Winterize ?
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Winterize ?
You folks that are planning on parking your Vette over the winter are you adding anything to the gas to combat the ethanol ?
#2
Team Owner
I do not, stored my previous 2008 Vette for 5 Winters and now my 2015 and no problems.
#3
Safety Car
Nope. With my former C6 I put Stabil in a couple of times but have not done anything except give it a good wash, attach it to battery tender and cover it.
Mine will be put away for the winter any day now. It's been so nice here, I kept it out longer this year.
Mine will be put away for the winter any day now. It's been so nice here, I kept it out longer this year.
#4
Burning Brakes
Another nope here. Stored our cars for months, no problems for many years.
Like others, we have not hibernated ours just yet, to be 60s Xmas Eve!
Like others, we have not hibernated ours just yet, to be 60s Xmas Eve!
#5
Intermediate
I also never used anything on my C5 and just put my new '16 C7 to bed without any. Like others just gave it a nice wash, put a cover on it, and attached a battery tender to it.
#6
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I put a bottle of Sta-Bil in my gas tank when storing the vehicle. Have done this for years.
#7
Safety Car
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This time of year I keep the gas tank at least 3/4 full, and change the oil and filter if needed.
Drive it until the roads get Salted or Snow falls.
Then it stays in the garage, with the Battery tender and cover on until the roads clear in the Spring.
Drive it until the roads get Salted or Snow falls.
Then it stays in the garage, with the Battery tender and cover on until the roads clear in the Spring.
#9
Drifting
I never totally hibernate my fun cars. In the mid-atlantic at least there are always occassional breaks that allow me to get out and drive with no snow/salt/crap on the road, if only a good 10 mile loop to get it up to temp and circulate fluids. Heck, this winter we haven't even had winter yet.
#10
Racer
Ditto for me. This is my second winter bed down and have done nothing more than PaulCPAST's response.
#11
Racer
Ditto for me. This is my second winter bed down and have done nothing more than PaulCPAMST's response.
#12
Burning Brakes
I always put Stabil in my cars that don't get driven much in the winter, plus the lawn mower/ lawn trimmer or snow blower off season -even before ethanol. I now use the Stabil 360 that releases a protective film in the tank.
#13
Drifting
Adding stabilizer, like insurance, is usually a waste of money. Gas usually has little or no dissolved water, and in that normal situation, it will store just fine over the winter without stabilizer. But sometimes, through mistakes somewhere in the delivery chain such as leaking storage tank roofs, poor procedures in line washes, barge leaks, etc, the gas can become saturated with dissolved water. If you are unlucky and your last tank of gas before storage has dissolved water, when the tank cools off over the winter, a water layer will form in your tank. Stabilizer prevents that. The fact that most of the time, gas does not have dissolved water explains why many people report good experience without stabilizer. So whether or not you use it depends on your view of insurance.
The problem can happen both with and without ethanol. The only difference is that with ethanol, the problem is slightly worse because the resulting water layer will be bigger. But if you are unlucky and get even pure gas with dissolved water, you will have a problem. The final caveat is that if you do use gas with ethanol, be sure not to use an IPA-based stabilizer like Seafoam. IPA-based stabilizers will not prevent dissolved water from separating if the gas contains ethanol.
The problem can happen both with and without ethanol. The only difference is that with ethanol, the problem is slightly worse because the resulting water layer will be bigger. But if you are unlucky and get even pure gas with dissolved water, you will have a problem. The final caveat is that if you do use gas with ethanol, be sure not to use an IPA-based stabilizer like Seafoam. IPA-based stabilizers will not prevent dissolved water from separating if the gas contains ethanol.
The following users liked this post:
Corgidog1 (12-26-2015)
#14
Team Owner
I generally will add a fuel stabilizer. Other than that, not much winterizing. Most years, I am able to drive my Corvette at least once a month. I live in Nebraska and am still driving the C7 on December 21 with no weather issues for the rest of the month. I can usually resume regular driving in early March.
#16
You have a car with a plastic gas tank vs. metal of older cars, and a car with gas system designed to handle ethanol ( designed to handle more then what is currently put in the gas)
Unlike older cars and small engines (lawnmowers, trimmers, etc) that were designed pre-ethanol standard fuel.
#17
The Consigliere
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I don't use Stabil. But I do put in a bottle of Chevron Techron concentrate (to keep the sulfur demons away and the fuel gauges working well), fill the tanks, put 'em to bed and hook up the tender.
#18
Put a fuel stabilizer in your gas tank. I recommend StarTron. It is particularly effective for preserving ethanol fuels up to 2 years. Boats and yachts often sit for long periods of time without use. I worked in the marine industry for 7 years. Never heard of a single fuel related issue for those using StarTron. I use Startron in all my vehicles year around to prevent fuel problems from occurring.
http://mystarbrite.com/startron/
http://mystarbrite.com/startron/
Last edited by BladeSilver2015; 12-23-2015 at 05:33 AM.