I have an mr2 that is just a nice day/Sunday driver. It generally gets driven once or twice a week. I don't drive it if they are calling for rain and definitely not if there is salt on the road. Because of this and living in PA it sits all winter.

I am currently running a battery tender and have star tron in the gas (ethanol free). My question is how full do you guys keep your fuel tank? I currently have a 1/4 tank and try to run the car every two weeks. One issue I could see would there being more room for condensation in the tank when it's not full.

I used to live in the frozen tundra. I was told to keep the tank almost full because of condensation.

Sta-bil and a full tank.

Have a few summer only cars and have been doing it forever, never a problem.

quote:

Originally posted by xanth:
Sta-bil and a full tank.

Have a few summer only cars and have been doing it forever, never a problem.

This has always worked for me in NY.

Thanks, I am going to run it down and top it off today since the roads are actually dry for once.

quote:

Originally posted by xanth:
Sta-bil and a full tank.

Everytime we deployed from Ft Drum for a year or more, this is what I did with my truck while it was stored.

If you can get it, fill it with 100% pure gas, no ethanol crap.

Full tank with Sta-bil, put it on a Battery Tender and leave it. I don't think just starting it and letting it idle helps anything. My Corvette and boats sit like that for at least 6 months out of the year. No problems at all.

I've read in the past it's good to put it up on jack stands, too, to be nice to the rubber. Don't know how much truth there is to that.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I've read in the past it's good to put it up on jack stands, too, to be nice to the rubber. Don't know how much truth there is to that.

Probably is a good idea, but I just over-inflate the tires.

I will one up you guys. I use Sta-bil marine 360 formula. It is supposed to have a fogging agent in it so the vapors also help protect.

I am in the camp of STA-BIL and how ever much fuel you want to leave in your tank. Some newer model vehicles use polymer fuel tanks so rust within the tank isn't a big issue anymore. Even the fuel lines are polymer in many newer fuel injected motors.

Keep the battery on a low amp input battery maintainer since to much heat from some devices will kill a battery. Starting the car and allowing it to idle isn't necessary. The alternator will not charge up the battery sufficiently in a few minutes of idle, especially if it's already been on a battery maintainer. You're adding unnecessary wear to the motor. A better idea is to drive the car for a few miles, weather permitting. That gets the drive train fully lubed with all fluids circulating and up to operating temperatures which reduces wear.

That said, some on the Corvette forums believe you should run the tank almost dry so the fuel level sensor isn't sitting in fuel containing sulfur which may eventually cause erratic readings. You can add concentrated TECHRON to minimize that issue.

Steel belted tires don't 'flat spot' like the old nylon belted tires. Inflate to normal psi or slightly over inflate to compensate for usual psi loss during cold weather. Don't forget to adjust when you drive it to avoid abnormal tire wear.

quote:

Full tank with Sta-bil

Certainly works in all my small engines.

I like the Jack Stand idea as well.
Or they make curved saddles to park in for infrequently used cars. They are drive on so no jacking and easy to use and repark the car if needed. Search "flatstoppers" on Amazon. They may need to be sized to your tire for best results.
Disclaimer, I've never had any.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I've read in the past it's good to put it up on jack stands, too, to be nice to the rubber. Don't know how much truth there is to that.

I looked at putting my 911 up on jack stands for the winter, but read on the 911 forums (Rennlist) that it was not a good idea. I am probably just going take the tire pressure up to 50 PSI (normally 47) and put some carpet padding under the tires. A friend tried those plastic anti-flat blocks with his AWD 911. When he was pulling up on them he had to a give it a little gas and shot two of the blocks across the driveway into his daily driver. No damage, but it was a little scary.

quote:

Originally posted by Censored:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I've read in the past it's good to put it up on jack stands, too, to be nice to the rubber. Don't know how much truth there is to that.

I looked at putting my 911 up on jack stands for the winter, but read on the 911 forums (Rennlist) that it was not a good idea. I am probably just going take the tire pressure up to 50 PSI (normally 47) and put some carpet padding under the tires. A friend tried those plastic anti-flat blocks with his AWD 911. When he was pulling up on them he had to a give it a little gas and shot two of the blocks across the driveway into his daily driver. No damage, but it was a little scary.

Do you run 47#psi in your tires on the street or is that just for storage?

50#psi might be maximum printed on the tire but that's pretty high by modern standards for optimal street wear.

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I've read in the past it's good to put it up on jack stands, too, to be nice to the rubber. Don't know how much truth there is to that.

Probably is a good idea, but I just over-inflate the tires.

This is what I do with my tires too. Set them to max on the sidewall.

quote:

A friend tried those plastic anti-flat blocks with his AWD 911. When he was pulling up on them he had to a give it a little gas and shot two of the blocks across the driveway into his daily driver. No damage, but it was a little scary.

Yea they recommend taping them to the floor.

Im thinking of getting some for my Garage kept Miata. Sometimes it goes up to six weeks parked in the winter. I thought I might screw them to the floor with the added benefit of helping to insuring optimal parking position in a pretty tight space.

I filled the tank with the appropriate amount of sta-bil and it is now on the battery tender. The pressure on the tires is good, but being nitrogen filled I can't easily add any additional psi.

Thanks again for the responses.

A family friend parked his 911 on the curbed plastic things at least two decades ago over his NJ winters. The car was red, loud, with the fishtail rear, like Pelle Lindberg's Porsche. He swapped out the trans as well with a (different?) four-speed. He was a pretty meticulous guy and was certain the pads made a difference. I never saw the car in the garage without the "flat free" park pads.

Think I'll fill up the truck tomorrow even though it is at half a tank. Last winter I was getting just over four weeks from a single tankful.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I've read in the past it's good to put it up on jack stands, too, to be nice to the rubber. Don't know how much truth there is to that.

False and no real benefit so not worth the effort. My boat and trailer sits for 6+ months when it's to cold to take it out and I've never had the tires deform or develop a flat spot. When I deployed overseas for 7 months my car and truck sat unmoved while I was gone, no issues with the tires on either vehicle.