Leaving for vacation for 6 weeks

[PoRco]

This is my first car (yes I know, how lucky AM I! )

I was wondering what kinda procedures should I follow as a "prep" before I go

1) Tire pressure
2) Wash car
3) Empty Tank? Fill up tank?
4) Wax car?
5) Cover car? (Indoor parking. Some sources online say that I should not cover car and leave window slightly open if indoor parking)

Any tips whatsoever will be greatly appreciated!!

[Killerbee]

Originally Posted by PoRco

This is my first car (yes I know, how lucky AM I! )

I was wondering what kinda procedures should I follow as a "prep" before I go

1) Tire pressure
2) Wash car
3) Empty Tank? Fill up tank?
4) Wax car?
5) Cover car? (Indoor parking. Some sources online say that I should not cover car and leave window slightly open if indoor parking)

Any tips whatsoever will be greatly appreciated!!

6 weeks should not be an issue at all. So basically do whatever you do when you leave your car for some time unused. For me I normaly do this (ofc indoor parking)

1) Wash Car, wash it good, if salt was on the car wash under the car aswell
2) Fill up Tank
3) Leave it
Optional -> Disconnect Battery. However, with a Battery so new you dont have to really.
4) When driving it again, first Wash Car and check tire pressure

Waxing the car is a good thing to do regardless if you leave it for some time or not. I usually Wax my car at least 2 times a year, and I'm not driving it alot (GT86 about 10-15k km/year and my Supra gets only about 3k km a year) I usually do this in spring and in fall, but thats just my personal rotation.
Tire pressure should be checked when driving the car again to make sure its still ok.

Covering is a good thing if you have a proper car cover that does not harm your paint. However I would not cover it with a simple plastic or something.

I do this all the time with my supra, and she's still in very good shape (you can see that she's happy in this thread http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22923 )

[ft_sjo]

It's unlikely your battery will remain charged for 6 weeks as i've seen them going flat after two weeks. It depends on how charged it is when you leave it I suppose. It's possible the extra draw comes from some of the accessories on the UKDM cars compared to yours, so it may not be an issue for you.

[chappys4life]

I would fill tank and add fuel stabalizer or leave at a half tank and when you get back fill it up to get some fresh gas, disconnect battery just to be safe. Other than that your good.

[draggin_az]

I'm in the navy and we're constantly going out to sea. The longest I've left my vehilce on the lot with no one to drive it or start it was 2 and a half months. I came back and it was fine. If its going to be outside, I would wash, clay bar (if you havent done it since you've bought it), polish, and then wax. Your car will be procteted from the bird shit and will easily wash off when you come home.

[ft_sjo]

Originally Posted by draggin_az

I'm in the navy and we're constantly going out to sea. The longest I've left my vehilce on the lot with no one to drive it or start it was 2 and a half months. I came back and it was fine. If its going to be outside, I would wash, clay bar (if you havent done it since you've bought it), polish, and then wax. Your car will be procteted from the bird shit and will easily wash off when you come home.

This is interesting in light of my battery comments above. In the UK, GT86's get fitted at entry to the country with a Scorpion/Sigma alarm. Perhaps that's what causes the drain on our cars. Thanks for the info.

[Killerbee]

Originally Posted by ft_sjo

This is interesting in light of my battery comments above. In the UK, GT86's get fitted at entry to the country with a Scorpion/Sigma alarm. Perhaps that's what causes the drain on our cars. Thanks for the info.

Find it strange aswell that the UK models have some "battery issues". We also get EU specs, bot no alarm installed. Had the car sitting around without using it for over 4 weeks and it started normally. I even left the interieur light on for 2 days (forget to turn it off after installing my armrest:-) and it did still start without any issues.

[ft_sjo]

Originally Posted by Killerbee

Find it strange aswell that the UK models have some "battery issues". We also get EU specs, bot no alarm installed. Had the car sitting around without using it for over 4 weeks and it started normally. I even left the interieur light on for 2 days (forget to turn it off after installing my armrest:-) and it did still start without any issues.

I've only seen a couple of cases mentioned, so it could just be faulty batteries. Unless someone performs a long term drain test we will never know!

[DarkCard]

its a toyota not a ferrari.. the car will be fine whatever you do I promise.

[Whiteoutjames]

Originally Posted by DarkCard

its a Subaru not a ferrari.. the car will be fine whatever you do I promise.

fixed it

[Ben_G]

Leave your handbrake OFF.... I came back after a month away once, and the hand brake was seized to the drum...

[AVM Jay]

My 2 cents:

If using car cover, please go with quality ones that "breathe". Else you'll be trapping moisture under and increase humidity. Thus making certain areas prone to rust.

Gas tank has to be full, so the empty area will not dry rot. I had a SC300 with metal gas tank and guy who was doing the body work too way too long so tank got rusted and the fuel filter on the sump also rotted away.

Not so sure about leaving windows cracked in covered parking. Isn't that an invitation for car thieves?

[OICU812]

Originally Posted by Whiteoutjames

fixed it

Confused, why this car is so often called a Subaru...not really? Even the BRZ is not really all a Subaru, the TOYOTA GT86 "same car really" has been out for far longer then the FR-S and BRZ am I not correct?

[OmarGC]

I'm jelly... My frs hasn't seen daylight or startup since Jan