Putting the Z to bed for the winter :(
 

Well.. it is that time of the year again in Minnesota.. time for the Z to go to sleep until March/April. Hooked up the battery tender and going to throw the cover on it tomorrow.

Very sad day for me :( as much as I love Minnesota, I do sometimes wish that I lived in a state where I could drive the Z year round haha!

Texas has great weather and plenty of room :)

And to think that my wife uses a Z for her winter beater ...

Same with California :-)

Yeah but we have water.

Edit: and great beer.

:iagree:

I'm pretty sure California is about to fall off into the ocean :twocents:

:icon17:

El Niño sapposed to change that this year :-)

Hoping to squeeze a couple more weeks out of it here in southern MN..

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I'm gonna take mine for one last road trip next weekend in ND then it's time for hibernation as well.

My Z also goes in to hibernation over the winter months, we get crappy weather most of the year in the uk:(

Mine has been parked lately; due to the excessive rain in SC,,, but really enjoy driving the ~Z~ in that dense-cold December,January air!

the only days i dont drive Z is when its raining here in CA. you know where this is going:icon17:

I'm usually done for the season by now, but we have been having some freakishly warm weather here in northeast Pa. I'm OK with it, though!

It's been warm here in Chicago as well. I usually don't put the Z away completely in the winter. I leave a battery tender on it most of the time, but when the roads are clear I still go for a drive from time to time. Glad to have an old Avalon for a winter car...wish it was a stick though. I think I miss rowing my own gears more than anything.

Here in the middle of Minnesota I'll be driving my Z until the first snowfall, then switch to the 4x4. The Z does OK on cold roads, but it's just not driveable in even the lightest snow without snow tires. Even with snow tires it's a pig to drive, so I don't want to waste the money on tires and rims just to have transportation. I bought the car because it's fun to drive. It's not fun to drive in the winter. The truck is.


.

I just put all my toys away for winter . Sad time indeed!

Sheesh time to re-locate :-)

You don't have any winter toys?

Next week is the last week for me too. My tires are bald so they are good and ready to get some flat spots.

tentatively i'm aiming for nov 22.... i'm up in toronto ontario canadia.

got all the things ready for storage though just need to wash the car, drive down the gas and refill with some stabil, over inflate the tires, reconnect my tender and cholk the tires. oh and plug the pipes.

then stare at her for about an hour with a slow tear rolling down my cheek as i wait for 5 months patiently to unleash her on the asphalt again.

In PENNSYLVANIA it should be that time again...

EXCEPT the weather has been Freakishly NICE...:confused:

SOOOO I keep cleaning the crap out of it / putting the cover on

AND then take it for "One Last Ride" for the year....:driving:

Kinda the opposite here in Cali. I think winter it's the best weather to drive the Z, as long as it's not raining tho. Summer's here are just way too hot to enjoy it to the fullest since you have to have AC on most of the time.

i remember canyon carving my ride in the LA winter mornings ending up in DENSE fog often.. :ugh: :D

i took my car out there between 7am-9am, bailed before the weekend rush hour.. wasnt THAT hot in the summer.

then in the pm headed to orange county to practice my RC car driving at the tracks...

.. then got married and..


still motoring :icon17: wheew..

Does anyone have an official 'winter storage' checklist? I have never really stored any of my previous vehicles bit the Z will be the first. Being an avid downhill skier, I always look forward to the winter. This year, not so much. :icon17:

I thought you lived here in LA.

you can search the forum but because you're also from the glorious motherland of canadia i'll make it for you.

1) oil change (debatable but most do it before storage) - some do it before and after, some do it before then drive, others wait until new season. i'm in the middle. i do it, drive it a bit out of storage and when convenient (before 5000km) oil change

2) fuel stabilzer - drive your tank to 1/4 tank. add in the small bottle of STABIL (treats 70L), top up your tank and drive a few clicks to make sure it's nice and mixed into the lines

3) wash and detail your car - varying degree. if you're going to have a car cover take it out for a rip to make sure the water gets wooshed away

4) plug your tailpipes with some wire gauze (inside or outside storage for varying reasons)

5) over inflate your tires to prevent 'squaring' - or use wheel savers or whatever. i just over inflated mine with no issue. 45psi at that.

6) open a box of baking soda and place it somewhere visible so you don't knock it over and deal with that mess after

7) hook up your battery tender - the one i have i connected to the prongs. make sure you unook the negative terminal before even playing with it. ymmv but if you shock yourself luwl too bad so sad. hope you have a policy :tiphat:

8) wheel cholk the car, leave in neutral, no hand brake

9) make a sticky note -> cholked wheels, tire pressure, baking soda, battery tender, plugged tail pipes for ease of remembering what you do.



some people start/stop teh car. i didn't bother. once a month i checked the tire pressures and pushed the car forward and let it roll back against the cholks to rotate the wheels a little.

uhh i think that's it :tup:

Chock, not "cholk". Tires won't "square", they may form a temporary flat spot.

I put away a few of my cars every year; usually about 6-7 months out of a year. Two things are the most important for me, fuel tanks must be topped off and a float charger is hooked up to each. Park the car with parking brake disengaged; chock it or put it in gear. Wash, wax, oil change, fuel stabilizer, raising tire pressures, blocking tailpipes, etc. are optional.

Tires will flat spot even when pressure is increased; my Z06 sits on these expensive soft rubber pads and its tires will still form a flat spot, but, don't worry the flat spot is temporary and it will go away. Fuel stabilizer is not needed if it's only for several months; fuel nowadays doesn't degrade like 30 years ago. It's a different story if the storage period is in decades.

LA is also Lethbridge, Alberta, at least for us Canuks.

Mishuko, you are the BOMB! Thanks for the list. It is appreciated. Cheers.

or Lower Alabama lol

chock, cholk, clock, **** all teh same. just make sure you have something to stop the car in place for when you come back next time.

nixin is this in your garage or private lot? also may want to consider other things depending on where you store it.

not any more. maybe 15-20yrs in the future i will again. :)

Putting the Z away just means it's time to take the winter toys out.

http://www.the370z.com/members/lava-...3-p1050893.jpg

Got mine READY for winter. lol Got the winter tires, on battery booster charged and in the car, snow brush is in the back. first road trip since snow fall Thursday. Will also be the last winter with the car.

The Z is staying at home in the garage right next to my ready to go 13.5 hp snowblower.

Wait I just read something that I'm confused about. This might be a dumb question.. But you're not supposed to leave the parking brake engaged when it is in storage?

Mine is engaged but my car is completely dry