Hibernation Time -- Quick Q's
 

Hey all, just bought my first Z a few months ago! She's an 09 in white, only 42k and impeccable condition. Not a scratch, odor, tear, or chip. Got her for $15,000k and despite the great price I want to treat her right, which is why I'm here posting!

Looking at winter storage here in Calgary, Canada where the winters will get cold and snowy. The Z will be resting in my garage (not heated) for the winter months. Done lots of research into how to properly store her through various reading on this forum. Wondering if I have checked all the boxes here?

Will be setting her to sleep sometime in early November and wake her up in April...the plan in place is:

1. Inflate tires to a solid PSI (40?) and place on Flatstopper ramps. Is there another option? Read a few people say it's unnecessary, some use mats?
2. Battery maintainer -- Motomaster Eliminator Precision Series 1.5A -- hooked up directly to the battery in the garage, which can get a bit chilly on the coldest days but still way nicer than outside. But after reading, don't want to detach the battery from the car? Seems better to leave it?
3. Car Cover
4. Add Stabil to full tank, take for a quick drive to mix it in
5. Thorough cleaning in and out
6. Recently took it in for service in July, so assuming all liquids are fine until the Spring when I'll take it for service again
7. Cancel insurance for the winter months

Really appreciate any feedback. I'm very new to sports cars and winter hibernation in general -- happy to have acquired a lot of information (some conflicting) via this and other forums. I got most of this info through the site and want to make sure all my research yielded the correct plan!

Glad to have joined the ranks of Z owners.

Welcome to the forum, and to Z ownership!
Leave the battery hooked to the car. It saves resetting windows, clocks, etc.
Oil change just prior to hibernation would be better. Combustion creates acids in the lubricant, plus whatever contaminants in the oil can settle and sludge.
Glad I live in Texas! Year round Z!



Kirk B.

Good idea changing your oil prior to storing your Z sludge is not good. I use a Battery Tender every year before I store my Z. 40 psi will be fine for tire pressure. I park on rubber mats it seems to work I never had any flat spots on my tires yet. Sounds like you are on the right track just leave your battery in your Z that’s what I do and just hook it up to my Battery Tender.

I live in Michigan and put my Z inside a car bag in the garage or barn with desicants inside. Under the car bag I have an old rug to keep the moisture from coming through the cement. I put in some dryer sheets in the car to keep it smelling good and also keep away mice, if they were ever to get into the sealed bag, which they never have. I take out the battery and store it in the basement of my house, charging it. When I bring the car out in the spring it is like new.

I've been storing mine in cold storage for the past 6 years.

1) inflate to 40psi. I don't bother with cradles. It's a non-heated building that'll go down into the negatives and I've never suffer flat spots on the tires. Firehawk indy 500s btw for reference.

2) a few dryer sheets inside the cabin and hatch. Helps reduce weird smells without being obnoxious.

3) crack the windows slightly.

4) leave car in neutral if manual and do not use e-brake. Chalk the car obviously if you go this route.

5) steel wool in tail pipes and decon or other pesticide around the car to keep critters out.

6) disconnect the battery. You lose your radio and clock, but that's it. I've never had any noticeable impact on performance after reconnecting and this is from someone running a custom tune.

7) car cover, but make sure the car is spotless. If you put the cover on with dust still on the car, it could micro scratch the paint voer time.

8) change oil before it goes into into storage and after you pull it out.

9) full bottle of regular stabil into the tank of 93 Oct. Let idle for 5 minutes and you're good to go.

10) take photos of it in storage if you're storing it in a public place. And write down mileage.

Thanks for the great feedback. A couple follow-up questions:

My car is auto so I was planning to put it into neutral, then enable the e-Brake, then put it into park for storage? I usually do this when I park anyway because I read going into neutral first before enabling the e-brake, then putting it into park puts the least strain on the car. Maybe you can confirm? Or perhaps it's different for storage?

I have been using 91 oct gas, do I use 93 strictly for storage? Or can I do the 91 as I have been doing?

My car will be parked in a non-heated garage (though it's mostly insulated) still does get cold in there during the harshest winter days, and will be parked on concrete. Not sure what tires I have but they appear to be wide performance tires. Maybe I should just go with some inch thick rubber mats below each tire instead of full-fledged flatstoppers?

I have driven it about 1500km since the last oil change. Does that impact people's recommendations to change it out for winter storage? Seems like I have barely driven it since the swap. It was MOBIL ONE 5W-30 oil.

Thanks again my man. Appreciate the info. And to everyone else. This is very useful.

get rid of that MOTOMASTER junk!!!

If you get the NOCO Genius, they have charger adapter via the OBDII connector port. Never have to open hood, or remove battery. Get the 7.2A version.

Other good charger/maintainer is the CTEK. Porsche and MB use that exclusively.

One other thing about Octane rating on different brands. I'm not sure what's available in Alberta, but I ONLY run Chevron 94 here in BC. Why? because it's only .05/litre more than the 91 and it's ETHANOL FREE.

Shell 91 is also ETHANOL FREE but they don't use dedicated pump and because its BMW and Ferrari Kool-Aid, they charge more than Chevron 94. Car wont notice difference, but its principle. ;)

Not sure whats available in Alberta, but I would at least fill with ETHANOL FREE for storage.

Oh okay! I haven't gone to buy yet but Canadian Tire has this brand. I don't see the 7.2A version on their site though. Are you able to recommend a NOCO Genius model from the Canadian Tire site for the Z? I really appreciate this. I'm new to all the nuances of automotive storage. Seem to be quite a few options from NOCO Genius available.

Someone else will have to chime in regarding the e brake situation on an auto. My recommendation would be to just get it into neutral and chalk it.

Running 91 Oct is fine. The car is rated for premium fuel. So 91 will cut it. Add stabil and it'll be fine.

It can't hurt to put some rubber mats under the tires. My car has sat on solid concrete in -20f temps for months on end without any issues with the tires becoming flat. Just be sure to over inflate to 40psi. I would save the money and get some fun car parts for what flatstoppers cost.

Id still recommend changing the oil. It has cycled the engine and mixed with whatever was leftover. For $30 if you diy, you'll have safe of mind.

You don't need to put the auto trans in neutral - totally different beast than the manual.

I would suggest not using the e-brake - long-term engagement can cause sticking. Use chocks instead. Or jack it up and use jack stands.

There are a lot of good battery maintainers out there. There's at least one thread on the subject. If you can't find the thread using the site's search function (or just don't like it), you can go to any of the big search engines and add "site:the370z.com" to your search string, eg, https://html.duckduckgo.com/html?q=b...%3Athe370z.com

I agree! The Motomaster brand chargers are complete junk. I had one fail and overheat a couple years ago. Luckily, I was in the garage when it happened so I disconnected it from my battery before it caused any damage.

I have been using a CTek 3300 since and it is bulletproof. Hook it up and forget it. It is also the brand of chargers supplied with new Ferraris.

I agree. I can not overstate the importance of filling with ethanol free. Stabil will do nothing to prevent the ethanol from rusting and rotting out your fuel tank and fuel system from the inside out. Don't believe me? Watch this.

https://youtu.be/UvS_D4_lF5U

Yes, That's where I bought mine. I'm sure it available on amazon or other local parts stores.

HOWEVER. looks like NOCO has changed their lineup and come out with new models. The 7.2A is now obsolete. They are simply called Genious2,5 or 10. Get the 10A. https://no.co/products/charging/multipurpose

https://no.co/gc012

Here you go: https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/n...-0111984p.html

I've used the old version for over 3 years and no issues. I'm sure the new version is just as good.

Also available at another Calgary CT.

1. Inflate tires to a solid PSI (40?) and place on Flatstopper ramps. Is there another option? Read a few people say it's unnecessary, some use mats?
Not really necessary unless they are Vintage Bias-Ply Tires or you're storing it for years.

2. Battery maintainer -- Motomaster Eliminator Precision Series 1.5A -- hooked up directly to the battery in the garage, which can get a bit chilly on the coldest days but still way nicer than outside. But after reading, don't want to detach the battery from the car? Seems better to leave it?
I used a battery maintainer for the first year.

3. Car Cover
Yes! Covercraft or Coverking

4. Add Stabil to full tank, take for a quick drive to mix it in
Yep.

5. Thorough cleaning in and out
Always before you cover it.

6. Recently took it in for service in July, so assuming all liquids are fine until the Spring when I'll take it for service again

7. Cancel insurance for the winter months
I don't know how it is in Canada but here in the US they charge extra when putting back a car that was kept uninsured. I think you can suspend it?

I have State Farm and I suspend the insurance, except to cover for theft or damage while stored.
I wash the car, let it stand for about two or three days after taking out the battery to make sure that it is dry and then I put a car cover on it before putting it in a car bag with desiccants.

That video link is complete BS. In a closed fuel system no moisture will get into fuel. His test jars are all open to the atmosphere. Unless you leave gas cap off the vehicle, that's not a valid test,

1) Clean the car inside and outside

2) Inflate tires to 40 PSI just to be safe

3) Change oil and filter

4) Go to gas station and put in some 91 ethanol free gas and fuel stabilizer

5) Drive car to get up to temp

6) Put steel wool in the exhaust pipe

7) Hook up to battery tender

8) Use a cheese grater to grate some irish spring soap to put on the mats in the car to keep a fresh smell and potential critters out

9) Put stoppers on back tires and front tires with the parking brake disengaged and the car in neutral


10) I do not use a car cover, I just use quick detail spray while the car is in the garage and if it accumulated dust that isn't to my liking

11) Periodically come into the garage and stare a the car wondering why you didn't enjoy it more in the nice weather and count the days down

Also DO NOT start the car up unless you will be getting it up to temps also cancel insurance so that it stops on the first of the month or whatever day you started it.

Wash and wax the Z. Drive into the garage. Put on the battery tender. Suspend insurance. Cover with bed sheets. Start on winter project. Remove sheets as needed. My garage is in my basement. So it's 68F to 70F year round. :tup:

I do most of what is in this thread, except I put in more than 40psi. Living in a colder climate area, I put in at least 45psi (max is like 51 I think). Figure, you lose 1 psi for every 10 degree temp drop and lose 1 psi about every month.. Going with only 40, I'd probably be back to normal 35psi by January with at least 3 more months of storage remaining..
Probably doesn't make much of a difference anyways.. just throwing it out there.
I think it was mentioned to fill the tank with gas (+ Stabil).. filling is also supposed to help in reducing the amount of air exposure to the fuel..

Hello fellow Calgarian!

What temperature does everyone feel should determine it’s time to put it to sleep

Once the temperature gets low enough, that you run the risk of city crews deploying salt, and you run the risk of unknowingly driving over it and getting it all over your Z.

It's not daytime temperatures you should be concerned about; but night time low temperatures.

I make sure to get my Z off the road before the first night where the temperature dips below 4°C (40°F). If you don't, you are going to be spraying salt (and salt dust, and maybe even brine) all over the undercarriage of your beautiful Z.

While some city crews may start deploying salt with nightly lows at closer to 0°C, there's no way to know for sure what level of discretion they use to decide at exactly what temperature threshold to do it at. Some city manager in a certain area that you will drive through may order the roads salted with just a 3°C nightly low, so I play it safe. I cut off the Z with 4°C nightly lows... to never see the road again until April or May, after at least a week or two of steady rainfall to wash away the winter's worth of salt.

PS. I find private property managers can be even more over-zealous than the city crews. The first place I always see salt every fall is a mall near my house where they start deploying huge amounts of salt all over the mall parking lot when nightly lows hit just around 3-4°C. I'm guessing they really don't want to see a lawsuit due to a accident on their property.

Same here. It’s not about the cold temperatures or the snow. It’s the road salt that determines when it’s time to put my Z away. My Z doesn’t come back out in the spring until there’s been a good rainfall to wash it away.

Can Fuel Stabilizer Kill Your Motorcycle? Comparison Test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chsGBhB5g7o