How often does a 996 need to be driven to avoid winter storage?

I will be away from my 2000 996 for 10 weeks. I'm trying to avoid storing it in an insulated garage for the winter. I decided to put all seasons on a few weeks ago to make it home in time for christmas, so the car can be driven outside in the sw PA winter. (lets not turn this into a thread where purchasing A/S is a bad idea...it was my only option) My parents (where i'm storing the car) cannot drive a stick, so my only option other than storage is to get a good friend to drive it, and he works 40+ hours a week like most people so it would be somewhat of a burden for him, as fun as driving a 996 (one of his dream cars) would be. How often does a 996 need to be driven to avoid winter storage? I understand that the car needs to get to normal operating temperature before returning to the garage. I was thinking once a week, but thats just a guess. If it needs to be driven more, I'll probably have to get working on winter storage right away. Thanks for help!!

Put a battery tender on it. Yer good.

30-50 miles every three weeks. I went as long as 5 weeks last winter due to weather. Make sure who ever is going to drive it checks tire pressures first. This is the info I was give from the local P dealer and has worked for me. get some kind of battery tender, worth the money.

+1 on battery tender

Battery tender.. Full tank of gas.. A little extra tire pressure.. and, if you have ethanol fuels, maybe a bit of "dry gas" too. "heated" storage doesn't really matter. Batter tender is key and DONT shut the front trunk the whole way Next?

Your friend works part time, 40 hrs/week? eh? must be nice! JK, anyway, have your folks start the car once a week and let it run for 5-10 minutes. This will keep things inside coated with a fresh film of oil and help keep internal corrosion from acidic condensation at bay. It's also good for the components, bearings, etc in the alternator, starter, PS pump, air pump, injectors, fuel pump and everything else on the car. Maybe your overworked friend could come over for 20 minutes every couple of weeks and run 'er down the highway for 10 miles and back. This will keep the trans, wheel bearings, CV and U joints lubed. I make my living wrenching on this stuff and have since the '70s. Damage on mechanical things starts and occurs during periods of storage and non-use. Virtually no wear is happening to any of the mechanical components during periods of use unless it was first compromised during periods of storage. This is not true of expendables such as tires, brake and clutch material.

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+1 The car will be fine until you return. Tell your workaholic friend, "Thanks but no thanks".

battery tender $100 full tank of fuel $70 knowing your friend isnt driving your car to fullfill his dreams - priceless

I also change the oil right before winter. Just in case any acids or water got in the oil (condensation). When I do take it out in the winter I make sure I can take it for a good long drive to make sure I do burn off any condensation. I do have a battery tender on it. The one that came with the car. Not sure if it was an option of bought by another owner. The most it has sat at a shot was about 4 weeks. We went on about a 200 mile drive last week.

I'll be the odd man out and say that a battery tender isn't necessary unless you're incredibly averse to jump-starting a car or something. My car came with a cheap Die-Hard battery five years ago and it's just fine even though I've done everything "wrong" that I could do to it, including jump-starting it when the car has sat too long or I left the key in the ignition. Is there something else a battery tender does that I'm unaware of?

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It means not having to jump start your car

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While you managed to avoid any problems you're in the minority. It is best for the car and the battery to keep the battery connected to the car and the battery topped up. Having power keeps all the comfort settings intact. If the car loses power its DME loses its learned fuel/ignition mapping and the engine can be quite rough upon restart and until run long enough to relearn. Besides, there's always a risk of when jump starting a car with a dead battery of zapping something electronic and damned expensive in the car so why risk it? With a battery maintainer one can just disconnect the battery maintainer and go. Sincerely, Macster.

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it fails and causes your battery to sulfate or just need to be jump started because it failed

Thanks for the replies guys. Very helpful. When I got my PPI the battery failed the 'high load test' so i'll probably get the tender. Any inexpensive models you guys like? Ive never had to use one so not too familiar w/ what they do. I plan on keeping this car for at least another 2 years so i really want to make sure that i do the best thing for my car...sound like an overprotective parent haha.

If it failed the high load test, replace the battery first. It's probably inevitable anyway, so save yourself the worry.

Get your oil changed, even if it hasn't been long since your last one. You want to eliminate any acid build-up in the engine oil. Put enough Sta-Bil in your gas tank to treat the entire 17 gallons. Then go fill the tank with gas, and drive it long enough to run the treated gas through your injectors. Park your car inside - if it isn't a heated garage, it's not such a big deal. You just want it out of the weather. If you don't overinflate your tires, they will be a little lumpy for the first 10 miles or so that you drive it - so I didn't. Close the vents on your HVAC system in the car, put a nylon stocking or crumpled newspaper in your exhaust pipes to keep the mouses out. Put a battery tender on the battery - you can get a decent one at any auto parts store for less than $50. Leave your hood ajar (you won't be able to open it if your battery dies.) Wind your windows down an inch so that you're not putting pressure on the rubber gaskets, or leave the doors ajar. Don't have anyone start the car every week or so. Let it sit idle all winter. The occasional starting and stopping will just build condensation in your exhaust system and your oil. Better just leave it alone. Nothing bad will happen to it over the winter. I stored my 73 this way over three winters. Never had any issues, and it started first thing in the spring. larry

Could of sworn there was something in the cars manual about this subject. Maybe look in there.

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+1, Put a small tray of untreated charchol in car for odors and moisture.

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The rough running thing makes sense but I can't say I've ever noticed anything that seemed alarming to me. Sounds almost exactly equal to the risk of someone tripping over a battery tender cord snaking through my garage! You're either going to be hooking wires up to your battery when you put it into storage, or you're going to be hooking wires up to your battery when you take it out of storage, but either way you're probably going to be hooking up some wires. Look, I don't have anything against battery maintainers, it's just that I don't see a lot of need to maintain car batteries. Batteries have come a long way in the last few decades and even as hard as I am on them, they're still all lasting me five years, at which point I replace them anyway--I've truly never found a need to try to make my batteries last any longer and don't want to. That might sound strange to some--and normally I wouldn't even mention it--but it's an unnecessary expense that some people might not realize is unnecessary. Personally, I just took my battery tender "budget" and used it on a portable jump pack--MUCH more useful in my opinion. Some of these recommended storage/winterizing tasks are getting out of hand. I'm practically waiting for someone to recommend disassembly of the entire car before parking it for a month. There's no harm in not using a battery tender and I just don't want people thinking there is. That's all...YMMV!

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For a guy who works on cars for a living, this is horrible advice.

I agree with Larry.... Once you have it ready to store, leave it alone.. A car stored in a cold clean garage will not have any condensation issues, its not getting warm if its not running.... I have stored many cars over the winter when I lived in Canada and never had any storage issues. The convenience of a battery tender is worth the investment.

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Actually it is not. The amount of water that will accumulate from just a few minutes of running every so often is not much. And since the oil was fresh there's no combustion byproducts to combine with any bit of moisture and create acids. Running the engine every once in a while circulates oil throughout the engine's oil passages which includes pumping up any lifters that have been under pressure from a cam lobe pressing down on the lifter. Engine seals get a bit of fresh oil splashed on them which helps keep them from drying out and shrinking and of course turning into seeping seals or worse. The heat causes gasketed surfaces to move a bit and this helps to keep gaskets fluid/air tight. Fresh (relatively fresh) fuel is pumped through the fuel system and the injectors of course are opened and closed. While the engine is idling I'd play with the heater/AC controls to give the various flaps/doors/etc some exercise and even turn on the A/C compressor and let it run and pump/circulate refrigerant along with the very important pump oil. The various power steering/brake pump/hydraulic circuits are used too. All in all a few minutes of running every couple of weeks or so is not harmful at all and helps to lessen the effects of non-use. Sincerely, Macster.

Macster - I welcome the wisdom that you bring to this board. But in this instance, I have to disagree with you. OTOH, what you have said, and the issue of disuse during the winter months can be resolved by -- DRIVING THE BEAST ALL WINTER LONG. It will also have a positive emotional effect on the driver. larry

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Note - The Porsche battery tender plugs into the lighter socket.

I'll update my answer to be at least one track day every 2 weeks for winter.

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Each course of action brings with it its own set of problems and risks. Driving the car year around is my preference but in some areas of the country people drive like morons in marginal weather. Generally in areas where the weather is sort of not so bad. In places where they get a lot of snow and ice people are pretty savvy. Leaving the car unstarted for a few months also has some downsides. Seals, gaskets, and this includes those seals and gaskets besides those of the engine, dry out. Some valve lifters will bleed way down, all the way down, while the engine sits unused. All throughout the engine, oil drains away and the amount of residual oil is very very low. Coolant stratifies and this can attack hoses or even water pump seals. And of course starting the engine and letting it idle a few minutes (10 minutes or so) every so often has its own downsides. But this is my preference over just letting the car/engine sit for a few months. Sincerely, Macster.

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show me some of these dried out seals. We ain't using cork here. furthermore, all of these issues that you refer to can be fixed by popping out the dme relay and spinning the starter over every few weeks if you really are so concerned. Given that cold starts are typically the most wear inducing aspects of engine operation, and the condensation builds while running for any length of time, there is really no good reason to start the car and let it idle.

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Still dealing with wires hanging off the car all winter. For the people parking their cars for months at a time, how big a deal is it to head to the garage five minutes earlier in the spring to plug a jump pack in? Again, I have nothing against battery maintainers, but it just seems like a completely unnecessary expense that many people are told they absolutely need. I disagree, especially if the maintainer in question is a ridiculously overpriced Porsche model. I'm with QC here...if you park the car for the winter, don't subject it to a cold start every week to make yourself feel better. Anyway, for god's sake, people--these are $20k cars now. What are you saving them for? When I wear this one out, I'll get a new one.

I've been in old towns where they roll the streets up at night but can't figure out this evidently new thing the mainland is doing where the roads are closed during winter forcing guys to park their cars during winter months. No wonder the economy is lousy. Is this some sort of state or fedral law?

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TooLoud - OMG, you mean that the car that I just spent $31,000 on is now only worth $20K?? Geez, that depreciation is as bad as with a new one. I guess that I'll just have to drive this PCar into the ground to get my money's worth out of it. Pac996, yes you can complain about parking our cars over winter. You don't have winter on the islands. You don't even have spring or fall!!! You've got summer all year round. But the downside is that if you want to drive your 996, there are only so many roads you can drive on. It takes a day to drive all around Maui, and when you've done that, you have covered more than 50% of the roads on the island. Don't worry, I don't feel badly for you. If I was in your sandals, I would be spending my spare time with a snorkel mask and fins. To hell with a car!!!! Give me a school of yellow tangs!!!!!!! larry

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I picked up two $30 trickle chargers at O'Reilly's brand named Schumacher 1.5 Amp (as recommended by a PCA friend with two Boxsters that stores my 964). They work great - bolt them to the car near the battery, heavy duty 3-prong lead - plug into extension cord (yes, leave trunk lid cracked) and all is well. DC4

Just let my car sit for about 7 days...and when i went to open the doors, the keyless entry thing didnt work, but i was able to open the doors with the key and the car started fine. I have chosen to let my 'buddy' (a good friend who will drive safely) drive once every other week (10 days most likely). Do you think hooking a battery tender up to the battery inbetween trips would be a good idea? Like i said before my battery failed the high load test, so i dont want the battery to completely die in between trips. Would installing a new battery...driving the car so infrequently in the beginning of the battery's life be a bad idea at this point?

The keyless entry shuts down after 7 days to save power.

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Very good idea to keep the battery charged at 100% between drives. The only way to do this is with a battery tender or other charger/maintainer. Once the charge falls off even a small amount, the battery slowly goes into a self destruction mode and it's life starts to diminish. I got 11 years out of my original Jeep battery, driving the car most every day and it's never been in a garage. My 996 in 7 years of my ownership driving it weekly but not daily went thru 5 batteries. Even with the ignition off, there are a lot of electronic devices still pulling current out of the battery.

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picked this model up today. Thanks for info and pic!

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Well, batteries use the same chemistry as always. Lead/acid batteries are about 100 years old. The type of battery used in cars (starting battery) has many thin plates close together. This type of battery does not like a deep discharge cause the thinner plates are more likely to warp and pit. With a healthy battery I'm not sure how long a modern Porsche can sit before the battery's charge approaches a point that battery plate deterioration can begin. If one knows and knows he'll not let the car sit that long then there is no need for a battery maintainer. However, most people who do not use their cars regularly tend to lose track of how long a car sits. A week turns into a month, easy, maybe more. There's as much risk of tripping over a power cord for a battery maintainer as there is dropping a new or old battery on your foot when you change the dead battery out for a new one. Or having the new battery prove defective and drenching your Porsche in battery acid when the case fails. You managed to get 5 years out of batteries giving what you believe is hard use. That is you. I have seen cars in the Porsche dealership for battery replacement. It is quite common due to the lack of use many of these cars get and the lack of proper battery care to compensate for the lack of use these cars get. (In one case I spotted a very nice low miles 968 and the SM tried to get me to buy the car. The owner hardly ever drove the car and it was in the dealership almost every year on the dot for a new battery.) It is up to the individual. I know some owners that can't or don't want to fool with a battery maintainer and that's alright. If (when) the battery reaches a point it can no longer start the car the car is towed to the dealership and the battery replaced. Done. If this is not an inconvenience then let the car sit sans any battery maintainer but at least have the cell phone battery charged so a call can be made to the auto club to come get the car towed to the dealer for its annual battery replacement. Sincerely, Macster.

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Ha, Ha! I first took it upon myself to diagnose a coolant leaking problem and replace a water pump on my father's car. He didn't have the time or desire and was working on his PhD at U of M. We were quite poor. I rode my bicycle to the Western Auto and bought the pump, gasket and sealer. I borrowed the tools from neighbors and got it done. 2 years later I was hot rodding motorcycles, porting heads, self taught before I could drive. I was 13 years old. This was in 1962, about 22 years before you were born. What can you teach me about working on cars?

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That is exactly my point. I have nothing against battery maintainers, only the idea that some people have that they are a "must". They are not. Wow, hauling the car to a dealer for a dead battery? That's crazy--the towing (can't tow my C4 anyway) AND the price of an OEM battery. Jump start the car and head to Sears or Wal-Mart, or just grab a battery from the store and put it in. If it takes you longer than ten minutes, you're doing it wrong. Again, why on earth would I need to have my car taken to the dealer to have the battery replaced?