Winter storage question (battery)

Alas , it's about to be winter here in Toronto, so I have a question as its my first winter storage of a P-car. Is it better to remove the battery or simply let it drain out over the winter? Its going to be in a secure storage facility with no place to plug in a trickle charger. Thanks! P.s. Heimrath kindly provided me with a winter beater, a 98 Jeep grand cherooke...what a difference in all aspects ( brakes...sterring...wat dat ?)

It's not good to let it drain & especially freeze. It could ruin a cell. Take it home put in a place where it wouldn't freeze. My boat batteries last 2 instead 4 yrs because I leave it in a freezing environment.

I would leave the battery in place . Place a trickle charge of about 3 amps on the battery . Everyweek or two I would start the motor and allow the engine to run until it reached operating temp .

Hi, his problem is that he hasn't got a socket for the trickle charger where the car is stored. Starting the engine every other week is about the worst you can do to it. I'd take the battery out and store it in a warm place. Assuming you have a socket whereever you store the battery, you could hook it up to the trickle charger every now and then, just to keep it happy. Cheers, Uwe

The owner's manual for my 993 states that the battery should be disconnected and removed prior to long-term storage. It also states that you should not place the battery on a bare concrete floor. Finally, fill the car up with gas and do not elevate the car. You can push the car a few inches forward every month or so to avoid flat spots.

Really wish I could use the trickle charger, will bring battery home and store in (warm) basement. Won't be able to move car or even see it as there will be dozens of cars in storage. Is it prudent to over inflate the tires given I cannot move the car? Cheers

Glad I live in California. If my car was stored in an off site cold storage place for a long time I would remove the battery and take it home. But you have the issue with the electric front trunk release since you have a 2002. If you close your front trunk how are you going to get it open to put the battery back in. You can used the emergency cable but it is a pain to get to unless you have relocated it. If it is a secure place do not close the trunk all the way. Or remove the 2 bolts for the latch and the latch. Or with a screwdriver close the locking part of the latch and the hood will be open an inch or two. If you want to lock the car and the front trunk I have been told that you can use jumper cables on the red thing in the fuse box to get the trunk open even when the battery has been removed. Jeff

Keep battery warm during the winter and bring it to your local gas station to charge it (unless you have home charger), prior to installing it. I would lay tire dressing on the tires, I think they (surface) crack during alternating periods freeze/thaw.

There are many "to do" list floating around but at a minimum I would: Add a good coat of wax Change the oil Check the antifreeze level Make sure window washer fluid will not freeze (ie. you haven't added just water) Fill the tank, add fuel stabalizer Overfill the tires (45lbs or so) Remove the battery (good advice above on not shutting hood) Cover to keep the dust off Give it a hug

I can just see the headline now on pg 8 of the local newspaper: "Toronto man caught trying to violate Porsche"

why do you think this is a bad idea? it won't harm an engine to do this. in fact it's usually good practice to start vehicles that are stored long term so that the oil circulates through the engine to prevent corrosion. you should always run them for at least 10 minutes so that they have a chance to get warm. basically let them run long enough to get the temp gauge up to at least near normal operating temp, then shut it off. i've been doing long term storage of vehicles for almost 20 years now...

I'd overinflate the tires to 50psi. Doesn't sound like starting it is an option where he's storing it. Starting it isn't bad if you can run it for 15-20 minutes to make sure it's really warmed up or else the exhaust system will get lots of moisure in it that won't burn off= rusting... Even in Iowa winters, there are days when the roads are clean and salt free to allow a drive every month or so. It's just that performance tires don't like cold temps!! I guess we live in the northern climate so we can drive Quattros!

Buy a set of tire cradles. It's the only way to avoid flat spots. Over inflating does not work for very low profile tires. I have a set and luv them, albeit they are a bit expensive...but much cheaper than replacing tires because of flat spots http://www.tirecradle.com/tcradle.htm

It does, and for two reason. The first ist excessive wear during warm-up, I've already explained that in the context of cold idling, so I'm just copying this in: "What happens is this: The mixture for cold idle is very rich. Because the cylinder walls are still cold, fuel condenses on the cylinder walls. This fuel dilutes the oil and leads to increase wear of the cylinder and piston rings. This is particularly a problem at the lower dead centre, because the cylinder walls there take quite a while to warm up. If you let the car idle, there is very little load on the engine. Hence it produces very little heat and it takes a long time for the cylinders to warm up. If you drive off straight away, there is more load on the engine, more heat is produced and the engine warms up faster." The second reason is that if you let the car idle, water contained in the air condenses on all parts of the engine and dissolves in the oil. Together with other substances that get into the oil through blow-by, it forms a lot of not-so-nice aggressive substances. In essence, you end up with excessive wear and petrol and water dissolved in your engine oil. The few minutes you leave the engine run up to operating temperature are neither sufficient in terms of oil temperature (probably only about 80 Celsius) nor in terms of duration to rid the oil of the dissolved petrol and water. Also, the engine quite frankly doesn't need to be started. If I left it for less than 3 months, I wouldn't do anything to the engine. For up to 12 months, I'd do an oil change beforehand, and above that I'd fill in special conservation oil. Now, keeping the A/C happy for long periods of time is a different matter, because it really doesn't like just sitting around. Cheers, Uwe

the 996 has a stainless exhaust so rust isn't a problem. but it's a valid point for most cars.

what does "excessive wear during startup" mean? yes, cars experience more wear during startup, but if it was "excessive", cars would break down if you started them too many times... water condenses inside the engine block (and other parts) when a car isn't running since it's metal and holds a cold temp longer than the air. it's better to circulate oil to displace this water and coat the cylinder walls rather than leave the water on the cylinder walls. yes, the water gets in the oil a little, but the oil has a greater cohesion to the engine than the water does so that's what's left on the engine parts after you shut the car off. there's always going to be a little bit of water in your oil, even if you don't start the car. sounds like we have a little difference of opinion here. it may just be a case of 6 of one 1/2 dozen of the other! but all in all i agree with you that if you're only storing something for 3 months it really doesn't matter too much. if storing it for any longer, you should definitely change the oil, but use synthetic due to the greater stability and additional additives in it as compared to regular oil.

As I understand it, loss of power will require you to re-enter the radio lock code.

Gents, There's a TSB that specifically addresses winter storage.

Just curious... why would you do an oil change before.. say 5 month storage period?? Pete