season, is If I want to move it to the detailing bay or hoist, I'm not going to push it around in the snow. This means it will get started. I would like a definitive answer to my issue as to just start it normally, or continue to pull the fuse.

 

Storage is covered in detail in your owner's manual. Those recommending not starting the car (preferably monthly) have apparently not read their owner's manual.

Check with your insurance company. I used to remove liability insurance for the storage period as the car did not leave my garage.

-- Chuck

 

This is misguided. IMO, manual only says start during storage to avoid liability of telling people to use a trickle charger, and blowing up battery bc they did it wrong, or used wrong charger (that doesn't ever shut off, overcharges, battery explodes). Best case, acid damage liability. Worst case, face burned and blindness liability.

Better to sacrifice some engine longevity to avoid this liability. Its simply a really bad idea to start a car and not drive it.

Like B said, moisture, rust. Exhaust. Cams. Etc. But also, more engine wear. Most wear occurs when oil not up to operating temp. Slowest way to warm oil, idle. Second slowest, holding revs with no load.

So entire time you're running engine in storage, you're causing excess wear. No big deal for a car you keep for 5-10 years, 100k-150k miles, which owners manual would logically assume for vast majority of car owners. But many current owners plan to keep these cars forever. So this does matter.

Not everything in owners manual was written by engineers. Some of it was written by lawyers and bean counters. Use your judgement to discern which is which.

 

Maybe, maybe not but then they also read the weather report. Running your car for 20 minutes in the winter or rain storm is great unless you want the exhaust gases to kill the mice in the walls of the garage.