Prepping Your Subaru For Winter Storage

 

For many areas across the US, we have been seeing record high temps for this October season.  So, for those of you who are experiencing warmer temps, take this short window to make sure your Subaru or other car is properly stored for the next 4-5 moths.

 

WHY WINTER PREP? WE HAVE SUBARUS. YOU KNOW? AWD? HELLO!??

Now this article is specifically for those of you who have show cars or who have a Subaru as a ‘fun’ car and only enjoy during the late spring to early fall season. If you live in a state that experiences harsh winters or even all 4 seasons, the reason why cars get put away for the winter is to avoid salt corrosion, and the inherent damage that winter causes on our vehicles such as rock chips from perpetual salt on the roads. Some cars are not undercoated from the factory, and for many manufacturers, undercoating is an option. Undercoating is a rubberized coating you will typically see on the lower side skirts or rocker panels of your vehicle, and you will notice a different paint consistency when compared to the rest of the paint. More orange peel typically. The rubberized coating will also be applied underneath the vehicle on the chassis such as the wheel wells and underneath the gas tank. This also protects the hardware that will be the most subjective to salt corrosion.

Cars that primarily stay in the east coast such as Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, will experience the most salt corrosion.

 

 

Now this is more applicable for those of you who daily drive your Subarus. Now for those of you who want to tuck your Subaru or if you have a classic car away for the wintertime, these are some tips that you can follow to make sure come springtime, you have a successful drive out of the garage for next year’s maiden voyage.

 

E85 USERS, WINTER PREP RIGHT NOW

This is going to be the most imperative part if you are a regular E85 user, and you are storing your car for the winter. E85 is our favorite affordable race gas, and depending on where you live, you know it’s accessible at many gas stations. But the downside is that it’s highly corrosive especially if you don’t have built PTFE fuel lines.

For those with built high-horsepower engines, we must change the oil very frequently with ethanol. By frequently, we mean every 500-1500 miles. Seems excessive? Absolutely not if you want your engine to live. Think if you had a built motor obviously you will have larger injectors and 2 or more fuel pumps. When you start your car, those larger injectors are dumping fuel into the cylinders. And many times, depending on your cold start tune, small amounts of ethanol will make it passed the piston rings and into the oil. Too much ethanol in your oil will make your oil turn into a jelly-like substance if you do not change your oil frequently. When the temps get colder it gets worse as oil gets thicker. Because of these reasons, this is why you MUST change your oil on a frequent basis with ethanol. Contaminated oil will make your oil lose its viscosity and lubrication properties. This is the first task you need to do before winter storage and change your dang oil.

 

Oil Change Kit w/Motul 5W30, OEM Filter, and Waher 2002-2014 WRX / 2004-2021 STI

 

Now let’s dig into the fuel system. E85 is corrosive to your fuel lines especially if you are running OEM lines and have a stronger fuel pump to help push that duty cycle. BUT rubber components such as the injector grommets, injector O-rings, the fuel pump socks, and even the fuel hose that connects the fuel pump to the pump hanger will corrode and come apart. This is where the luxury of having a flex fuel system comes into play.

 

COBB Tuning CAN Flex Fuel Upgrade w/Fuel Pressure Kit 2015-2017 WRX

 

IAG PTFE Flex Fuel System Kit w/1300cc Injectors, Lines, FPR, Gold Fuel Rails 2008-2021 STI

 

Because one of the best ways to mitigate ethanol is by running pump has. Pump gas with some cleaner additives will help flush out your fuel system. MOST IMPORTANTLY, it’s not a good idea to store your car during the winter while having ethanol in the tank. Ethanol in the tank will build corrosion on your pumps, and corrosion will start to build within your fuel lines and injectors. Always try to run a few tanks of pump gas through the tank before winter storage so that you can flush most of that ethanol out. This is also the reason why fuel stabilizers exist for long-term storage because most gas pumps will contain 10% ethanol as you will notice the warning labels. And no, just because you start your car on Saturday afternoons and let it run for 10 minutes, that won’t keep things cycled. If you’re not driving your car for the winter, always keep pump gas in the tank with a stabilizer.

 

MAKE SURE YOUR EXTERIOR IS PROPERLY WASHED

Chemical Guys The Best Detailing Kit - Universal

 

Some of us are pretty OCD in terms of making sure the car always looks its best at car meets and such. This means it always gets a wash, and all the bugs and road debris are off the car. Yet many of us are simply busy because of life and are just happy to attend. Bugs and bird droppings that get cooked by the sun on your paint finish should always be removed as soon as you can. Other harmful road elements include diesel smoke, and other chemicals or splashed gasoline should be washed off before storage otherwise those bugs and bird droppings can eat into your clear coat. If your Subaru is getting tucked away for the next 4-5 months, make sure that any of these dirty elements don’t sit on your paint while in the garage.

 

MAKE SURE TO OVERFILL YOUR TIRES TO AVOID FLAT SPOTS

This is especially important if you have a high-performance summer tire like the very popular Toyo R888. High performance tires use a softer compound, and if the car sits for a long period of time, the tires will develop a flat spot. You’ll know this when you go out driving for the first time in the spring and it feels like you’re driving on a bunch of micro speed bumps. There are (2) ways to prevent flat spots. One way, enthusiasts will properly jack up their cars and let the car sit on jack stands all winter. Or, you can overfill your tires with air. 40ish PSI should do the trick.

 

KEEP THE BATTERY ALIVE, MAN

AutoMeter Battery Extender 6/8/12/16 V 5 A - Universal

 

This is also a must-do unless you like spending a few hundred dollars every spring. Every car is different, but generally a healthy battery will last about 3 weeks to maybe a month without starting your vehicle. Some cars won’t start after a week of sitting. It all depends on how much voltage your car draws when its sitting. You could have security systems, cameras, accessories left plugged into the cigarette lighter. All factors come into play. If you let your battery, go completely dead, it’s really bad for the battery, and kills the life of the internal cells. If you keep allowing your battery to die, not only will it not hold a charge, but it’s going to put a load on your alternator to pick up the slack causing premature wear. A proper battery tender keeps a nice trickle charge on your battery and will not over-charge your battery while it’s in storage.

Starting your car once a week to get the juices flowing is also recommended especially if you have pump gas. But only do this if you have the 10-15 minutes to allow the coolant temps and the oil temps get up to normal operation. This will also allow the alternator to do its job and allows the battery to ‘recharge’ itself while allowing the cylinders to burn off some fuel and get some movement for those piston rings.

 

LASTLY, USE A DANG CAR COVER. GET THE BEST ONE YOU CAN FIND

Not all of us have the luxury of a garage. Some of you are in the military and spend months on deployment. Or some of you have traveling jobs that keeps you away. Or you may live in a dense city where you must park on the street. Whatever the situation may be, find a safe place for your car to park for the winter, and find the most robust waterproof weatherproof car cover you can find. And not the kind that you can buy at your local popular auto parts stores because those examples become very dry and brittle. For those of you who must store your vehicle outside, invest in the most robust cover to survive snow, ice, rain, and make sure that it is secured well to the car by tying the corners to your wheels if you can. And make sure your mirrors are folded in.

If your car is stored indoors, know that dust buildup will happen. Sure, it’s easy to spray off come springtime, but dust attributes to lots of swirl marks because when you wipe the car off with a detail spray and microfiber, you are dragging the dirt across the clearcoat. A simple car cover will suffice while in the garage.

Make sure your windows are rolled up, and if you do have leather, make sure you clean the l;eather one more time, and apply som,e conditioner as colder temps make leather much harder.

 

Chemical Guys Leather Cleaner and Conditioner Complete Leather Kit