putting her to bed

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Alan
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Location: west bloomfield

putting her to bed

Post by Alan »

It's time to put the race car to bed.

Everyone I ask about winterizing the race car has a different opinion.

So below are some of the questions:

How low do you go,
on your antifreeze before you store your race car before winter? Can we use the green stuff or orange stuff? Will my antique tester, work on the orange?

Do you leave your battery in the car or storage it? Do you charge it before you store it? Or put it on a charger for the winter?

Every fall mice think that my race car is a new condo ready for remodeling. How do you keep mice out of the car?

Should I take the race tires off the car for the winter? Do they need to be stored in a warm dry place? Or should I put the car on jacks? Or do you say screw it there just old race tires anyways?
Alan Faitel

If you Cant Win the Race, then practicing Your Drifting

Just happy to still be racing!
badrocco16v
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Location: Livonia, MI

Re: putting her to bed

Post by badrocco16v »

Keep your tires in climate controlled environment. Basement etc...
Drain the coolant and get a cat.
Not sure about the other stuff.
Curtis
Alan
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Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2007 3:45 am
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Location: west bloomfield

Re: putting her to bed

Post by Alan »

from Bruce Wentzel

Regarding mice
a 5 gallon pail with the spinning wheel baited with peanut butter is the answer. takes a mouse and keeps on trapping.
Had as many as 16 accumulated in my old red truck one winter.
Alan Faitel

If you Cant Win the Race, then practicing Your Drifting

Just happy to still be racing!
SeniorPBA2B
Posts: 372
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 10:25 am
Location: Livonia

Re: putting her to bed

Post by SeniorPBA2B »

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/ ... ?techid=37

What's missing in the above is the tires should be deflated down to roughly 5 psi ... and removed from the car to avoid flat spots and/or storing the car up on jackstands.

If stored in a non-heated garage, the engine and cooling system should be protected with an adequate amount of ethylene-glycol based anti-freeze (green, gold, pink, etc.) Do not use the orange Dexcool stuff that GM uses unless you completely fill the system with a liquid coolant mixture that is devoid of any air, to avoid the corrosion that oxidation will create.

Scattering moth balls throughout the vehicle will keep the rodents away from your vehicle, but it makes your car stink for months thereafter. The intake and exhaust openings should be wrapped tight and sealed.

The battery should be cleaned with a mild solution of baking soda and water, fully charged and then stored indoors.

Jim
"Tough times don't last ... tough people do."
Alan
Posts: 305
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Re: putting her to bed

Post by Alan »

A friend said

mice don't like dryer sheets
Alan Faitel

If you Cant Win the Race, then practicing Your Drifting

Just happy to still be racing!
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924RACR
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Location: Royal Oak, MI
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Re: putting her to bed

Post by 924RACR »

Some additional thoughts, and my take...

Orange coolant - there'd better not be any air in my coolant system anyway, bubbles do bad things.

Lucky enough not to have real mice problems - must be enough feral or outdoor cats in the neighborhood.

Battery: got an Optima. I just pop the kill switch in the fall, and kick it back on in the spring... has worked well enough for the past 10 years, it seems...

Another thing, speaking of things that'll freeze - don't forget to bring your firebottle inside, if you have an AFFF style bottle (Aqueous Film-Forming Foam)... my little car does, and I'd hate to have that thing freeze solid...

Oh, yeah, on tires - well, they're old and junk anyway in the spring, aged out, so I don't generally worry too much about preserving them over the winter, just buy new and go faster... but I agree with removing, deflating, storing in bags in a steady temp area away from electric motors and light, if you are looking to preserve them...
Vaughan Scott
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greendot
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Location: Milford, MI

Re: putting her to bed

Post by greendot »

Tried moth balls and dryer sheets
found a baby mouse on the dryer sheet.
Water/antifreeze trap is infallible. Years ago there was an article in the OCSC newsletter describing that.
Yeah, I am an old fart.
Sheldon Cooper "Leonard, friends are like toilet paper. It's good to have spares under the sink."
greendot
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Re: putting her to bed

Post by greendot »

badrocco16v wrote:Keep your tires in climate controlled environment. Basement etc...
Drain the coolant and get a cat.
Not sure about the other stuff.
Tried the 'dry" system on an RX-7 some years ago.
That summer a thru bolt broke. Cross said that was a no-no as the bolts will corrode in the dry environment.
Sheldon Cooper "Leonard, friends are like toilet paper. It's good to have spares under the sink."
RJK045
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Re: putting her to bed

Post by RJK045 »

What my dad and I use to do as far as the car goes is put on street tires. or put it on jack stands at the furthest point on the suspension closes to the wheels. this way the springs don't sit unloaded witch will make the car handle different for the first few race weekends as well sit higher been doing this for 46 years
r.ranville
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Location: Flint

Re: putting her to bed

Post by r.ranville »

Not a race car, but...I keep my Miata in the garage attached to my house, where it seldom gets down to freezing. I start it once a week, move it around in the driveway and run it up and down the street when it is reasonably clear. Seems to be doing OK.
You might as well go fast; it'll go by fast anyway.
drm101
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Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2016 3:09 pm

Re: putting her to bed

Post by drm101 »

I've always heard that it's a good idea to change the oil just before storage because used oil has contaminants that are acidic and if they sit on bearings over time they can erode them. Also, roll the motor over, or better yet, loosen rocker arms so that valve springs that are compressed don't take a set.
Alan
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Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2007 3:45 am
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Location: west bloomfield

Re: putting her to bed

Post by Alan »

its time
Alan Faitel

If you Cant Win the Race, then practicing Your Drifting

Just happy to still be racing!
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