Miata's Winter Sleep

I need to out my Miata away until spring when I will do some upgrades before summer. Last year I just put it on skates and it made it fine. That said I would like to do it right this time. I read the tech section at Miata.net and it seemed a bit over the top. Oh yea it will be stored in an insulated garage.

So wise people of GRM what storage process would you recommend?

Thanks for your time and thoughts.

Subscribing, need to put my Miata away in a week or two until late March.

Change oil before? Fill gas tank full? Or empty it as far as possible? On jack stands? Or let it sit on the wheels/tires? Remove battery? Or let it sit on a tender? (if an outlet is available)

Here is what I have done for the last 6 years with my NA: Wash car, Drying it off , Drive it to a gas station (also helps make sure all the water from the wash is totally gone) and fill it up ( i always use ethanol free gas in it), Inflate tires to 40psi, Drive to storage area, Unhook the battery, Put a balled up rag in the exhaust, Put on the cover after car has cooled down.

I don't touch the car until it's time to pull it out of storage, at which point I change the oil and enjoy

If it's due for an oil change now... change the oil now? Or just wait until spring?

I just sold my Miata to a guy from Maine. I don't think he's putting it away for the winter. His other car is an Elan and he was looking for something a little bigger.

I used to change the oil both spring and fall, actually. But these days I'd be more likely to just park it! Throw some stabilizer in the gas tank and fill it with high octane.

For the battery, if it's an AGM, just unhook it. If its conventional, put it on a tender.

I have owned the same '90 Miata for 18 years. It currently has 96k miles. It sits a lot but in its earliest years it was mostly driven in parking lots for something like 57.634 seconds at a time.

In my early years of ownership I went through all the well advised rituals as mentioned above. Over the years of ownership I have lived in 5 houses and it has been stored "off-site" as well at places like, my mothers, my-inlaws, rented storage units as well as just stored right in my garage; none ever heated.
For the last number of years it has been mostly just parked. Sometimes cleaned and covered, sometimes not. Sometimes with a full tank, sometimes not. Sometimes on jacks. Sometimes on skates. Often just sitting on the good tires tires, sometimes sitting on old tires.
It spent this past winter in the pole barn of my in-laws, just sitting on the tires and really no attention given to it.
The day I pulled it out, I hit the battery with a jumper pack. I then pulled it out onto the road and put on about 110 miles of non-stop driving.
The car amazes me more every year by its desire to just run.

With that said, this has been the best little secret to pulling the car out in the spring..

This year's picture including pole barn.

Also this summer I successfully taught my 16 yr old niece how to drive stick.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: If it's due for an oil change now... change the oil now? Or just wait until spring?

I would leave it. I never understood why people changed the oil before storage since the car wouldn't be running anyway, but I make sure to do as soon as I pull it out

Change the oil in the spring. That will remove all the water that may have collected in the oil from various temperature changes that may have caused condensation on the inside.

I personally don't give a hoot, but that's the reason I've always heard for waiting.

Store on fresh oil. Change again in spring.

full tank w/ Stabil in there

Air up the tires to 40 or so PSI

Leave in gear, take off parking brake

I just hook up my trickle charger every month or so to top off the battery

Sock in tailpipe (critters)

...and even then, my rear brake caliper seized due to lack of use on the car (it's seen 2500 miles in the past 2 years).

Here is my Fall Ritual:

CRAP!!! They salted the roads!

Park Car.

Spring Ritual:

Hey, it rained! Salt is GONE!

Start driving.

It helps that I am my own insurance agent, and I can add and remove coverage whenever I need.

Joey

This is the routine I use for mine for the last nine years. Change the oil, filter, disco the battery, clean the outside before covering it and I don't start it until spring. Take the battery in if it's going to get really cold. I trickle charge mine before using it for the season. I don't change the oil in it in the spring when I put it back on the road. No reason as it hasn't been run at all. When you start it back up in spring, disco the fuel injection harness and crank until you get oil pressure. Then reconnect and away you go.

Winter ritual? What's that?

Autocrossing yesterday with the top down, 80 degrees on the way home. Yes, it's expensive, and yes, CARB sucks, but the weather here makes it all worth it. :)

Ya'll think mice won't chew through your rag? Instead, stuff steel wool in the exhaust pipe and anywhere else you don't want them to go.

David

60mga, What do you mean by "disco the battery" and "disco the fuel injection harness"? I have tried waltzing my battery but my wife came into the garage. It felt awkward for a minute until I said that I read about it in Keith Tanner's book.

skrzastek wrote: I would leave it. I never understood why people changed the oil before storage since the car wouldn't be running anyway, but I make sure to do as soon as I pull it out

Oil becomes quite acidic, especially when it has a lot of moisture in it. Is it a big deal? No. But stop being such a cheap c*&nt and do a $15 oil change on your car before parking it!

Sultan wrote: 60mga, What do you mean by "disco the battery" and "disco the fuel injection harness"? I have tried waltzing my battery but my wife came into the garage. It felt awkward for a minute until I said that I read about it in Keith Tanner's book.

Why I otta..........!

Sultan wrote: What do you mean by "disco the battery" and "disco the fuel injection harness"?

Well, instead of getting these guys to do it...

...you get these guys to do it

I thought I was the only one who did this. Apparently not.

gamby, Thank you for the advise! I will feel like more than a woman that way!!

codrus wrote: Winter ritual? What's that? Autocrossing yesterday with the top down, 80 degrees on the way home. Yes, it's expensive, and yes, CARB sucks, but the weather here makes it all worth it. :)

Winter Ritual - HPDE at all the desert tracks where it is too freaking hot in the summer.

Funny, I just took the Miata to work today. It is the first time in a month it was unwrapped. It might be the last time until spring :( She smelled like a farm. A nice mix of hay and piss. I can't find any mice but I'm assuming thats what it is...

Oil change before and after winter seems like a total waste. Your choice I guess but a spring change seems plenty to me. I pull the battery and charge it through the winter. What's the deal with filling the tank? I often store my cars with half a tank so I can fill her up with fresh fuel in the spring...I haven't thought much about it though.

I've been trying to get all of the ethanol out before winter, so I've been buying high octane the last couple of tanks. I'm not sure why even...

What do the Heet and IsoHeet products do for you that the ethanol present in E10 can't?

I've been considering keeping the miata on the back concrete porch with a cover this winter, just so I don't have to scrap the windows of the truck every morning.

Leaving the same gas in it for 4 months so it can deteriorate (i know i know... stabilizer) kindof worried me.

My car absolutely requires high test.

This thing will only be stored for 4.5 months at most. Am i really overthinking this in my case?

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: This thing will only be stored for 4.5 months at most. Am i really overthinking this in my case?

Probably overthinking. Do the stabilizer, though. Odds are good your gas won't go bad in that time (even though ZOMG!!! 3 months=VARNISH!!!!), but it's a few bucks to prevent a huge headache.

The level of prep that I do to my car to sit from October to May or June really doesn't take much time or effort, so why not just prep it???

gamby wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: This thing will only be stored for 4.5 months at most. Am i really overthinking this in my case?

Probably overthinking. Do the stabilizer, though. Odds are good your gas won't go bad in that time (even though ZOMG!!! 3 months=VARNISH!!!!), but it's a few bucks to prevent a huge headache. The level of prep that I do to my car to sit from October to May or June really doesn't take much time or effort, so why not just prep it???

True. I know i'll at least take the battery out, wash it, do the gas and stabilizer, pump up tires to 40psi.