Page 20 - KCRPCA Nov Dec 2018

TECH ARTICLE
20
Nov / Dec 2018
Karl Wilen
and for many, putting the car away for the winter. So this brings up the ques- tion; do you store the Porsche for the winter, do you drive it on nice days only, do you start it up once every two weeks? Hopefully, I can give you some pointers on what is best for your car.
Storing Your Car
If you are planning on storing the car un- til spring and not bringing it out for those occasional 50 degree January days, then it is pretty straight forward.
1. Wash and clean the car, inside and out. Put on a good coat of wax, have your ceramic coating done, etc. Make sure to clean your wheels well to prevent any brake dust pitting in the face of your wheels.
2. Not only should you clean your car, but you should clean your garage as well. Sweep it out, wash the floor, and make sure the car has a nice dry facility for the winter to prevent any corrosion from setting in.
3. Change the oil; top up all your fluid levels.
4. Overinflate the tires 10-15psi. There are also some companies such as Race Ramps that make tire cradles to help keep your tires from flat spotting with extended sitting.
are many available products for this pur- pose.
6. Put the car in gear and do not set the parking brake. If there is any mois- ture in your garage, the parking brake may get stuck over time.
7. Keep the windows cracked 1/8- 1/4” to keep pressure off the seals, and to allow a slight amount of airflow to prevent condensation.
8. Soap....dryer-sheets.....moth- balls.....remember if it’s too cold outside for you, it’s too cold outside for mice too. They will naturally find their way into garages, the dog food bag, then your engine bay, or cabin filter, etc to make a nice warm nest for the winter. Do any- thing you can do to prevent those furry little friends from making a nest....like get a cat.
9. A good quality indoor car cover.
10. Install your battery maintainer to keep the battery from going flat over the winter.
11. Don’t start it. If you don’t plan on driving it, just let it sit and fire it up once in the spring when you take it out of storage. Idling is not good for modern day engines, period, nor are an extended number of cold starts where it takes time for hydraulic components to fill with oil, etc.
Photo by Jim Rand
Storage and Winter Driving
WAINTER IS COMING
s the Midwest fall sets in, it is 5. Top off the gas tank, adding fuel only a matter of time until winter additive/stabilizer before you fill the is here. This means cold days, tank to allow a good mixing. I prefer
salt/sandy roads depending on weather, Driven’s Defender + Booster, but there