Z storage and maintenance during Winter

SouthArk370Z

You'll be better of not starting the engine at all than running it for a few minutes. If you do start it, let it get up to operating temp (oil 140-180F) and then let it run for 5-10 minutes. Your procedure is probably OK but may be a little on the short side if ambient temp is very cold - go by the oil temp gauge.

How often your should crank the car up, if at all, is open to debate and will depend on conditions in the storage area. If the humidity is low and temperature swings are small (so the engine doesn't "breathe"), you can probably go 3-4 months with very little condensation. High humidity with large temperature swings will mean more condensation.

As others have mentioned, you're probably not going to get the exhaust warm enough to get rid of excess moisture (the combustion process is constantly making water which will condense after you turn the motor off so it's impossible to get rid of all the water in the exhaust pipes) but it's better than having water in the oil and most exhaust parts are designed to be corrosion-resistant.

As for the battery, I highly recommend that you use a float charger if you won't be starting the car every 3-4 weeks or so. They are cheap, easy to use, and will save all the stored data in the ECU/radio/&c.

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