cdubea

Like a lot of folks, I put my MY08 NFR S2000 under a cover and into the garage for the winter.

Now that spring is finally, well and fully here I'm thinking about what I should do maintenance wise before getting my car back on the road.

I did have to replace the battery. Some dumb bunny left an interior light on in the car and to say it was discharged was an understatement. I got it charged back up and it started the car, but a day later was discharged again so I figured I finally killed it. It was the original battery so I'm not complaining about a 9 year old battery.

Thanks!

Car Analogy

This is one of those areas were its what you do at the beginning, before storage, not the end, after.

Before storage:
Fill fuel tank. Add fuel stabilizer. Make sure you run the engine a bit so injectors have stabilized fuel. Leave top up, but unlatched. Get a battery tender, and leave it hooked up (it won't overcharge). If its near oil change time, change it before storage. Leave windows cracked open a bit, so moisture can escape. If any chance of rodents, plug tailpipes and airbox intake. Consider a car cover, but only put it on if car is clean. Soke like to put wax paper under wipers, so they don't stick to window.

Not a good idea at all to start car during storage. Don't worry about putting car on stands or overinflating tires to avoid flat spotting, unless you will be storing for much more than just several months.

Springtime, just unhook charger, top up air pressure, and drive.

Chuck S

Pretty much the same as above other than Honda recommends starting the car monthly and bringing the car up to full temperature. This eliminates internal moisture, etc. We all know engines experience their most wear on cold starts but three or four over the course of the winter is a lot less than daily start ups of daily driven cars during the same period.

I prob the wiper arms off the windsheld. The blades are off the windshield.

My car is off the ground during the winter to keep it out of any salt or slush brought into the garage by the other cars.

Spring? Put her back on the pavement and drive it.

-- Chuck

cdubea

Cool. I did proper storage prep in November. Fuel stabilizer, etc. So I should be good to go.

cheers

Chuck S

You'll be fine. Even LED interior lights will kill the battery over the course of several weeks and the parasitic draws of the radio memory, remote locks, and OEM alarm system will to it by themselves.

I see you're in Reston. No real winter there!

-- Chuck

Car Analogy

Starting a stored car creates moisture, not expels it. Moisture is a byproduct of combustion. You will create far more moisture from starting the car than it ever will see from sitting.

Its not just cold starts that cause wear, its running an engine while its cold. This is why they say to drive a car to warm it up, not just let it idle. It will warm up much faster driving it, so it will spend much less time running while cold.

So its a bad idea to start a car durimg storage. Pickle it, then don't touch it...