DIY: Storing your car for the winter (with pics)

[MachinesWithSouls]

Originally Posted by carenthuziast

What's the best C-tek or BMW tender that you need at a minimum and any additional accessories?

The BMW branded one is actually just a rebranded Battery Tender - the Ctek is more for the newer M cars.

Ive had this one for many years and it works well:

https://www.batteriesplus.com/produc...ls/dbt021=0128

[SYT_Shadow]

I use this for my babies

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Mine is still in the garage and I hope to use it a couple more times before they put salt on the road

Ugh just to think how much I'll miss my Ms... :'(

[ChadB]

What i do is put the car on jack stands.
Take off the rims
Battery charger
Car cover.
Start it about 2 to 3 times a month and let it run for at least 20 mins.

[carenthuziast]

Originally Posted by ChadB

What i do is put the car on jack stands.
Take off the rims
Battery charger
Car cover.
Start it about 2 to 3 times a month and let it run for at least 20 mins.

Do you start the car while it’s still jacked up?

[doogee]

Originally Posted by ChadB

What i do is put the car on jack stands.
Take off the rims
Battery charger
Car cover.
Start it about 2 to 3 times a month and let it run for at least 20 mins.

Starting your car like that is doing far more harm than good. Leave it alone.

Also putting it on jackstands puts unnecessary strain on all of your bushings. Best to leave it on the ground.

[ChadB]

ok.
Maybe I 'll just put on the lift next year.

[carenthuziast]

Just hooked up the ctek to my vert. After plugging in I went to lock the car up with my fob.

The beep for the alarm didn’t sound off when I pressed the fob.

I noted that the start stop button is still lit. Is this normal?

[MachinesWithSouls]

Originally Posted by carenthuziast

Just hooked up the ctek to my vert. After plugging in I went to lock the car up with my fob.

I noted that the start stop button is still lit. Is this normal?

It'll go away after a minute or so. Just meant to help you find the button in darkness.

[DavidZ]

Originally Posted by bstone801

Did you really put rags in the exhaust pipes? The single life.

Originally Posted by SoManyBlueCars

It's no joke. I had a good friend store his f30 for the winter and a mouse literally ate the drivers seat. Took 5 minutes. Does your wife complain about an extra 5 minutes?

It's true. If you don't block your exhaust tips, a mouse will go in there, chew through the secondary and primary cats and make its way through the header to the cylinder head. There, it'll chew through exhaust and intake valves to get into the throttle body. It'll then chew through the throttle plate to get into the intake plenum. Now it can come out through the intake vent on the top of the hood or front bumper. Once it's out, it could get into your interior and chew up your seats.

[MachinesWithSouls]

Originally Posted by DavidZ

It's true. If you don't block your exhaust tips, a mouse will go in there, chew through the secondary and primary cats and make its way through the header to the cylinder head. There, it'll chew through exhaust and intake valves to get into the throttle body. It'll then chew through the throttle plate to get into the intake plenum. Now it can come out through the intake vent on the top of the hood or front bumper. Once it's out, it could get into your interior and chew up your seats.

Or it'll just nestle in the pipe and block your exhaust when you start in the spring. But yours sounds plausible too.