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Winter storage/maintenance

repin jerz

repin jerz

Experienced Member
Joined
2 August 2008
Messages
265
Location
Edgewater, NJ
OK East Coast Primers...winter is around the corner and I have a few questions about storing the NSX through the winter. Is it better to use a battery tender, or should I just start up every few days to keep the battery operational? I can even drive it around inside my covered parking area for a pretty good stretch if it's beneficial.

Are there any other pointers to keep in mind during winter storage?
 
Do a search on this forum and this subject has been discussed extensively. Look into the Wiki section and you'll find great info there as well. I did my research last year and basically it is better to just let the car hibernate with a battery tender then go through always starting it up every couple of weeks. The start up is the worst time for your engine, especialy once it has been sitting for a long time as the oil has drained off all parts. Limiting that hard start to only once a year, when the car comes out of hibernation is better.

Here is a quick summary:

Change the oil and filter.
Put a battery tender on, some say pulling it out is better although there are pros and cons to either approach.
Pump tires up to 50 PSI, thats how honda stored the cars and shipped them.
Put AC on Rec, to close of vents to keep bugs and mice out.
Grease all the rubber gaskets and weatherstripping.
Clean and apply a preservative to the leather.
Wash, dry and wax the exterior and all the nooks and crannies.
Tuck her in with a flannel car cover and say good night till spring.

I'm sure others may have additional tips.

Or

Just drive through the winter like lots of our Canadian freinds do! :eek:

Tytus
 
I have been storing cars for the winter for 16 years now.

battery tenders are best. The same can be done with a battery charger and a timer. 1 hour per day charge is about the same as driving the car. No need to remove the battery. If you are in a parkade without power, but it is lit 7X24, I have used a solar battery charger. worked great.
Pump the tires up to max pressure.
Ensure the fuel tank if full to prevent condensation. put some fuel stabalizer in the tank.
I put a small piece of wood under each wiper blade to keep the blades off the windshield. (piece of hockey stick works perfectly)
I start the car at most once per month, and only if it above freezing outside.
No need to put the car on jack stands unless the car has leaf springs then the rear only.
Some people put a piece of wood, carpet or or cardboard under the tires to prevent moisture from the tire. (NSXs burn off rubber so fast, there is no need.
condition all leather, plastics, and rubber.
After a very good cleaning and wax, cover it with a good cotton cover. I also use a second 4 layer cover for physical protection. As well if there is another car adjacent in the next stall, I put a piece of foam between the two covers, along the doors to prevent door dings.
Hang an air freshener in the car.
Patiently wait for spring...
 
Here's something to think about when storing your NSX - pest control.

Fall and Winter is the most likely time to have your garage visited by mice. As a former automobile mechanic I have seen this quite a bit. Mice will crawl into some part of your car and make a nest , fill it with nuts and seeds , chew your wires , carpet and insulation and poop and pee all over the place. I have had to cut open a rocker panel on one car to retrieve dead , stinky mice babies. Then that car went to the body shop to get the rocker repaired. The car still had a lingering odor for almost a year. I used to find them all the time in air cleaners when changing the element.

The number one way rodents will enter a structure is at the garage door. Go down to your garage first thing in the morning and before opening the door look to see if you can see any sunlight leaking at the seal where it meets to the concrete. This is quite common as garage door seals wear out and the wood nearby tends to rot out quickly being it is very close to the ground. Mice only need a hole the size of a dime to gain access. All gaps and holes must be plugged and sealed.

After putting your car to ' bed ' for the winter you will want to have some kind of control in place for any rodents that may gain entry even if you have done a good job of sealing up things tight. Look at it this way , sealing the garage is your first line of defense and having something waiting in case they breach your first line of defense is your back-up plan. Mice can be very difficult to keep out of older buildings or ones with poor construction.

For control of rodents you have roughly 3 choices - Poison ~ snap-traps ~ glue boards.

Poison will work , but the animals will die somewhere , and that somewhere could be in your car or in a wall and that will stink. For this reason I don't like using poisons.

Snap-Traps work very well and allow you to remove to dead animal before it causes a stink. Do not buy cheap no-name traps as they may not work well enough to catch the mouse and it turn it ' educates ' the mouse to what a trap is and to avoid it. Buy Victor brand wooden mousetraps. Look for the one that has a yellow plastic trigger instead of the small metal ' 4-way ' trigger. The ones with the yellow plastic trigger only cost pennies more than the metal kind and are much easier to set. The plastic already has a scent impregnated into the plastic and does not need bait. You can add bait to these traps if you wish , peanut butter is an excellent bait , much better than cheese like you see in cartoons. Put a very small amount of peanut butter on the trap , about the size of a match head. Less is better here , putting more than a match head will allow the mouse to steal the bait and get away. Using a small amount makes the mouse work to get the little tid-bit and he spends more time working the trap to get caught.

Glue boards will work as well and are a preferred method if you do not visit the garage often to re-set snap traps. Most glue boards will have a peanut scent in the glue so baiting is not needed. Glue boards will also catch any bugs crawling around as well.

Set your glue boards or snap-traps were the mice are going to be traveling. This will be along walls , up on casement sills , just inside garage doors , in corners or any place you see droppings. Where I have my NSX stored there are four glue boards one in each corner of the garage.

This is important - I have never caught a mouse in this garage for the 8 years I have owned my NSX. This garage is fairly well sealed and I have never had a problem. Every 6 months or so I toss out the glue boards which will have a few bugs caught and the glue is getting full of dirt and dust. It costs me less than $10 a year to have this ' back-up ' plan even though I have never really needed it. Having mice in a structure is not a matter of ' if ' you will get them , but more of like ' when ' you will get them.

For $10 a year I sleep very soundly knowing that the day a mouse gets in my garage he will find my glue boards before he finds my NSX.
 
Last edited:
i agree, i will drive it unless it is snow/rain/sleet/hail etc etc..........or I CAN JUST OPEN THE GARAGE EVERY NIGHT AND GO BOOOOO:eek:
 
sduffass said:
I just unplug my battery basically. Is that ok?

Stephen
Click to expand...

Are you saying that you normally just disconnect the leads and leave the battery in the tray all winter? If it works for you, great, but I'd be very surprised if you have no problems starting the vehicle in the spring if the battery wasn't on a battery tender. My NSX has a Schumacher battery tender sitting in the battery tray with leads hooked to the battery cables. All I did last year was plug it in with an extension cord and 4 months later it started right up.

I've also got a Ctek 3300 charger for the Miata, but since that car sits outside, I don't leave the charger plugged in. After being somewhat lax in my every other week charging regimen and letting it go for a month or more, the battery was drained. Recharging it with the Ctek brought it back to life after a few hours, but I doubt this battery will make it through another winter.

I'd recommend either of these chargers with my preference going to the Ctek.
 
Well I usually don't drive my car often. I think 4k miles in the past two years. I unplug my battery basically anytime the car sits for longer then a week. It starts right up afterwards.

I might invest in a battery tender though because I'm going turbo and don't want to mess with the resetting of the ecu and such.

Stephen
 
I simply connect up a battery tender/float charger when the snow starts, because that probably means a few weeks off the street. This year may be different. I've driven it with the original Yoko's in very light snow with no problem. But, I went to Goodyear F1 GSD3s this year, and while I love the tires, they are true summer tires. Even Goodyear warns against using them below about 34F.

So, that may mean a few more weeks of inactivity this winter. However, when the temp hits 34.00001 F, it will be back on the road. I can't go that long without a visit to 8,000 rpm.

Frank
'96 NSX-T, red/tan
 
Hi Folks,

Anyone interested in winter maintenance, mods, etc. please drop me a note here on Prime, or email me at [email protected]. With the winter approaching, it is a good time to take care of those things like coolant hoses, timing belts, and other services that may be overdue:).

I am still amazed at how many NSX's I see with 12+ year old coolant hoses, and lack of other maintanence.

Things most often found:

Timing Belt Overdue by an extended interval
Coolant hoses old and soft
Axle shafts throwing grease
Oil Leaks - Spool valves, etc.
Clutch Hydraulics leaking
Stereos/Climate Controls
Brake Fluid old and dirty (especially the clutch systems)
General 60K Service (All Fluids/Filters, Trans Service, Valve Adjustment, etc.)

Regards and Thanks,
LarryB

PS: Contact me about the NorthEast CT Engineering Supercharger Group Buy!!
 
Larry Bastanza said:
Hi Folks,

Anyone interested in winter maintenance, mods, etc. please drop me a note here on Prime, or email me at [email protected]. With the winter approaching, it is a good time to take care of those things like coolant hoses, timing belts, and other services that may be overdue:).

I am still amazed at how many NSX's I see with 12+ year old coolant hoses, and lack of other maintanence.

Things most often found:

Timing Belt Overdue by an extended interval
Coolant hoses old and soft
Axle shafts throwing grease
Oil Leaks - Spool valves, etc.
Clutch Hydraulics leaking
Stereos/Climate Controls
Brake Fluid old and dirty (especially the clutch systems)
General 60K Service (All Fluids/Filters, Trans Service, Valve Adjustment, etc.)

Regards and Thanks,
LarryB

PS: Contact me about the NorthEast CT Engineering Supercharger Group Buy!!
Click to expand...

Very good post , Larry.

I used to work at a Chevy dealer , this is the time of year you would see most of the Corvette owners bring their cars in for work that was due. Good time to get things done without tying up your car during the warm weather.

However , as a mechanic it was a PIA road testing a Corvette with snow on the roads. - Not fun - :mad:
 
Cragar said:
Here's something to think about when storing your NSX - pest control.

Fall and Winter is the most likely time to have your garage visited by mice. As a former automobile mechanic I have seen this quite a bit. Mice will crawl into some part of your car and make a nest , fill it with nuts and seeds , chew your wires , carpet and insulation and poop and pee all over the place. I have had to cut open a rocker panel on one car to retrieve dead , stinky mice babies. Then that car went to the body shop to get the rocker repaired. The car still had a lingering odor for almost a year. I used to find them all the time in air cleaners when changing the element.

The number one way rodents will enter a structure is at the garage door. Go down to your garage first thing in the morning and before opening the door look to see if you can see any sunlight leaking at the seal where it meets to the concrete. This is quite common as garage door seals wear out and the wood nearby tends to rot out quickly being it is very close to the ground. Mice only need a hole the size of a dime to gain access. All gaps and holes must be plugged and sealed.

After putting your car to ' bed ' for the winter you will want to have some kind of control in place for any rodents that may gain entry even if you have done a good job of sealing up things tight. Look at it this way , sealing the garage is your first line of defense and having something waiting in case they breach your first line of defense is your back-up plan. Mice can be very difficult to keep out of older buildings or ones with poor construction.

For control of rodents you have roughly 3 choices - Poison ~ snap-traps ~ glue boards.

Poison will work , but the animals will die somewhere , and that somewhere could be in your car or in a wall and that will stink. For this reason I don't like using poisons.

Snap-Traps work very well and allow you to remove to dead animal before it causes a stink. Do not buy cheap no-name traps as they may not work well enough to catch the mouse and it turn it ' educates ' the mouse to what a trap is and to avoid it. Buy Victor brand wooden mousetraps. Look for the one that has a yellow plastic trigger instead of the small metal ' 4-way ' trigger. The ones with the yellow plastic trigger only cost pennies more than the metal kind and are much easier to set. The plastic already has a scent impregnated into the plastic and does not need bait. You can add bait to these traps if you wish , peanut butter is an excellent bait , much better than cheese like you see in cartoons. Put a very small amount of peanut butter on the trap , about the size of a match head. Less is better here , putting more than a match head will allow the mouse to steal the bait and get away. Using a small amount makes the mouse work to get the little tid-bit and he spends more time working the trap to get caught.

Glue boards will work as well and are a preferred method if you do not visit the garage often to re-set snap traps. Most glue boards will have a peanut scent in the glue so baiting is not needed. Glue boards will also catch any bugs crawling around as well.

Set your glue boards or snap-traps were the mice are going to be traveling. This will be along walls , up on casement sills , just inside garage doors , in corners or any place you see droppings. Where I have my NSX stored there are four glue boards one in each corner of the garage.

This is important - I have never caught a mouse in this garage for the 8 years I have owned my NSX. This garage is fairly well sealed and I have never had a problem. Every 6 months or so I toss out the glue boards which will have a few bugs caught and the glue is getting full of dirt and dust. It costs me less than $10 a year to have this ' back-up ' plan even though I have never really needed it. Having mice in a structure is not a matter of ' if ' you will get them , but more of like ' when ' you will get them.

For $10 a year I sleep very soundly knowing that the day a mouse gets in my garage he will find my glue boards before he finds my NSX.
Click to expand...


good post! in terms of the garage, i have that exact problem. My garage is uneven and it won't fully close on the left side of the garage, so a small crack is open-a very small crack. It lets in mice from time to time. Any advice in trying to seal this up?
 

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