Storing the BRZ for 9 months

[Barefootdan]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Jack stands are specifically designed to hold cars up. Blocks of wood are not. There is a far greater chance of wood shifting than a jack stand and proper stands do not have a tendency of suddenly splitting like wood does.


There is zero hazard to somebody in the car on stands if places properly under the suspension. The car would be barely off the ground since you are just taking the weight off the wheels not suspending the whole car in the air.


You DO NOT want to leave a car with the suspension "relaxed". It is designed to have weight on it and if left dangling in the air you will have all sorts of issues later. The only reason to lift it at all is so the tires stay round and if the car is going to be moved even just a little once a week then there is no reason to take the weight off them at all.

I believe the logic behind leaving the suspension compressed, just curious as to what can be damage by leaving it unsprung

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Barefootdan

I believe the logic behind leaving the suspension compressed, just curious as to what can be damage by leaving it unsprung

You are putting abnormal pressure on all of the components and valves, seal, fittings, etc do not deal well with abnormal pressure. Probably be fine but since about 90% of car storage tips are more about peace of mind then actually protecting anything there is no sense doing something that could cause more harm than good.
The reality of car storage is that you could fill your tank with gas (not E85), disconnect the battery, walk away for a few months or a year come back charge the battery jump in and drive away and never have a single issue. People won't believe that though since they seem to think that the car starts to fall apart as soon as they park it. Cars sit for months and years without special care and they are just fine.
Take a piece of steel and place it in your garage. Look at it in a year and see if it has rotted away. Tires may get a very small flat spot after sitting for months and months but 15 minutes of driving in warm weather and they will be as good as new again. They will not fall to pieces.


OK guys have at me:

[~el~jefe~]

oh damnnnnn. Look at you. Ready to get burnt.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Barefootdan

I believe the logic behind leaving the suspension compressed, just curious as to what can be damage by leaving it unsprung

Anywhere the suspension components rotate around elastomeric joints will be stored loaded/stretched. Also parts of your dampers which normally don't see the light of day are exposed. IDGAF about the second one but the first one is legit.

It's far from the end of the world, just considered unsavory by purists.

Just park the car and put a tender on the battery. If you can't put a tender on, pull the battery and ask a friend to tend it for you.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by ~el~jefe~

oh damnnnnn. Look at you. Ready to get burnt.

Ready for them to try!

[ShadowReaper]

Thanks for the info fellas.

Originally Posted by Tcoat

The reality of car storage is that you could fill your tank with gas (not E85), disconnect the battery, walk away for a few months or a year come back charge the battery jump in and drive away and never have a single issue. People won't believe that though since they seem to think that the car starts to fall apart as soon as they park it. Cars sit for months and years without special care and they are just fine.

I will probably switch back to 93 then. How come e85 is a no no?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

Ethanol degrades. I'd run the E85 down as low as possible, put in the recommended amount of Sta-bil (I think 4 oz?), and fill the tank with normal gasoline. When you get back, that tank of gas will run poorly, but after that's gone and you refill it it'll be good to go.

.

Originally Posted by ShadowReaper

Thanks for the info fellas.



I will probably switch back to 93 then. How come e85 is a no no?

What Gram said. Ethanol is not nearly as stable as gasoline and even attracts moisture. Not that a whole pile of moisture can get into the tank but you will have virtually zero with a full tank of gas. The gas will lose octane levels while it sits so again like was said expect the car to run off a little through that first tank. Won't hurt anything and the ECU will just pull timing for a bit.

[Allch Chcar]

You can leave E85 sitting. The fuel system is ventless which means fuel can be sitting for months and not degrade significantly. Infact, I don't use fuel stabilizers at all on new stuff. I leave the tank low and refill as soon as I get back. It's only necessary in my humble opinion to use a fuel stabilizer on gas cans because they can and do leak. I never leave fuel where it can fully vent to atmosphere. Gasoline can break down over time and Ethanol can evaporate and absorb moisture. Moisture can cause phase separation in Ethanol blended fuels. You can actually test it by putting fuel in a jar.

I left my car to family last time and came back to a dead battery. It ran fine for months but after four months of sitting they just didn't drive it enough. I didn't have a safe spot to leave a battery tender with the shed being used as a fuel depot. Oh well. I recharged the battery and then I drove it for a solid hour to get fuel and warm up the tires. That was 6 months ago.

But you can do your own research. My grandfather was a mechanic but that doesn't make him an expert on fuel storage. And don't get him started on the new stuff.

[Poodles]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Anywhere the suspension components rotate around elastomeric joints will be stored loaded/stretched. Also parts of your dampers which normally don't see the light of day are exposed. IDGAF about the second one but the first one is legit.

It's far from the end of the world, just considered unsavory by purists.

Just park the car and put a tender on the battery. If you can't put a tender on, pull the battery and ask a friend to tend it for you.

Bingo. The bushings are all tightened while the suspension is loaded. Lifting the car puts them under constant stress.

If you're worried about the tires, just fill them up to the max psi stated on the sidewall.

Originally Posted by Allch Chcar

You can leave E85 sitting. The fuel system is ventless which means fuel can be sitting for months and not degrade significantly. Infact, I don't use fuel stabilizers at all on new stuff. I leave the tank low and refill as soon as I get back. It's only necessary in my humble opinion to use a fuel stabilizer on gas cans because they can and do leak. I never leave fuel where it can fully vent to atmosphere. Gasoline can break down over time and Ethanol can evaporate and absorb moisture. Moisture can cause phase separation in Ethanol blended fuels. You can actually test it by putting fuel in a jar.

Yes and no. The system will bleed off pressure through a charcoal canister so gasoline vapors are caught. The system also will let fresh air in through the cap, which is where the issue lies. Ethanol will pull water from the air very fast and will cause issues (i.e. RUST in the tank) Fuel (espeically any with ethanol) break down, not to mention the seasonal mix changes.

Fuel stabilizer is cheap, use it.

[B2FiNiTY]

My car doesn't get driven a lot because I am out of the country working most of the time.

What I do is change the oil before storage.
Give it a good wash, clean out the inside.
New air freshener inside.
Inflate the tires above average a few psi.
Car cover.
Battery tender.
You can leave the battery unplugged too if you want.
Stabil with fresh full tank of gas

Has been working well throughout the years.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Allch Chcar

My grandfather was a mechanic but that doesn't make him an expert on fuel storage. And don't get him started on the new stuff.

This^ is where much of the info people believe comes from. Old cars did not store well at all but people still apply the outdated requirements to new cars.

Old cars used natural rubber for seals and gaskets. Natural rubber need to be kept lubricated with oils and fluids or it breaks down. Anybody that has had a carburetor o ring crumble away in their hand knows what I mean. New cars use no natural rubber and the polymers that are used will last for an eternity if just left alone. Heat and pressure destroy them not drying out.

Old cars used an open atmosphere fuel system. You could lose half a tank or more of fuel to evaporation over a few months sitting. That left lots of space for nice moist air to get in and condense giving you water and rust issues. Leaded gas broke down at an alarming rate if not used up so when you started that 1950 Nash Rambler after a few months it would knock and rattle like hell until you got new gas in it. Modern cars with evap systems keep evaporation and therefore air replacement to a tiny, tiny fraction of an open system and new fuels with their additives don't break down at anything near the rate of the old stuff.

Old cars had bias ply tires made (again) with real rubber. The construction and nature of those tires meant that the force of the car was not spread out like a radial and leaving them in one place meant you would indeed end up with a horrible flat spot and that spot touching the ground would indeed start to rot a little. There is no real rubber in tires anymore and I think that everybody understands how a radial tire is different. Ya you will get a very minor flat spot but it will go away with a few minutes of driving.

Old cars were made with a very high percentage of rusty old scrap steel (where did you think all the WW2 ships, tanks and planes went?") and had zero rust inhibiters so paint would bubble and panels rust from the inside out. Ne cars are made of highly treated steel and are actually galvanized and include inhibiters to prevent rust so sitting is not causing them to rot away (driving them will still though).

The only plus side to storing old cars is that the bloody batteries seemed to hold a charge forever since off meant off with zero parasitic drain from electronics. You could leave the things for years and come back, turn the key and drive away.


New cars are not the same as the old ones that most of the storage requirements came from and the term "They don't build em' like they used too" is accurate, but in a good way.

[Monkey_Boy]

I left my lovely BRZ for about 7 months and had to decide the best way to keep it in good shape while I was out of the country. Went through several options and decided to loan it to a friend while I was gone rather than try to store it and mess with those risks. She had a great time driving it while I was out, and is considering a BRZ of her own now that I am back. She only put about 100 miles on the car while I was gone, and brought it back in great shape.

Win win!

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