[BOSSBMW]

Hi all, I'm in the process of putting my car up for the winter. I will be surrendering the plates on it and removing the insurance. I want to make sure I take good car of the vehicle before storing it. So far I have only washed it. But I hear i should add some fuel stabilizer? any specific brand i should look for? Dealer also told me to increase tire pressure to 45psi to avoid flat spots but I have low profile tires and rims i wasnt sure if this was a safe pressure. what else can i do?

Thanks...

[2kaccordocoupe]

Any fuel stabilizer is fine, increase the tire pressure or if you can get some small pieces of carpet and park each of the wheels on them.

Also hook the car up to a battery tender so it keeps the battery topped up.

Also keep an eye for rats and or field mice if you live near wooded areas as they love to build nests and chew wires when a car is sitting for long periods.

[carve]

You could just put snow tires on it. I do, and it works fine.

For storage though, putting it on blocks is best, but carpet and max rated pressure is good, too- especially if you push it forward or back a foot every couple of months.

Warm up the engine, do an oil change, add fuel stabilizer, restart, and then run it for a few minutes to let the fresh, clean oil coat all the internals and the fuel stabilizer to run through the fuel system. No more driving after that until spring.

While you have the little oil flap open, toss some mothballs or decon in there. Rodents like to run around up in the belly pan and chew on wiring. I just soldered mine back together this week.

If you really want to go the extra mile, pull each plug and put, say, 1/2 teaspoon of motor oil or marvel mystery oil in each cylinder, and then crank the engine for a couple seconds before you put the coils back on. This makes a nice coating on all the metal in there, and will gradually drip down coating the cylinders over the winter.

Last time I stored the car, I had it hooked to the cheapest battery tender I could find. The battery wouldn't hold a charge when I started it 9 months later. Get a good one, or just disconnect your battery.

[mikey23]

I've heard putting the car on blocks is bad for the suspension but I could be wrong. Inflating the tires is more than enough. If you havent done an oil change I would do that. I would also leave the windows open slightly to let any moisture out (if storing indoors). Don't leave the parking brake on ... if manual trans just leave it in gear.
If you have moisture where youre storing it you can lay down and park on a tarp and car cover for dust.

Oh and for the little critters you should plug your exhaust tips with a cloth.

This includes all the above posts ... fuel stabilizer, full tank gas etc etc

[fifa]

..put it up why? just get some winter/snow tires and you'll be good.

[bsamoul]

Why not drive it? It performs better than most SUVs in snow and whatnot