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Hibernation

Zed Baron

Zed Baron

Senior member
Scotland
So, winter is now upon us (even though it's pretty mild at the moment) so Ive stuck the Z away in the garage until the spring. I've kept the insurance rolling but for the first time I've actually SORNd it (covers the RFL for one of the other cars then). Its sitting on its trickle charger and I plan to start it regularly and move it down and up the drive. Anything else I should consider?
 
IMHO..you shouldn’t move the car up and down the drive unless you get the engine fully upto temperature for day 15 minutes…otherwise more harm done than just leaving it on float charge….if you want to be protective a couple of bungs up the tail pipes after it’s got thoroughly warm…

Next level is a fresh oil and filter change before putting it to the bed… :thumbsup:
 
I have put four squares of old carpet on the garage floor for the tyres to sit on. I heard that sitting on cold concrete can damage tyres over long periods.
I leave the handbrake off and the car unlocked. Then I just put the trickle charger on for a day every couple of weeks. They use virtually no battery charge like that.

And a few mouse traps around the car. If they decide to nest inside the car they can cause havoc! :)
 
Never start a car for the sake of it, it just fills the engine with condensation. Put it away steaming hot and leave it. Pumping the tyres up hard will help keep flatspots at bay.

One up from bits of carpet under the tyres is to find someone getting rid of a whole short pile room carpet and lay it on the garage floor. Keeps the dust down and it's far nicer if you ever need to grub about on the floor!
 
Thanks... I have an ultrasonic mouse deterrent and our champion mouser on constant patrol. I'll check the insurance and get a couple of bungs. One of the projects for the garage is to get rubber interlocking tiles fitted and I'll keep the other two cars out if sight incase it gets jealous.
 
Zed Baron said:
SORNd
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You guys get taxed on something sitting in a garage? That's a new one for me. We cover our road maintenance through a state and federal gasoline tax. If you're not drivin... you're not taxed...

Now these new energizer batterymobiles cause a glitch in the matrix that they've not figured out yet, but I'm sure they will.
 
smorris_12 said:
One up from bits of carpet under the tyres is to find someone getting rid of a whole short pile room carpet and lay it on the garage floor. Keeps the dust down and it's far nicer if you ever need to grub about on the floor!
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Quick note from an acquaintances' experience. Indoor carpet under a car is a fire hazard... his garage lit up from fluids that gathered and combusted - and it wasnt even a shag! Indoor carpet isn't fire resistant. There are garage carpet mats or tiles made for this environment, usually made of propylene and tend to melt instead of combusting. Be safe... keep the carpet on the inside.... (of car or house)

car-photo-funny-interior-orange-shag-carpet-dash.jpg
 
Christopher72 said:
You guys get taxed on something sitting in a garage? That's a new one for me. We cover our road maintenance through a state and federal gasoline tax. If you're not drivin... you're not taxed...
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Yep that's what happens in the UK, unless you declare it as being Off the Road. I'd much prefer your system!
 
Christopher72 said:
Zed Baron said:
SORNd
Click to expand...

You guys get taxed on something sitting in a garage? That's a new one for me. We cover our road maintenance through a state and federal gasoline tax. If you're not drivin... you're not taxed...

Now these new energizer batterymobiles cause a glitch in the matrix that they've not figured out yet, but I'm sure they will.
Click to expand...
No we dont, SORN stands for Stored Off Raod Notification. No tax is payable while SORN is applied
 
Dont over think this issue, park it, put a trickle charger on or just connect it one day a week will do.
A cotton sheet over it to keep bugs and general dust off is a good idea.
As for carpet, not parking on concrete etc thats all just irrelevant. Cars in colder climes spend pretty much all their lives on cold concrete etc, the tyres dont degrade at all and carpet wont stop the tyre deforming, because it wont deform anyway in a few months, sure someone without a life has done research on how long a tyre needs to deform if not moving, itll be on google somewhere.
If you want to start it and drive it up and down the drive then do it, in the grand scheme of things it'll make no difference to anything......
 
Oill and filter change, cleaned and wax the body then acf50 the underside put on trickle charger and finally

20220930_113812.jpg
 
Yep. On the cold, blue sky days, put the roof down, your collar up and drive to somewhere good. For me, this is when the E89 is at its best.
You're describing summer up here, we are now back to being 'dreich' :rofl:
 
I leave ours in gear with the handbrake off, the windows down 1/2 an inch (or put one of those "121" branded dehumidifier pots you get from pondland or B&M inside), and a couple of dust sheets over it that don't really keep the dust off but do protect the paintwork as the car gradually becomes a table over winter :).

I shove the CTEK on it overnight once every few weeks, and roll it back a foot or so when I charge it, then forwards again the next month. I've also drained the washer fluid, or more accurately it has drained itself, but it is something I used to do.

Paul
 
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