Putting the Car away for the Winter - any tips
Discussion
mungo said:
Best advice is don't. Sure it's not good for cars all that "putting away" malarky - They are there to be driven!
You can still enjoy winter motoring on a cold clear day as mungo says, but if you have resigned yourself to putting it away get the service done.
Old oil contains lots of metal eating contaminants.Change the engine oil at the very least.
I assume you have a dry garage to put your car in, in which case you should jack the car up and fit stands under the 4 corners to keep the tyres off the floor and prevent flat spots occuring.
I hardly use mine in winter but have to agree cold winter sunday morning blasts are superb. If mine is lacking in use I always start it at least once a fortnight and run it until the fan cuts in, move it in and out of the garage to prevent flatspots and the handbake sticking and work all the electrics.
Complete chapter on it in the bible. Main thing is to keep the battery alive and stop brakes/clutch seizing.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
Keep using it, even if only to keep everything oiled and lubricated.
I was out of work for 6 months a few years back and had my Chimaera at the time. Luckily I'd paid up the insurance/tax not long before being laid off. I had another car to use for daily stuff. I decided not to use the Chimaera much for cost reasons. It got a run of about 8-10 miles once a week - started up, drove off straight away and got it nicely warmed through. Got home and parked on the driveway until the fans kicked in so everything was thoroughly warmed through. Then put it away in the garage again. Car was perfectly happy with this, plus I could select a fine dry day for it's 10 mile spurt too.
I was out of work for 6 months a few years back and had my Chimaera at the time. Luckily I'd paid up the insurance/tax not long before being laid off. I had another car to use for daily stuff. I decided not to use the Chimaera much for cost reasons. It got a run of about 8-10 miles once a week - started up, drove off straight away and got it nicely warmed through. Got home and parked on the driveway until the fans kicked in so everything was thoroughly warmed through. Then put it away in the garage again. Car was perfectly happy with this, plus I could select a fine dry day for it's 10 mile spurt too.
Mine goes to Croydon 5 times a week, which is a bit of a pain in traffic, but on the plus side I now have a left calf muscle like Arnie Schwartzenegger. Blast up to Yorkshire at the weekend and now it needs a wash and a bit of care. Must put some good synthetic in it soon. Mind you, I haven't got any option as its my only car. Not like you three car garage types (I wish) !!
Mine was in Newcastle last week, Bristol this week and will be in London next week. She will be in for a full leg wax on thurs to help keep those hairy bits at bay during the winter months as there will be many more trips to do. I don't even have access to a garage. I used to ride motorbikes and the damage caused by six months in a cold garage to the rubbers, tyres, chrome and rusting internal components that had dried out was quite a lot more than you think. At least I could see all the bits on the bike! Drive it (not just roung the block), at least once a week if you can't do it every day. Isn't that what it was designed, built and purchased for?
Erm that sounds like I'm having a go.. I'm not, it's just my thoughts on the subject. It does seem that a lot of TVR owners just don't get much use out of their cars. Why not? They are great and mines more reliable than my MX5 was (yes I did own one)
>> Edited by derf on Monday 11th October 16:11
Erm that sounds like I'm having a go.. I'm not, it's just my thoughts on the subject. It does seem that a lot of TVR owners just don't get much use out of their cars. Why not? They are great and mines more reliable than my MX5 was (yes I did own one)
>> Edited by derf on Monday 11th October 16:11
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