Indoor winter storage question
 

My Boxster lives in my closed, dry, unheated garage, ready for driving when Pacific Northwest weather permits. I have a Battery Tender attached to keep it charged. Gas, oil, and fluids are full. Top is up, and tires are properly inflated. It seems happy there, and has never given me any trouble. Winter here (halfway between Seattle and the Canadian Border) has quite variable weather, and we get those periodic Fall and Winter clear days when an open top drive is exhilarating.

Wondering if I should be doing anything special to keep it in the best condition while waiting for Spring, when it will start getting more regular use. Those of you with more experience - what can you tell me? Your experienced advice is important to me. Is there anything I'm not doing that I should?

Dave

It sounds like you are well ahead of the curve. What you are doing is what I do for storage, except that I am storing for about 6 months (I am also using a car cover just to keep dust free, and garage is heated). It sounds like with your frequency of better "drive days", your parked times might only run a month or so (lucky bastard), so I wouldn't worry. Battery health is the only thing you should be concerned with, and it would appear you have that covered.

Last thing... You didn't say your MY; if you have a plastic window you might want to invest in a garage heater if you are planning on putting the top down after storage when it's cold outside to avoid cracking.

If you can get it, gas without Ethanol is a better choice. Esso (Exxon) and Shell 91 and up octane here fall under that. Fuel stabilizer is also a good option. The salesman that sold me the car recommended parking on plywood instead of concrete. I never bothered before this year, but this year since I had some scrap plywood around (and new tires) I thought I would try it. And this year I added a cover to keep the dust at bay.

Overall, sounds like you are doing good. I am storing mine under the same conditions (unlike my bike - used to be 2, which gets stored in a heated shed).

Thanks. Good to know I'm not overlooking anything. I want to hang on to this great car for as long as I can. I do have a car cover, and will cover it when I'm fairly sure I won't be driving it for awhile. The garage is unheated, but it's attached to my house, so doesn't freeze, although it does get pretty cold in there. I don't have issues with mildew or anything, so I feel lucky about that.

My car specs are in my signature at the bottom of my post. It's an '02 S. The OEM plastic window was yellowed and cracked when I first got the car, so I opted for a new top with the newer glass window. It was plug-and-play wiring for the rear window defogger. (I got it from autotopsdirect.com.) Local auto upholstery shop installed it for me, and it fits like a glove. Very happy with it.

Dave

Good ideas. Thanks. I'll have to find out about Ethanol here. I usually get gas at Costco, but I've never paid attention to whether it has Ethanol in it. Probably does, if that's more common. (I just did a bit of research, and it looks like Costco gas does contain Ethanol. Only a couple of stations in my town offer higher-octane gas without Ethanol. Good to know for next time I fill up.)

Parking on plywood is a new idea for me, although I can see how it would keep the concrete from affecting the condition of the tires. And if there should happen to be a fluid drip, it won't stain the concrete.

Dave

I stored mine outside with a cover and battery tender and did nothing special but then I probably used it every 2 weeks and always drove it 20 miles start to stop. 5 years and temps to about 20. If I were to plan to go multiple months without using it, I'd do the full treatment with oil change just prior to storage, full tank, stabil, tire pressure, anti-desiccant, moth balls, battery tender, tire insulation boards, sealed openings including exhaust pipes, etc.

Pay attention to the tire type and the outside temps. I didn't and it cost me my first Boxster.

Can you elaborate a bit on this? What happened?

Dave

oil is full, but is it clean (recently changed)? That will make a difference

Agreed. I'm having the IMS bearing changed out in a few months, so the oil will be changed then. Only about 1K miles on the current change, so I think it's okay.

Dave

Nice one - mine is now inside just need a dry day to get her hot and change the oil then a wash dry all off including brakes.

Then it'll go on curved dollys and into the corner under a cover. I use a battery tender and will also put a dehumidifier in for the first week or two to completely dry the interior. Warehouse never drops below 50 and is nice and dry.

One thing I think I read some where said to release the tension on the roof. Does anybody know anything about that? Can't see it make much difference but if it prolonged the life of the roof why not? Could be just a daft idea also

Another tip: put wheel chocks in front of 1 or both wheels and put the gears in neutral and release the parking brake so that there is no tension on the brakes or gears during storage

Does this apply to a Tiptronic? Mine is a Tip.

Dave

The day after Thanksgiving I drove out to see about an estimate on rock chips in my windshield. I turned a corner, say a speed yellow boxster parked in a lot, glanced over, looked back up the road and started to accelerate right into the sun and realized a red truck was stopped hundreds of feet in front of me. I slammed on the brakes and just slid.

Because it was just above freezing, my summer tires were hard and there may even have been some glare ice from earlier condensation and the road surface might have been below freezing through the air temps weren't. What would have been $3k max on a Honda was over $27k on my Porsche. The truck had a $25 trailer electrical connection to replace.

Old tires get hard. Summer tires get hard in the cold. No matter the tread. Tire manufacturers say below 40F is dangerous on summer high performance tires.

My TIP spent weeks at a time parked on a hill in park with the parking brake on. Ideal? Probably not. But how else would I stop it from rolling down a hill. Just chocks would invite mischief. No ill effects beyond a bit of brake squeak when the parking brake was used the first few times. Never failed to release first time.

No. This procedures is just a tip for stick shifts; though leaving it in gear may not make significant harm some may not want to take a chance

You can... but way overkill.
I’ve had no issues in 7 years with my Boxster or in the previous 23 years with my Fox 5.0 Mustang leaving it in 1st all winter without the e-brake on.
Same for parking on bare concrete.
No precautions taken, just a bit of thumping for the first 10 minutes on the first drive in the spring.

I just stored mine as i did all others that i stored took the battery out parked it and walked away.

Holy ********************!!! That is tragic! Tell me your insurance covered it?

Dave