living in New England means several things during the winter..snow,black ice, salt and sand...which I don't plan on exposing my Z too...but weather and road conditions permitting I will drive my Z during "nice" days...but during the down time(which could be week or more) she will be covered (no garage), started 2 times a week, and snow removed frm cover (nissan) cover)...questions: should I use dry gas(or any other gas additive) or try another brand of cover, during her naps... any suggestions????

 

hmm..I guess I'm the only one who isn't going subject my Z to the snow and ice...poor Z's

 

I'm further up in the snow belt and mine will be resting for the entire winter in heated storage. It was on the road last winter, as I bought it in December. Nothing like 2-3 weeks of constant snow and ice and not being able to drive it!!!
If it's cold, drygas would probably be a good idea, but the best advice is to keep the gas tank constantly near full.
I have the Nissan cover, but can't help you with advice on how it will do outside.
One more word of advice- the stock Potenza RE040s are not only incredibly bad in any snow and ice, but they perform very badly when cold- so even if the roads are dry, do not expect good adhesion from them.

 

There are several threads here in these forums related to winter storage... I too, live in the North, where I can expect 5 or so months of winter, or crappy driving weather, and I am putting my Z in storage for the winter.

Here are my winter storage plans, basically compiled from others suggestions:

1. Change the oil and filter (I use Mobil 1 synthetic 5w-30 and Mobil 1, Nissan or Bosch filters)

2. Fill the tank completely up with Premium fuel, as full as possible. When you get home, add 1 container of Sta-bil fuel stabilizer--avaialble at your local auto supply store.

3. Clean the interior, and get any dust, loose particles, etc. If you have leather, use conditioner on the seats.

4. Wash, wax (Zaino), and completely clean the exterior.

5. Attach a battery tender to the vehicle OR remove the battery completely and store it someplace warmer to avoid killing it. The cold temps could kill your battery. I bought a battery tender for $30 shipped on Ebay, which will prevent loss of charge over the winter, jsut hook it up, and leave it.

6. Cover the car using some breathable cover. I have a Nissan factory 350Z cover I will be using.

Some people recommend jack stands, and lifting the car up to avoid flat-spotting the tires--however, radials are not suppsoed to flat spot when sitting in the same position all the time... others say not to lift it up b/c you will compress the springs over a long period of time and scxrew up the suspension. So, I am not jacking it up, or pulling tires... it will sit on the rubber that needs to be changed in the SPring anyways.

That is my plan, and I hope this info helps you out...

 

onecoolee- I am doing the same as you mentioned with one exception- the fuel stabilizer. I would not put that in the tank. It may be useful for the fuel tank of an outboard motor or the like, but in a closed system full of premium fuel, nothing is going to happen to that fuel for 3-4 months. Notice that the owner's manual does not list any approved additives for the fuel.
I have the battery maintainer/desulphator and plan to park on top of some pieces of blueboard insulation so that I am off the concrete.

 

thanks for the good 411...I too think stabil..maybe be a bit too "harsh"...but what about good old "dry gas"...I think its alcohol based and dries any water that may be in the fuel system?? used it all my older vehicles and my 97 caddy w/o any probs...just not sure about this hi-tech motor

 

I just picked up some sta-bil... not sure if I will use it or not.... Alot of people are firm believers in it, and others don't at all. The bottom line is that if fuel does sit in your tank for a few months, it will degrade. You can fill it as full as possible, and you never will fill it all the way... so that was my reasoning behind using the sta-bil. I realize that Nissan states that no fuel additives should be used, but storing your ride for several months is a different story. My personal take on the subject is that 6 months of storage could lead to fuel degradation... and if you run this bad fuel through your engine, it would do more harm than any additive could do...

...then again, my knowledge of moving parts and engines is limited, and I tend to think more on the lines of electron flow.

I am open to others thoughts and opinions on using stabil during a potentially 3+ month storage time period.

 

stabil or dry gas....not sure..I'm just hoping this winter won't be soo bad that my Z will have to sit for more than a couple weeks..I like my jeep...but it ain't no Z

 

dry gas- no problem, but sta-bil- no!!
There was another thread on winter storage where someone checked with an engine builder who said emphatically NO! He further stated that a closed fuel system without open ventilation to the outside would experience no discernable degradation in the fuel for such a short period.
Personally, I drive off about 1/3 of a tank and then top it off.
Worked like a charm for the past 10 years in my former car, a turbo Eagle Talon.

 

I have done some searching around and Stabil is recommended for use by most motorcycle nuts... for winter storage. I have not found any real good automotive applciations as of yet though. If I can't find any I won't use it, and I will end up keeping the stabil to put in my lawnmower, pressure washer, etc for the winter. It was only $5 so no big loss... but if there's the slightest chance that it could cause damage to my engine, I won't use it.

However, here are a couple other winter storage threads from this forum about using stabil...
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=10918
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....&threadid=8602
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....&threadid=8382

 

Well, I figured I would give you a couple days to get acclimated to the search tool...it is your friend.

Anway, add another link to that list:
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=48336

As it's been discussed before, Sta-Bil is probably not a good idea. Nissan does not recommend fuel additives of ANY kind, plus this stuff is designed for lawnmowers which do not (as of yet) have oxygen sensors. Once you contaminate the oxygen sensor, all kinds of goofy stuff can happen.

 

Some say the tires might deform and some say it won't.... so should I still go ahead and boost the tire pressure to 50psi, or is it true that radials won't deform? She'll be sitting inside the garage for about 4 months and I thought I read somewhere that increasing the tire pressure will solve the problem of flat-spotting.

 

about flat-spotting,
i saw somewhere in a forum about putting sand underneath each tire, so it really won't flat-spot or be on the cold concrete.

and as far as cold concrete,
anyone putting wood, some type of insulation, sand (?), under their tires??

 

My Miata had Turanzas and they flatspotted after a couple of weeks.

 

I don't thiank the main concern with the tires is the flat spotting. I think it has more to do with the interaction of the concrete garage floor contacting the exact same spot on all 4 tires for months at a time.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong please, but isn't that the reason you're putting stuff under your tires?

 

I've got my tires sitting on four pieces of Dri-Core.
www.dricore.com
" Made of resilient engineered wood core, with a water resistant polyethylene underside, DRIcore won’t split, peel or warp. DRIcore is engineered to stay intact and functional even when the wood core expands and contracts with normal moisture levels. DRIcore will support over 5,000 lbs. per sq. ft. -- strong enough for the heaviest furniture, pool tables and grand pianos.
"

 

Saw that same stuff at Home Depot and bought 4 sheets. I think it comes in 2' x 2' squares, all tongue and groove. It costs $4.97 per square here...not too bad, and it wont be hard to drive up on it. It should provide several winters worth of dry protection...

Now if I could only figure out what I should inflate the tires too for long term storage...

 

51 psi is max on the RE040s. I plan to store with 50 psi, although maybe I should take the fronts down and leave them on concrete to cure my feathering problem!!!! (if only that would do it!!!!!)