ITRCA

Hi guys,

I just bought my 98 ITR last summer and stored it for my first Canadian winter. I have never stored a car before but I have a few buddies that told me what you should do putting it into storage. The previous owner also provided me with some advice. Seeing as how I am paranoid about my car (as I'm sure you all are), I would appreciate any advice or precautions I should take when pulling it out of storage. I am going to be taking it out in a few weeks. Here is a list of things I did when I put the car into storage:
- Gave it an oil change
- I cleaned the effin hell out of it lol
- Made sure the fuel (94 octane of course) was as full as possible and put in the correct volume of fuel stabilizer. I also made sure to drive for a few kms to ensure proper mixture
- I bought these mats that I put under all 4 tires that absorb some of the pressure to avoid the possibility of flat spots
- Fogged the engine
- Disconnected the battery (Just bought an optima so I should be good)
- Left windows slightly down to prevent condensation
- Installed the car cover

The place where the car is stored has full ventilation and radiant floor heat. It gets as cold as -25 degrees celcius outside the building, but I am not sure how cold inside. I know that when I pull it out I need to get a fresh oil change and I want to get that gas out as soon as possible. But some of the questions I have are whether or not to drive the car hard after warming it up? How long should I let the car run before I drive it? How long should I wait before going into vtec? Will the engine smoke because I fogged it? Should I fog it again? Again, any tips or advice as what to do when I pull it out would be appreciated.

the_integra_man wrote:Hi guys,

I just bought my 98 ITR last summer and stored it for my first Canadian winter. I have never stored a car before but I have a few buddies that told me what you should do putting it into storage. The previous owner also provided me with some advice. Seeing as how I am paranoid about my car (as I'm sure you all are), I would appreciate any advice or precautions I should take when pulling it out of storage. I am going to be taking it out in a few weeks. Here is a list of things I did when I put the car into storage:
- Gave it an oil change
- I cleaned the effin hell out of it lol
- Made sure the fuel (94 octane of course) was as full as possible and put in the correct volume of fuel stabilizer. I also made sure to drive for a few kms to ensure proper mixture
- I bought these mats that I put under all 4 tires that absorb some of the pressure to avoid the possibility of flat spots
- Fogged the engine
- Disconnected the battery (Just bought an optima so I should be good)
- Left windows slightly down to prevent condensation
- Installed the car cover

The place where the car is stored has full ventilation and radiant floor heat. It gets as cold as -25 degrees celcius outside the building, but I am not sure how cold inside. I know that when I pull it out I need to get a fresh oil change and I want to get that gas out as soon as possible. But some of the questions I have are whether or not to drive the car hard after warming it up? How long should I let the car run before I drive it? How long should I wait before going into vtec? Will the engine smoke because I fogged it? Should I fog it again? Again, any tips or advice as what to do when I pull it out would be appreciated.

I really dont see why you would need to change the oil again if you just changed it before you stored it. if the oil is still golden I wouldnt change it again. next time dont fill it up before you put it away so you can put some race gas in it when you pull it out.

My car sits all winter also in a garage heated probably about the same temp as you stored yours. I let it warm up to temp and just check everything visually. I never Fogged my motor so I dont know what to expect with that but I have no issues without doin that so I dont think it is needed esp in a heated storage area. I just pulled it out, warmed it up, dumped in 5 gallons of 112 octane and checked the oil and coolant then started driving

Changing the oil is very nessary, condensation builds up inside the motor if it hasn't been running for a while.

I agree with Rob, the oil definitely should be changed. I would change it before cranking it. Even if the oil is synthetic Rob's point still holds true.