Winterizing
 

I moving from the desert to Columbus Ohio next month and I'm having the Boxster transported in a enclosed trailer so is there anything I should do to the car before putting her in cold storage for the remainder of the winter? The car will be going in a regular non heated garage. Also is it bad to start these cars up several times in the cold winter to keep the battery up or just let it hibernate until spring? There is a lot of salt on the roads there so I will not be driving it until spring time.

Add a fuel stabilizer to your gas tank and fill it completely.

Change the oil.

Do not start the car up unless you are going to drive it and warm it up to normal operating temperature.

Use a battery tender to keep the battery fully charged.

Do not close the frunk completely because otherwise you won't be able to open it if the battery goes bad.

Read up on how to unlock the car without setting off the alarm after it has been sitting for about five days. I don't lock mine since it is in a garage.

Prevent mice from setting up house with moth balls in the cabin, trunk and frunk, and put traps or poison at all four corners of the car.

Roll the car a bit back or forth every few weeks to avoid developing flat spots.

IMO, you don't have to keep it stored up until Spring. I lived there during college years, and although I didn't have a Boxster back then, didn't think it was much different from NYC/NJ winters. Yes, there's salt thrown on the roads when it snows, but it doesn't snow all the time, and the car will be fine as long as you wash it off afterwards. These are not exoticars, and should be used IMO. In any case, if you store the car, just put the car on a battery tender, and don't even bother starting it up every once in a while.

I am with Boxtaboy...live in NE PA and I drive it all winter. Wash it a few times to keep the salt to a minimum.

This year, you don't need to do a thing. The car will only be sitting for about 8 weeks. You should be able to start driving by March Madness weekend. That's when I usually start getting the cars out. Still cool/cold.....but most all of the salt is gone. All you need right now, after the move, is a bettery maintainer. Buy a Porsche one ($) or the C-Tek one (<$). OK, maybe pump up the tires to about 55-58 PSI. That's all.

Don't forget about interior moisture management. Depending on your climate/location and/or whether the carpet is humid or not (and it probably is man)

Mildew, corrosion, bad smells, stuff like that ;)

Sillica's cheap and works well

Do not use moth balls in the cabin, or really anywhere for that matter. That smell never really goes away. To help keep critters out of the cabin, Scented dryer sheets work just fine. Much better smell come spring.

Winter Storage
 

Welcome to the Midwest! I hope there is a really good reason that you're leaving the nice warm desert and coming to Ohio! I live up in Michigan which is worse yet! I think in one respect, either drive the car on and off all winter, or completely store it. I store mine from mid Nov until April 1st - I wait until we've had a few good rains in late March to get the salt and grim washed away. if you're going to store it:
1) put about 50psi in the tires.
2) put it away with a full tank of gas and add Stabil.
3) I put my car in a bubble, which nicely controls the climate, circulates the air, keeps everything nice and dry, and completely eliminates rodents. Costs about $2/month for electricity.
4) leave the trunks open slightly.
5) use a good battery manager.
6) put it away nice and clean.
The bubble costs about $400 and will pay for itself very quickly, if you add up typical storage costs. I've been using this bubble for about 12 years - fantastic!
I think the worst thing that is done are these guys who will start their cars up in place and let them run for 20 minutes. Thats horrible for a car.

Good luck!


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All of these are very good suggestions. One everyone forgot though is to check your antifreeze protection. I see youre moving from the desert to freezing Columbus. In an unheated garage I would want at least protection to -20degrees f. I'm from western Pennsylvania and my Boxster goes in the heated garage in November and comes out in the spring after a few hard rains clean the roads. The salt is very bad here and the tin worm eats cars alive.

Thanks all for the storage tips ! Hey Por356c I do like the bubble, I will look into that. The reason I'm moving to back to Ohio is because I'm originally from there and my wife and I moved out to the desert a few years ago for a change and were ready to move back home now. I'm excited to go back to the Mid Ohio race track, they have some awesome race events there.

cinnamon sticks work well

I like that idea....trying that one out next year. Thanks!

These are all good suggestions. One that hasn't been mentioned is your antifreeze. If your keeping your car in an unheated garage in Columbus Ohio in the wintertime you need to make sure it tests to at least -20F. You sure don't want your radiators or engine freezing up on you.

Many of us up here in New England do what I call "soft" storage. With the mild winter, I've been able to take the car out once or twice a week when the streets are dry. I keep the gas tank full and add a dose of Stabil 360 since I won't be changing over fuel as much. If we get snow and it looks like it might be a few days before the streets are clean enough to take her out, I'll plug in the CTEK. My garage is well insulated and stays pretty warm, but if we have a serious cold spell, I'll slide in some wheel chocks and release the e-brake. I'll also release the top with the handle to relieve the tension on the top mechanism.

One other note: I swap over to winter tires as well. I don't like to drive summer rubber when the temps are less than 50 degrees.

Releasing tension to top mechanism of convertible top sounds like an idea ill add to my list

OK, I will ask - specifically, whereabouts in Columbus?

Thanks - Dave Meredith / Powell area north of the zoo