80 degrees today in NJ, but the calendar keeps dropping days and it won't be long before it will be time to put the 991 Cab into the garage for the winter.

This will be the first time for me to store a car, and so looking for any feedback you may have about steps to take before putting the cover on for the winter.

appreciate the help...

 

Why store it? Just drive it! Porsches are meant to be driven year-round! It's a total waste to have such a great car sit for months (and months).

So I'm just curious but why exactly are you going to store this car? You say you've never stored a car before.

Typically it's best to put the car up on jack stands to prevent the tires from flat spotting. Just pumping up the pressure isn't going to stop that from happening. A trickle charger is the next thing. You also need to put some Sta-bil in the gas. Other than that you should be fine. Once you're ready to start driving it again, change the oil.

 

I understand not wanting to drive on snowy and salty roads in my sports cars, I never do that. No offense to anyone, but to me that is costly abuse (to each his own). I drive my Forester in winter weather, that's why I bought it

Shove the car forward or backward every so often if your worried about flat spots. Putting it up on jack stands will expose the shock shafts and they can rust causing premature shock leak/failure. Don't ask me how I know this

I don't use gas additives in my Porsche. I fill with 93 octane then drive the car as often as conditions permit, then add more 93 at the end of each drive. I would check with Porsche about using Sta-Bil or any gas additive, I read that Porsche warns against using additives. I do add Sta-Bil to my old carburated Bugeye Sprite's gas tank since it is kind of like a 4 cylinder lawn mower

I agree with driving it as frequently as possible, conditions permitting, this is the best thing you can do for your cars. But I never (especially in cold weather) start the car unless I can drive it for at least an hour, hopefully more, hopefully at a minimum of every 2 weeks. Weekly is best.

I live against a woods and mice like to infiltrate my garage when it gets cold, so I scatter killer mouse bait all over the floor of my garage and wad up some steel wool in the tailpipe ends.

Oil & filter changes; good to do either close to the beginning or end of the low use period. If you keep driving it as often as possible it is not as critical as when you let it sit totally unused for months.

Hook up a Battery Tender, I use the Porsche unit since it I so easy to use in the cig lighter socket. I use a Battery Tender brand unit on my old Bugeye that connects directly to the battery terminals, which would work fine too on the Porsche. Just don't buy a cheap charger that will fry your battery if you forget about it. I got my Battery Tender brand charger on Amazon for about $45.00. The Porsche unit is a lot more but Suncoast has them at a pretty good price.

 

Thanks for the advice all.

Salt and sand on the roads around here really beats a car up in the winter, and so for me taking the 991 out of the daily driver lineup for a few months seems like a good idea. This is a car that I'd like to hang onto for a good long time.

Woodster -- really appreciate the feedback. I will have the chance to take her out on the road every other week or so....will look forward to those clear days where I can stretch her out a bit. In any case, will be sure to fill with 93 and keep the tires well inflated. The extra steps to keep the critters out also make sense. Question --- with the battery charger, that plugs into the cigarette lighter jack and then to standard 110 right? Do you leave the window slightly ajar to allow the power cord to snake out of the car and into an outlet? If so, any issues with the field mice getting in and taking up residence? I had that issue with a family of raccoons on my boat one winter --- not a pretty sight when the shrink wrap came off....let me know when you get a moment....thanks!

 

I have used Tire Cradles for 12 years no flat spots ever.
http://www.tirecradle.com/

 

Raccoons, I bet that was awful!

Anything is possible when it comes to mice, but no matter where you hook up a battery tender something will have to be slightly open unless you remove the battery from the car, which is certainly another option. I have owned an old Austin-Healey for years which is "wide open" all over and so far no problem.

Mouse-killer bait blocks (or whatever method you prefer), steel wool in the tailpipe, frequently inspecting things and driving my cars as often as possible has worked well so far.


I will have to look into these cradles, never heard of them before. What's the longest period of time that you have used them and not had flat spots?

 

I live in Minnesota. I put my car away typically in Nov and do not move it or start it untill March. I used them every year on my 996 till last year for 12 years.
I would start the car up in spring and drive it away. I left the air pressure as normal. Not even a hint of flat spots. The tire cradles still look like new. I bought a new 997 in Nov of 2011. I drove it all last winter because we had such a mild winter. We went on vacation for a few weeks and I put the car up. But when I came home snow was gone! So I started to drive it again. If a normal winter I will put car on the cradles again in Nov.
By the way I route my battery tender wire out the under the hood and down the front Chanel. I can completely close the hood without pinching the wires. I have done this also for 12 years.

 

Our most recent newsletter was all about winter storage. Here is a link to our website with some great advice:

http://www.suncoastparts.com/category/Battery2.html

Some of our most common items are battery maintainers:
http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...S_Exteriorcare

Car Covers:
http://www.suncoastparts.com/categor...orstorage.html

and don't forget the ice scraper:
http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...S_Exteriorcare

Let me know if you guys have any other questions. Happy to help.