❔ QUESTION Nighty night! To do list for hibernation and winter storage

[Kimmax]

It's getting cold out there...

Time to plan for some winter hibernation of our beloved Emiras 💤
How do you go about this?
Things I've planned:

1. Oil+filter change beforehand + Service is due so that too
2. Clean it like there's no tomorrow
3. 3-3.5bar pressure on the tires
4. Remove the battery, and keep it on trickle charge. If able leave the battery in place and use a conditioner.
5. A little salt or those gel things on the inside to collect humidity. Optimally run a dehumidifier in the garage.
6. About 1/4 FULL fuel tank plus good quality stabilizer
7. In neutral, no parking brake, wheels choked
8. Notice inside to adjust the pressure when waking
9. Car cover
10. Move the car a few cm each month by hand
11. Mousetraps all around
12. Only start the car if you plan on running it for a good amount
13. After starting don't rev it. Let it IDLE. Turn on the AC and let it run for at least 2 minutes to ensure everything gets lubricated. *No revs before doing that*

Anything else practical to add?

I'm not sure about where to store the car... My usual garage will stay above 5°C all year. But that spot is very convenient for me. The alternative is a nonheated garage with a vent, so I assume this will go sub 0°C. Not sure if it's a good idea to store the Emira there, given the fact it doesn't like water or humidity anyway

 

[d15b7]

I’ll add a couple things (this in not Emira specific it’s what I do with my other toy cars):

1. I always run a dehumidifier in the garage (my garage doesn’t go below freezing)
2. I put lots of commercial mouse bait traps near my cars
3. I always fill the gas tank full to prevent condensation and treat with Stabil

 

[NicolasB]

Definitely fill gas tank and then add a high quality stabilizer. If the tank is 3/4 empty, that is a lot of exposed sidewalls of the tank where there's the possibility that condensation can form, versus a full tank where there is very little area for it to condense. I would leave the battery in the car with the trickle charger on it so that everything is kept active instead of a fall restart when you get back to it. Also, from hours of reading about this, I would not start the car until you are ready to actually go out and drive it and run all of the moisture and everything else out of the engine.

 

[Rainier]

This is the proper winter preparation for a Lotus

 

[Kimmax]

I’ll add a couple things (this in not Emira specific it’s what I do with my other toy cars):

1. I always run a dehumidifier in the garage (my garage doesn’t go below freezing)
2. I put lots of commercial mouse bait traps near my cars
3. I always fill the gas tank full to prevent condensation and treat with Stabil

Definitely fill gas tank and then add a high quality stabilizer. If the tank is 3/4 empty, that is a lot of exposed sidewalls of the tank where there's the possibility that condensation can form, versus a full tank where there is very little area for it to condense. I would leave the battery in the car with the trickle charger on it so that everything is kept active instead of a fall restart when you get back to it. Also, from hours of reading about this, I would not start the car until you are ready to actually go out and drive it and run all of the moisture and everything else out of the engine.

Good points thanks!
I think I read about the 1/4 rule somewhere, guess I was wrong
Mousetraps are a very good point. Sadly no power in either garage, so leaving the battery in place or a dehumidifier is no option
I’ve updated the top post to keep it up to date

 

[EyeFour Eemeerah!]

I would definitely not let it get anywhere near zero, OR take the wheels/tires off and keep them warm. Summer tires which are allowed to freeze will deteriorate even if not driven on them in the cold.

 

[TomE]

Good question and good advice.

If you’re worried about condensation, cold, rodents then maybe consider one of the fully enclosed bubbles. Most let you over-pressurise and seal them, so they keep everything out. A few silica gel or similar dehumidifying bags inside will absorb any moisture going in.

 

[CHEESE]

I've been wondering about storing cars in cold temps. I know there are other variables, like humidity, but would it make any sense to keep temps above freezing? My Emira will be stored in a 2-car, stand-alone garage. I'm thinking about using an electric radiant heater to keep the temps somewhere between 40 and 50 degrees. The garage is insulated pretty well.

 

[robrmon]

My winter preparation will be:
Store it in a bubble on a tender and drive it any day it’s over 45 degrees Fahrenheit/7 Celsius

 

[Green]

Good points thanks!
I think I read about the 1/4 rule somewhere, guess I was wrong
Mousetraps are a very good point. Sadly no power in either garage, so leaving the battery in place or a dehumidifier is no option
I’ve updated the top post to keep it up to date

Rodents are probably the biggest hazard. I had a new car in storage and a mouse climbed on top of the fuel tank to make a nest. Over the winter it chewed the wires to the fuel gauge etc.. I now put steel wool in the exhaust Pipe. Rodents hate mint. you can buy mint rodent deterrent spray. I spray the deterrent all around the car on the garage floor. Bonus the garage smells minty fresh,

 

[VL3X]

Some good tips here. I didn't know about keeping the gas tank full. In my mind, I always think of mowers and how you should run them dry before storing and avoid running old fuel through.

Anyway, I just came home from a hiking trip in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and found evidence of a mouse living in my GTI's engine bay. Thankfully it didn't make it's way in through the cabin filter, but it did destroy my battery cover and left some nuts in my intake heat shield. I guess this sort of thing happens when you park outside and it starts getting cold out. I wish I had a 2 car garage, but sadly the GTI got kicked out when I got the Evora GT.

I spent a lot of time today cleaning and getting the garage ready for winter. Laid out new glue traps in the corners, cleaned everything really well, sprayed insecticide, then went out and got some peppermint essential oils. Mixed that with some water in a spray bottle and lightly sprayed my GTI's engine bay and all around my garage. Hopefully this keeps the critters away from the Evora at least. I haven't had any issues inside the garage in the past 5 years I've lived here, other than the sticky traps catching spiders and a small mouse one time. I'd be devastated if a mouse got into the Evora. Guess I'll just need to drive it as much as possible this winter. As long as there's no salt on the ground, I'll be taking her out at least once a week!

 

[TomE]

When my older daughter was little, she grew sunflowers one summer and wanted to keep one of the flower heads to plant the seeds the following year. We kept the whole head in the garage to dry out and mysteriously the seeds all disappeared over a few weeks.

When I started up my Elan in the spring, I got a face full of sunflower seed husks out of the air vents.

Mice had taken the seeds into their winter nest in the ventilation intake. Thankfully the seeds had kept them well fed and they didn’t start eating the wiring!
🐭🌻

 

[TomAce]

When I came back from my trip to South-Tyrol last week I took off all wheels and gave them a thorough wash, especially the rim well.

I use SONAX Ceramic active shampoo for this and my hope is that cleaning will become much more effortless in future.

 

[John777]

I would definitely not let it get anywhere near zero, OR take the wheels/tires off and keep them warm. Summer tires which are allowed to freeze will deteriorate even if not driven on them in the cold.

Just buy new summer tires every year. Problem solved. Burnouts baby.

 

[mforde]

I just ran across this post, as I've always just had the one daily driver regardless of weather, so I never thought about putting the car in storage for winter. I live in Northern California, it rarely gets below 40 degrees F / 4 degrees C, and even then, not for long. The Emira will be my first "special" car, and I plan on driving it as much as possible. During the the rainy, colder months though, I planned on just parking it in the garage, and just taking it out when the sun peaks out. I was looking at the list, and I really liked the mint spray and mouse traps, as we live close the hills and I've already caught a mouse in the garage. A couple of questions for the group, as I'm a complete novice to winterizing your car. Do you think I would need a dehumidifier for the garage? If I'll be parking it for maybe a couple of weeks at a time before taking it for a spin, depending on the weather, do you suggest disconnecting the battery during those weeks? Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[TomE]

If you’ve got OK ventilation in your garage, temperatures above freezing and low to moderate humidity then you shouldn’t need a dehumidifier. Try to avoid parking it up for long periods if it’s just been out in rain, but not usually a problem. The handbrake pads can sometimes stick to the rotor in that situation, so you could use an air blower to dry the brakes.

If you’re leaving it for 2+ weeks then a battery conditioner is a good idea.

 

[EspritGuy]

Rodents are probably the biggest hazard. I had a new car in storage and a mouse climbed on top of the fuel tank to make a nest. Over the winter it chewed the wires to the fuel gauge etc.. I now put steel wool in the exhaust Pipe. Rodents hate mint. you can buy mint rodent deterrent spray. I spray the deterrent all around the car on the garage floor. Bonus the garage smells minty fresh,

I imagine also in Mint Condition.
Might there be a tie to your screen name?

 

[VL3X]

Anyway, I just came home from a hiking trip in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and found evidence of a mouse living in my GTI's engine bay. Thankfully it didn't make it's way in through the cabin filter, but it did destroy my battery cover and left some nuts in my intake heat shield. I guess this sort of thing happens when you park outside and it starts getting cold out. I wish I had a 2 car garage, but sadly the GTI got kicked out when I got the Evora GT.

Welp, solved the mouse problem in my GTI (for now). I had various traps laid out, including a glue trap on top of the engine cover. Sure enough, yesterday morning I pop the hood to check and the trap is gone! I found it down near my radiator stuck to one of the hoses with this little guy hanging dead from it. Looks like he got fried trying to chew free and bit into the rad temp sensor. 🙄 I'm just happy I was able to shrink wrap and repair the sensor wiring (and it didn't happen to the Lotus!).

 

[Yas.totti10]

It's getting cold out there...

Time to plan for some winter hibernation of our beloved Emiras 💤
How do you go about this?
Things I've planned:

1. Oil+filter change beforehand + Service is due so that too
2. Clean it like there's no tomorrow
3. 3-3.5bar pressure on the tires
4. Remove the battery, and keep it on trickle charge. If able leave the battery in place and use a conditioner.
5. A little salt or those gel things on the inside to collect humidity. Optimally run a dehumidifier in the garage.
6. About 1/4 FULL fuel tank plus good quality stabilizer
7. In neutral, no parking brake, wheels choked
8. Notice inside to adjust the pressure when waking
9. Car cover
10. Move the car a few cm each month by hand
11. Mousetraps all around
12. Only start the car if you plan on running it for a good amount
13. After starting don't rev it. Let it IDLE. Turn on the AC and let it run for at least 2 minutes to ensure everything gets lubricated. *No revs before doing that*

Anything else practical to add?

I'm not sure about where to store the car... My usual garage will stay above 5°C all year. But that spot is very convenient for me. The alternative is a nonheated garage with a vent, so I assume this will go sub 0°C. Not sure if it's a good idea to store the Emira there, given the fact it doesn't like water or humidity anyway

Fantastic advice!

I think I will be driving mine every 2 weeks everytime the weather is dry.

 

[mforde]

If you’ve got OK ventilation in your garage, temperatures above freezing and low to moderate humidity then you shouldn’t need a dehumidifier. Try to avoid parking it up for long periods if it’s just been out in rain, but not usually a problem. The handbrake pads can sometimes stick to the rotor in that situation, so you could use an air blower to dry the brakes.

If you’re leaving it for 2+ weeks then a battery conditioner is a good idea.

Thanks every so much TomE.