Question for the guys who park their cars for the winter..
#1
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Question for the guys who park their cars for the winter..
Do you guys normally change the oil before you park it, or wait until the spring and change it then? I've normally just parked it and waited til spring to change it, but I only changed the oil twice this past year (Amsoil synthetic roughly ~3200 miles on last change).
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I always do this in the spring. I wouldn't bother doing it before storage unless the oil is already at the end of it's normal change interval.
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#9
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I change the oil once a year, in the spring when the cars come out of storage...unfortunately nowadays I only get to put @1k miles between the 2 cars per season.
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I was also changing the oil once a year in the wife's T/A when we lived up north and parked it for the winter. Do it in the spring to get any moisture accumulated over the winter out of there.
Changing the oil now isn't going to do anything beneficial.. its just sitting in the bottom of the pan anyways.
Changing the oil now isn't going to do anything beneficial.. its just sitting in the bottom of the pan anyways.
#12
I can't believe almost everyone is saying to wait until Spring. I don't agree with that at all but to each their own.
The last thing you want is dirty, used oil sitting in your engine all winter with the acidic combustion byproducts eating away at your metal. You want fresh, clean oil sitting in there, and I do a fresh oil change for my TransAm and my lawn mowers before storage every year. Any minor moisture incurred over the winter will be quickly burned off after a good long drive in the Spring. A quick google search on winter storage preparation will find this is pretty much a universal recommendation.
http://www.porschenet.com/winter.html
http://www.miata.net/garage/winterprep.html
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=1255667
The last thing you want is dirty, used oil sitting in your engine all winter with the acidic combustion byproducts eating away at your metal. You want fresh, clean oil sitting in there, and I do a fresh oil change for my TransAm and my lawn mowers before storage every year. Any minor moisture incurred over the winter will be quickly burned off after a good long drive in the Spring. A quick google search on winter storage preparation will find this is pretty much a universal recommendation.
http://www.porschenet.com/winter.html
http://www.miata.net/garage/winterprep.html
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=1255667
Last edited by Bocefus; 12-14-2012 at 09:37 AM.
#13
^ this. It is better to coat the cylinder walls in CLEAN/NON ACIDIC oil before storage than to do it in spring. This practice is especially followed with marine engines but the principle applies the same to cars/vehicles.
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I can't believe almost everyone is saying to wait until Spring. I don't agree with that at all but to each their own.
The last thing you want is dirty, used oil sitting in your engine all winter with the acidic combustion byproducts eating away at your metal. You want fresh, clean oil sitting in there, and I do a fresh oil change for my TransAm and my lawn mowers before storage every year. Any minor moisture incurred over the winter will be quickly burned off after a good long drive in the Spring. A quick google search on winter storage preparation will find this is pretty much a universal recommendation.
http://www.porschenet.com/winter.html
http://www.miata.net/garage/winterprep.html
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=1255667
The last thing you want is dirty, used oil sitting in your engine all winter with the acidic combustion byproducts eating away at your metal. You want fresh, clean oil sitting in there, and I do a fresh oil change for my TransAm and my lawn mowers before storage every year. Any minor moisture incurred over the winter will be quickly burned off after a good long drive in the Spring. A quick google search on winter storage preparation will find this is pretty much a universal recommendation.
http://www.porschenet.com/winter.html
http://www.miata.net/garage/winterprep.html
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=1255667
Do what you like, but I've been following the spring-only change pratice now for over a decade with my garage queens to no ill effects whatsoever. Actually, sometimes I even skip a year when I've only put ~300 miles or so on a car with synthetic oil in it.
#15
Changing it prior to storage is only necessary if the oil is already at or near the end of it's change interval/service life. For those of us only driving our cars about 1k miles per year or less, the oil is still freash enough that it's simply not necessary to change it prior to storage (unless said mileage was accumulated only in short trips or under other severe conditions).
Do what you like, but I've been following the spring-only change pratice now for over a decade with my garage queens to no ill effects whatsoever. Actually, sometimes I even skip a year when I've only put ~300 miles or so on a car with synthetic oil in it.
Do what you like, but I've been following the spring-only change pratice now for over a decade with my garage queens to no ill effects whatsoever. Actually, sometimes I even skip a year when I've only put ~300 miles or so on a car with synthetic oil in it.
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I've always changed mine in the spring. Used to be where I would drive enough miles to where I was changing it twice a year. Lately though I've been in the 1-3k mile a year range and will just put some fresh oil in come spring time.
#19
I put about 1-2k on my car a year. I change it when it comes out of storage in the spring. The oil is typically still very fresh when I store it. I use Mobil 1 synthetic.