Taking the Clio off the road over the winter

[Skeeter]

With tax due and no need for it until my next track day which isn't going to be until next year I'm going to SORN the Clio and suspend the insurance.

What's the best way to store it? Where it's going to be parked is on a slight slope so I'm going to chock the wheels and leave it in gear. Should I disconnect the battery? I was planning on starting it up once every few weeks to stop it seizing up. Anything else I should do to stop there being any issues when I put it back on the road?

 

[blburied]

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?665117-Winter-storage-for-my-172

 

[wrc172]

It's not going to seize up after just a season sat dormant, don't panic.

Only things you need to do:-

1. Disconnect battery
2. Handbrake off
3. Leave in gear

Anything else is very optional.

 

[Skeeter]

Cheers.

Any ideas on what to use to stop moisture buildup inside the car?

 

[markerboy2002]

Tesco make dehumidifies designed to fit on a house window sill, one of them on a seat would do it. They have some sort of crystal in them and they can hold a lot of moisture....

 

[Skeeter]

Brilliant! Thanks.

 

[COLZO]

When putting my bike off the road in the winter I always have it on paddock stands to keep the tyres from flat spotting, new oil then drop the oil before putting back on the road, disconnect battery and brim with fuel to stop moisture from getting in the tank. The worst think you can do is turn it over every other week. Just some ideas mate your right about leaving the handbrake off though.

 

[Alex_225]

I store my 225 usually from late Autumn to early Spring and I do the following :

1. Clean it inside and out, usually a good coat of wax applied too.
2. Brim it with fuel tank to minimise moisture in the tank.
3. Leave it parked (garaged) in gear with handbrake off.
4. Put a moisture trap inside. (Those household ones filled with silica gel)
5. Remove battery and store.
6. Fit breathable cover

That process has served me pretty well with the car pretty much since I've owned it. Couple of steps I've added in the last few years having killed various, pretty new batteries over winter periods.

 

[Bob0907]

Is disconnecting the battery really necessary? Starting it once a week and letting it run a while would be enough to keep it from going flat no? Or am I missing something?

 

[COLZO]

Is disconnecting the battery really necessary? Starting it once a week and letting it run a while would be enough to keep it from going flat no? Or am I missing something?

Starting the engine once a week will cause moisture with the heating and cooling causing mayonnaise residue in the oil cap.

 

[ColinG]

Just buy a c-tek charger that's what I run on the v6 and it just keeps the battery conditioned as required, brilliant bit of kit

 

[wrc172]

Or if the car is parked away from a power supply, you can purchase quite neat solar chargers.

Connect to positive and negative of the battery, put the little solar panel on the dash and just gives a trickle charge in daylight to keep the battery topped up.

 

[ScottyRS]

I've kept my car off the road for the last 2 winters for 6 months at a time and since March put in a special car storage facility with humidification and temp control... but...

Don't disconnect the battery as it causes electrical problems if the current is not left active... renaults are already bad for this. Use a trickle charger or some form of solar panel etc as others have suggested.

It's also wise to cover it up with a 'breathable' cover to protect the body and most importantly the disks from rusting over from the rain/moisture.

Another top tip is to pump the tyres up another 10-15% over your normal pressure. This will stop any flat spotting whilst it's standing. As the temperature drops you will need to keep pumping them up as the pressure will drop. Just check them once a week.

Starting the car up and not running it will only cause more harm than good. Just get it all sorted, top the levels up and leave it.

 

[f0xy]

I left mine parked up outside a couple of winters ago for 5ish months, started it every few weeks and ran it up to temp, didn't stop this happening though:

Had plenty of anti-freeze in too. Could see daylight through it after I stripped it apart. It was a really cold winter but it just shows anything can happen, regardless of what preparation you do. IMO leave it as it is, just start it every so often, ideally garaged but at the end of the day its a Renault, not a Ferrari. It will be fine if you check it every so often and not just leave it for the tyres to go flat, etc. The last couple of winters haven't been as cold though I guess.

 

[Jonny1*2]

I'd turn it over once every couple of weeks in the event that moisture gets
into the bores. My piston rings rusted and damaged mine. Either that or put some oil down the spark plug holes.

 

[Bob0907]

Starting the engine once a week will cause moisture with the heating and cooling causing mayonnaise residue in the oil cap.

If you let it get to the correct temperatures then it would be fine no?

My dad does this with his "decent" car and his bike every winter and they have both been fine.

 

[Alex_225]

Don't disconnect the battery as it causes electrical problems if the current is not left active... renaults are already bad for this. Use a trickle charger or some form of solar panel etc as others have suggested.

As much as I don't doubt that at all, I've not experienced any problems. Had the battery out of my Megane for over six months, fitted the recently charged battery and the car started without a problem, all electrics worked etc.

Unfortunately I don't have the option of a trickle charger or solar panel as my car is covered in a garage without power.

That said if you have the option to do either, I would recommend it too.

 

[DrR]

How longs "over the winter" my Clio was left for 14 weeks and started up first turn of he key.