Winter care

[911GP]

Hello,

What is considered to be good practice for older cars during the winter months? I usually overfill the tyres, connect the battery charger and leave car alone until Spring but maybe this isn’t wise. Do you warm up the engine while standing or take it for a run regardless of winter and gritted roads etc.

Thanks
Gitesh

[Lightweight_911]

.

People have different 'regimes' but ...

Apart from pumping the tyres up to ~ 40psi, I don't do anything to any of my 'classics' prior to onset of (or over) winter.

When I first get a car I always fit a battery cut-off switch so never bother with trickle chargers & never have any problems with starting - & the battery on my Giulietta Sprint is 15+ yrs old ...


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[Sam]

Opinions vary, but I buy into the view that you should only start it if you’re going to drive it long enough to get the oil up to full temp and to burn off all the condensates. Like 30 mins or something. Obviously the underside will all then be covered in salt and grime and stuff that’ll need washing off if you don’t want it to corrode.

I enjoy a winter blast followed by a therapeutic pressure wash, but if you don’t then overfill the tyres, pop it on the charger and if you want to be super careful brim the tank so the fuel has less room to give off vapour and condense causing rust and going sludgey. Leave it til spring.

[neilbardsley]

I would be tempted to run on the starter motor for 10 seconds once a month without starting but I think a 20 mins drive in good weather is probably the best to stop everything ceasing?

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[hot66]

Opinions vary, but I buy into the view that you should only start it if you’re going to drive it long enough to get the oil up to full temp and to burn off all the condensates. Like 30 mins or something. Obviously the underside will all then be covered in salt and grime and stuff that’ll need washing off if you don’t want it to corrode.

I enjoy a winter blast followed by a therapeutic pressure wash, but if you don’t then overfill the tyres, pop it on the charger and if you want to be super careful brim the tank so the fuel has less room to give off vapour and condense causing rust and going sludgey. Leave it til spring.

This except I don’t drive if there is salt on the roads and I leave my tanks almost empty as had too many springs when I find the car drives like shite because the fuel has gone off

On a note of doing nothing …. My 964 in particular if not started over winter ends up with more oil leaks than it started with .

[Bruce M]

Leave alone in a nice dry garage with super unleaded in the tank. Disconnect or trickle the battery.

[911hillclimber]

Had my 73T with a 130K mile 3.2 in it for literally decades.
Car sleeps in an attached garage next to the race car. Unheated etc.

Every year, now 36 years on the road, car packed away in late Sept/October, charge the 2 batteries and disconnect from the car (detach earth leads). Wash and cover on when dry.

Blow the tyres to 38 ish psi all round.
The car is always on ethanol free fuel anyway, but I don't fill the tank or run it super low, so whatever level it is at in Sept stays there, but maybe 3 gallons. I do a lot of fabrication in the same garage, welding etc, so want to minimise the fuel in the tanks. The race car is totally drained for other reasons.

Come late March the car gets it's annual oil change and clean filter and the batteries connected and charged. They do not need much of a charge, 15 mins or so?

Add a gallon of fresh 99 octane Esso or Shell, turn the key, and off it goes on 6 cylinders (stock engine Bosch). The engine does it's usual lazy churn start, about 6 revs of the engine and fires, always does this.

Run until hot and check oil is 1/2 way max/min.
Take it for a 20 mile drive to check all is OK.
Wash and wax.

Do this routine ever year, no probs.

Might be a different story with a 2.4 engine mind...

[jb]

I drive it when there is no salt hopefully at least once a month.
If there was salt I wait until it has rained enough to get rid of it then drive when the roads are dry again
Drive at least half an hour and until the oil is up to temp
My view is that airflow is good for it and using it keeps it functional
A few tanks of fuel over the period stops the fuel going off too
Otherwise why have something you can’t use for three or four months

[Ian Comerford]

This is pretty much my regime too.

[misteralz]

I made a commitment to do what jb did last year, and it seemed much happier for it. I've never had a huge problem with oil leaks, but now James has said it, I think my cardboard sheet under the back end has been cleaner this past year...

[Nige]

As JB, I get out and use mine a decent days through winter, been applying Lanoguard for a couple years, smells a bit sheepy but seems to work.

Don't get much salt down these days as winters seem to be more wet than frosty.

[jury]

Drive 'em.....No salt on the roads here


but, I do keep the cars on a trickle chargers and also pump the tyres up to 40psi if I know I won't be going out in them for awhile.