Hi,
I have a 2007 S2000 with 21K on the odometer. I store it for the winter after I change the oil (Mobil 1) and OEM Honda filter around late Oct. I store it with a full tank of gas and Stabil added to the gas. I also take the battery out and keep it topped off in my house with a charger. I take it out mid to late April the following year. This year due to a few surgeries, I will not be able to take the car out at all. Is it OK to just let it sit til the following spring or should I at least start it up this summer.
Thanks,
Ed

 

Don't start the car, wait until it's ready to use again, if your battery is nice and topped off, turn it over for about 4 seconds around 3x with the fuel pump fuse removed. That will allow the oil to cycle through, then put the fuse back in, prime the pump by cycling the key a few times and start it up no worries.

Your tires may develop flat spots or dry rot if left for extended periods.

 

^he pretty much covered it.

Make sure the car is parked in a good spot that's not overly wet or humid. Like...if its in a garage that you share with other cars...make sure there aren't puddles of melted salty snow sitting under your S2000. Eventually, it will evaporate and while most of the salt will stay on the ground, you'll still start to get rust. Not a bad idea to park it on top of a tarp.

Parking on the grass is bad. If you're parked outside, concrete is better.

 

Take steps to keep the rodents away.
Make sure the interior is clean, meaning no food crumbs, no paper, etc. Empty the stuff out of the console, out from under the seats, in the trunk, etc.

 

After you pour the fuel stabilizer in the tank, you want to get into whole fuel system and injectors. Adding the stabilizer at the gas station when you fill it up is a good idea, so drive home circulates it.

Also, top up, unlatched, windows just cracked open.

 

Page 171 of your 2007 owner's manual describes the procedure. Several exceptions to the advice above including putting the vehicle on jack stands, parking brake off and gearbox in reverse, and starting the engine and doing a full warm-up once a month but that's only Honda's advice so can be ignored -- what would they know about this car?

-- Chuck

 

I keep these around the garage.

Electronic Rat Traps.

 

If using jack stands put them under the control arms, you don't want your control arms dangling in the air for months.

If gasoline companies know their fuel goes bad why doesn't it come with stabilizer already in it?

 

Lets examine why Honda may have given this advice. If cars battery goes dead during storage, they would face warranty issues with batteries (back when hese cars were new). Upset customers. Maybe even charge back for towing to dealership.

They could have recommended using a battery charger. But then undoubtedly some idiot would damage their battery, cause battery acid to spill over, maybe even blindness from acid in eyes. They definitely don't want to deal with that liability.

The safest thing for Honda would be to tell customers is to start their car once a month. That would safely keep the battery charged, and keep Honda from any excess liability. Who cares if its not the best thing for the engine, so long as it isn't so bad it causes issues during warranty period.

The engineers win sometimes, but the bean counters and lawyers win more.

Most everyone on this forum is not the target audience those lawyers were worried about. We can be relied on to choose an appropriate battery charger and hook it up safely.

Removing fuel pump fuse while engine running, and letting it die when it runs out of fuel, then once a month cranking engine over for like 20 sec would be fine. This would circulate oil, yet not add any moisture and other cold combustion byproducts to the engine, the oil, the exhaust, etc.

But that is overkill.