Rascal1

Here we go...winter storage for the great northeast. Yes still a newbie when it comes to winter storage. Should I add stabilizer to a full tank, or run it down and add fresh fuel in the spring. I will have heated indoor storage. I have had lots of interesting Input from others but prefer to hear it from other c4 owners with more knowledge. Btw love this forum I have picked up lots of info here.

FAUEE

Lots of talk on this. IMO, full gas, ethanol free if possible, and additives of your choice.

Rascal1

Yes I've heard avoid ethanol it tends to "gum" things up. Any thoughts on stabilizers?

ls777z

Other than using non-ethanol gas exclusively in the cars that I store I have never used additives and haven't had any issues. But if it makes you sleep better go ahead and use them.

Rascal1

Non ethanol Seems to be the general consensus...is the age of the fuel an issue? Full or partial tank is the question.

Cruisinfanatic

Always full tank and always stabilizer. Non ethanol yr round if you can

JETS C3-C4

With all the other suggestions.

And also a Battery Tender.

mickey5

I'm pumping mine dry this year with a transfer pump. Since its a closed system with the cap on, where's the moisture coming from, if the tank is empty?

Cruisinfanatic

Don't know, but when the inside rusts..........

Might as well take the oil out too

JETS C3-C4

It is called condensation.
Is your car stored in a heated building?
You would also need to pump all of the air out and create a vacuum to prevent any condensation.

jayjones

Your sig says you live in NJ so the air that replaces the fuel you pump out will probably be about 70% relative humidity.

skyhawk50

They don’t melt. I got 4 C4’s and 2 of them always live outside. And not always the same 2.

Aaron71771

Having stored mine for many Michigan winters, I just fill the tank to the top just before I put it away. Have never needed to add any fuel stabilizers. I usually store mine from Beginning of Nov through most of April.

Cruisinfanatic

They won't melt, but they will rust

mickey5

the garage is part of the house...usually 10 degrees warmer than outside. RH this time of year is under 50 percent during the day.

Gotta pump the tank as the half thats left is about 2 years old. Still runs well but don't want to take it into next spring. I'm more concerned about the open valves in the engine so I'll plug the exhaust. Don't want to fog the engine. Too much smoke next spring in the house.
I'll let you folks how I make out next year. LOL

Cruisinfanatic

Why don't you just go for a ride?
You heard sound advice here, but Whatever you wanna do.

mickey5

South Jersey has very uninteresting topography. Choked antiquated roads, the pine barrens, The GSP is ok south to AC but how many times can you go to Kerbeck and wander around his new Vette lot?

As far as an empty tank closed system; no one says it doesn't work. How many new car lots have vehicles with full gas tanks and some inventory sitting for a year or more?

95tealconvert

I would simply fill the tank with non ethanol high octane and add a stabilizer that will rejuvenate the older fuel. Why pump out all the gas? Just my 2 cents but seems unnecessary at this point to do so.

Rascal1

Does non ethanol fuel make the motor run hotter and is 90 octane good enough? That is the only octane I can find.

SJW

FWIW, mine has sat in total hibernation for the entirety of 15 mid-Atlantic winters, in an unheated garage, with however much Ethanol-laced fuel was left in the tank when it was parked at the end of the season (non-ethanol is not readily available in the area). I raise the ragtop, plug in a battery tender that feeds through the lighter socket, and forget about it. I have never added any sort of stabilizer or other additive to the fuel. The car has NEVER failed to start right up and run flawlessly whenever I get back into it after the air warms up, which has sometimes been in excess of six months later. It takes a few miles of driving in the spring to work the flat spots out of the Pilot Sports, but there has been no other negative result, ever.

I have found stabilizers to be mostly worthless. I sold a motorcycle because I could not keep it running, even with the blue marine-grade Stabil in the tank. If the bike sat for more than a couple of weeks, the pilot jets in the carburetors would get clogged with gelled fuel, and the damned thing wouldn't idle. I got so tired of cleaning out the carburetors before I could ride it that I got rid of it.

Carburetors might not like to have ethanol fuel sit in them for any length of time, but injected systems seem to tolerate it just fine. I wouldn't let one sit for years with ethanol fuel in it, but I wouldn't do it with pure gasoline, either. Over the winter, however, it's just nothing I've found any reason to worry about. I do make sure I drive the car enough during the summer that the fuel never gets excessively stale (i.e., years old).

Use a battery tender, keep the rodents away from the car, and sleep well at night.

Live well,

SJW