jean

Being a 2 vehicule family..
The TL gets stored for the winter in my home garage.

Just wondering how may of you stores the Beast for the snowy months and
are their any particular things you like to do to your TL before/during/after strorage.

This is my 3rd winter of storage and things I do is :
1- fuel stab and fill the tank 2- start the car once a week and (or take it for a quick spin around the block, if the roads are dry)
3-have good car cover.

Any other suggestions...???
J

mr tl

start mine once a month w/o taking it out for a ride. no fuel stab.
oil change, pump tires to max, take battery out. and a bunch of other small stuff

kwieching

I don't store my car but my buddy stores his Supra TT in my garage for the winter and he puts the car on Jack stands, removes the rims, disconnects the battery and covers the car up.

AcuraJoe

It's always better if you can drive your car out on the street every once in awhile. Just starting your engine is not enough. You want to make sure that all fluids, including break and tranny fluids, are nicely and evenly distributed around essential components of your Acura.

Breaks Seize up if you don't use them in a long period of time.

Raheel

When I get my 2004 TL, I will be leaving it outside and does snow, ice, and etc damage paint and other things? Why do people use car covers?

jean

Protecting your car from the elements..especialy if your going to store outside is very important. Just blocking the suns UV is a an advantage, now thinks of all the polutants floating around....
A good car cover will protect the finish and let mosture escape.

May I also suggest, if it will be parked on a grass/gravel/dirt,
throw a plastic sheet on the ground so you can stop humidity from rising to the undercariage.

Oh and if your gonna park outside... expect a few small furry criters to take up residence (usualy in the engine compartment)while its paked...
I've seen that before..
J

dean078

And another note on starting it once a week or month without driving it...

The engine will warm up and warm up the exhaust pipes, but the car isn't driven long enough to burn off moisture inside the pipes, causing a lot of condensation inside the pipes when cooling down again. Moisture inside pipes is not good if it's going to sit around.
so unless you are going to drive it a couple miles, I wouldn't start it.

I've had my car stored since September (I'm in Brazil 'til Feb/Mar), disconnected battery,vented sunroof/windows (stored inside), and covered it up. I also filled gas tank, made sure it was cleaned/washed, and put about 10psi extra air in tires (i was running late to airport, didn't have time to put on jacks).

mr tl

tell me something, if you hold it at 2-3K rpms for a while, what difference does it make to the engine if your driving or idleing. (load, but that shouldnt matter too much)

dean078

if the car idles at 2-3k, or if you are driving at 2-3k, then it means no difference to the engine. but then a car is a lot more than just the engine (tranny, exhaust, etc.), and these other parts go through heat cycles or get lubed if they are used.

if you are going to start it once a week, you should at least take it for a 30min spin. anything less, you may as well not start it.

mr tl

you were talking about the exhaust system. im sure it'll reach operating temp w/o driving it. the trans fluid can be circulated by shifting
dont really agree with the 30min drive. probably better, but not a huge deal for 4 month storage

fsttyms1

just by starting it it wont burn the moisture out of the entire exhaust system, that takes a while of constant driving to burn the moisture out. if you park inside on concrete park it on plywood or something like that. conc is bad for alot of things for long periods of time. just a small piece of plywood under each tire will do. i wouldnt waste my time starting it once and a while. just top all the fluids staible in the tank and a fresh oil change when you bring it out of storage.

Alexxx

If you are not driving it around and it's not on jacks you'll be in for a nice tire surprise when Spring comes around. Cmon its winter...it doesn't snow everyday, atleast not here

Raheel

What SURPRISE? What happens if you dont put jacks?

Jacks meaning the stuff to lift your car right? Sorry Im a N00B

Alexxx

yea jacks meaning that you lift your car. Your tires get all messed up. Just imagine, instead of a normal tire looking round like O your tires will look something like (_) (this is a pretty bad description). It will feel like you have a huge bubble or whatever you want to call it....all that weight on one side of the tire(s)
Just put it this way, it's not good leaving your car for a long time....that's why some of these guys are putting in more air.

fla-tls

Alexxx is right. You wil develop a flat spot in the tire where it was parked. You can sometimes feel this even when the car's been parked for a couple of days. After a couple of days it takes several miles of driving to get out the flat spot. I don't really think that parking for a few months in the same position would cause permanent tire damage, but it might make for some awkward driving for several days.

fsttyms1

thats why you are supposed to park it on plywood i have done that for many years now with great sucess. you arent supposed to park on just concrete. something about it is just plain bad. if you set a car battery on conc it will drain it