Winter storage

[voidhack]

So I will be storing my e90 M3 this winter.

I will connect a trickle charger, change the oil before storage, and add 5 psi of tire pressure. What other steps does this car require ?

I have heard both the full tank and nearly empty tank versions for gaz. Any additives to add ?

What covers works best indoor ?

What do you do before putting your M3 away for winter ?

[FredVMI]

Rather than storing your M, get an extra set of 18's with winter tires and drive it this winter!

[Projectile]

If I had a 3-car garage, I'd drive it most winter days, but I don't so I will be storing mine as well.

Keen to hear what others who do winter storage do, especially regarding the battery.

[montreal red]

drive the car in winter! its not a supercar, its an m3, its meant to be daily driven!! i live in montreal too btw.

[TheDealer]

From Montreal too... I'll be driving my E93 m3 this winter!

[quality_sound]

I drove mine through the worst German winter in the last 30 years last year and the car handled it like a champ.

Drive it, it's not a Lambo.

[Possible Hero]

Hah I love you guys! I hang around on a Civic forum and the guys on there are worried ass F*** about what winter does to their cars.... Then you guys just rip through the snow in your M3's....Im impressed lol.

[Werked M fizzle]

Empty tank is best... Add some stabil to the gas... You may regret it if you don't...

[mdosu]

Originally Posted by Werked M fizzle

Empty tank is best... Add some stabil to the gas... You may regret it if you don't...

i heard full tank is the best.

[montreal red]

Originally Posted by Werked M fizzle

Empty tank is best... Add some stabil to the gas... You may regret it if you don't...

Originally Posted by mdosu

i heard full tank is the best.

if i had to store the car, i'd do a full tank with some stabil (fuel stabilizer). a battery maintainer would be a good idea too.

[montreal red]

Originally Posted by Possible Hero

Hah I love you guys! I hang around on a Civic forum and the guys on there are worried ass F*** about what winter does to their cars.... Then you guys just rip through the snow in your M3's....Im impressed lol.

lol.. i know, i hang around this forum called montreal racing and i see all these people with their civic si and mitsu eclipse, etc all storing their car for winter!! i dont get it... whats the point? its a car, not an exotic, we should all be driving it in winter.

[voidhack]

Oh crap.

So... I bought my 2008 e90 at the start of summer. I was absolutely ready to drive it this winter. As winter creeps up, the more I look to it, the more I find excuses not to. Mostly because I am worried about ground clearance and traction.

montreal_red: I admit seeing your car like that makes me wonder ... how drivable is it ? Any issues acting like a snow plow with the low clearance. What tires are you running ?

tehDealer: e93 ? really, do you have a picture of it with the top down in winter ?

BMW mechanic says to keep minimum gaz in the tank with a stabilizer, a long-time porsche mechanic basically says id does not matter as tanks are not metallic anymore.

[M3 Esq]

I will be driving mine as well in CT on stock 18's and Dunlop Wintersports. And I will be thinking of all you winter beater drivers as I am enjoying my M and blowing donuts!

[montreal red]

Originally Posted by voidhack

Oh crap.

So... I bought my 2008 e90 at the start of summer. I was absolutely ready to drive it this winter. As winter creeps up, the more I look to it, the more I find excuses not to. Mostly because I am worried about ground clearance and traction.

montreal_red: I admit seeing your car like that makes me wonder ... how drivable is it ? Any issues acting like a snow plow with the low clearance. What tires are you running ?

tehDealer: e93 ? really, do you have a picture of it with the top down in winter ?

BMW mechanic says to keep minimum gaz in the tank with a stabilizer, a long-time porsche mechanic basically says id does not matter as tanks are not metallic anymore.

montreal is pretty good with snow clearing. even after a huge snow storm, the roads are cleared within a day or two, this is assuming you dont live in the outskirts of course. i live right by a main street so usually no issues for me.

the stock ride height is also not that low. you shouldnt have too many issues with snow. right now i am lowered slightly on KW v3 so we'll see how it goes this winter.

i am using pirelli sottozero winter tires. they are decent tires and i've had no issues using them on icy or snowy roads. but i heard that blizzaks are better winter tires so my next winter tire might be blizzaks instead of sottozero.

the m3 is a great winter car! the engine in the m3 doesnt have much power down low so if you baby the shifts and shift early through every gear, you almost never have any will spin. good winter tire is key!

if you park by the street side a lot, you may need to bring a small shovel in the trunk so you can get into (or out of) the parking space. this isnt anything unusual though, i had to do this even with my previous 328i.

[drburton]

I would agree with drive it. I live in Minnesota and didn't have any issues. Car works great in foul weather. Only once was the snow a bit deep and I pretty much plowed the street with my front lip Works great though.

[SlammedR8]

its an M3, its meant to be driven in the winter. And if you are going to store it...fill it up full to avoid condensation in the fuel tank. Thats why people say to fill it up

[Elaz]

iam in nyc they suck cleaning the streets.i bought a used 4x4 for the winter pretty cheap for 1,600 bucks. now i drive that to work and take my car out on weekends.i be storing my m as well.

[gilbertfg]

Yeah drive all year long lol! I wish I could on mine but I'm stationed here on the hilly side of Germany (an hour away from the ring)! It's fine for flat or low incline roads but I don't think the M3 can manage steep hills here! When i had my e90 335i, i sucked on hils but it was fun drifting =)!!!! By the way I don't baby my car when I get on the autobahn =)! I'll be storing mine next month with almost 19000 miles on it and it's an '09! Broke it in just six days after picking it up from the dealership with just .07 miles......

[quality_sound]

Why does everyone keep saying this car is low? Every coupe/sedan Honda makes has less clearance and no one worries about driving those during the winter.

Also, most, if not all, of the car is aluminum or plastic. Neither of which rust. All but one piece on each side of the suspension is aluminum so no rust issues there. The brake rotors are steel but so are 99.9% of all cars and braking once removes anything there. Really, the M3 is actually one of the better winter choices.

[NYCMCBM3]

Originally Posted by Elaz

iam in nyc they suck cleaning the streets.i bought a used 4x4 for the winter pretty cheap for 1,600 bucks. now i drive that to work and take my car out on weekends.i be storing my m as well.

im thinking of doing the same, it really suks in NY for the winter

[sehrgut]

Me too drive the car in the winter!!!!

[SonnyJack]

Originally Posted by Elaz

iam in nyc they suck cleaning the streets.i bought a used 4x4 for the winter pretty cheap for 1,600 bucks. now i drive that to work and take my car out on weekends.i be storing my m as well.

+1 on the winter beater.

Maybe folks in Canada driver better than in the Metro DC area. People around here are absolute lunatics when it snows so I'd rather they hit my nearly 3 ton Expedition than my M3. Was rear ended twice last year with barely a scratch on the SUV. Also, my truck paint gets beat to hell every year from all the salt MDOT uses. I don't store my car for the entire winter, just for snow days.

OP: I have heard of people using trickle chargers, putting 40 psi in tires, fuel stabilizers and damp-rid if you're in a humid environment.