Or just avoid all this storage nonsense and take it out for a ride once a week =]

Weather permitting, of course.

 

gkubrak, I see you're from Connecticut, so you have similar winter weather we have in NW Michigan, We get snow in our forecast starting this month and going through April.
I just don't take my summer toys out in that crap, and I'm sure my XK would be worthless on snow covered roads.
I guess I could go to the barn every few weeks and start it up, but I'd just as soon use a Battery Tender, old age makes me look for the easy way out.

 

I keep my XKR on the CTEK too, even if I'm not driving it for a few days - definitely a good investment.

But I do take it out in the winter as long as there's no snow on the ground - keeps the fluids from remaining static. And if there's salty residue or slush, I try to rinse it off after the drive.
I'll be winterizing my first boat soon, so we are kind of in the same boat

Unfortunately due to climate change we have not seen that much snow in CT, mostly just rain that freezes overnight.

 

My storage months are exactly opposite as we reside in the Desert Southwest and our Jaguar hibernation is in the summer. My routine is a simple one. I give it a detail (wash, ceramic coat of wax, 303 fabric care on the convertible top, condition the leather and tires, etc.). I slightly over inflate the tires. I fill the tank with fuel and add a brand name stabilizer. I attach a CTEK maintainer. I lock the car and place the key fobs a good distance away from the car. Lastly I cover the car with a soft indoor car cover. My XKR “sleeps” untouched, started or moved for usually about 5 - 6 months

XKR Convertible in summer hibernation.
. It fires right up with the only issue being slight flat spots on the tires which smooth after just a couple uses / drives.

 

We will be getting our new - to us- 2002 XK8 convertible ready for winter soon. We leave for the winter so put battery maintainers on all of our cars and also use Stabil in the gas tank, I usually drive to the gas station and put the stabilizer in the tank and then have them fill the tank with gas. The drive home mixes everything and uses a little gas too so that the tank isn't too full. Be sure that the battery maintainer you buy has a float to keep it from over charging the battery.

 

It gets hot in SE Texas too. The Jag has A/C so it is a year round driver except the top doesn't go down very often in the summer.

 

Usually in the 100s daily here for a couple summer months, and I LOVE it. Top down, seat cooler going...... Fun Stuff!

 

Well, I'm afraid that's where some of you are wrong. Put exceptional snow tires all around, turn off the traction control, and the car handles like a dream... precise, predictable, nibble, balanced. Many a wrx can't lose me in the snow covered roads leading to ski country.

Furthermore, as I mentioned in another thread, my car was parked the longest it ever has without a battery maintainer... November to August. She started up fine. Of course at the first hint of battery trouble I don't mess with it, I just replace it. And while she's parked, I leave the windows down a crack, put dryer sheets in the car and boot, and don't lock her. Yes, the garage is climate controlled.

Cheers All!

 

Guy, I live in Winnipeg and your nuts to drive your XK in the winter with all the snow, salt, and slippery roads where OTHER drivers wont feel bad when they run into your nice summer car. Mine is going away in a week and out again in May and there is a reason why we have beaters. .

 

LOL, to each their own! I buy cars to drive them. You should have seen the admiring looks I got when I showed up at hills with skis on the roof...
I have a buddy with a 360 who does the same thing.

Its not my experience that anyone wants to run into me. Nor do I have any interest in driving a beater.

Cheers!

 

I couldn't agree with you more. Too many drivers think they are better drivers than they are. We go to Barbados for the winter so not even tempted to drive it. Next week it will be off the road until we return in May, plus DMV holds our plates so we can suspend our insurance.

 

Thanks for that. I'm missing visiting the Islands. As much as I like them all, I miss Bermuda the most.
I especially like chartering out of St Lucia, then heading down to the Grenadines, too.
Or if you like diving, Anegada. Oops, off topic. Sorry about that. This lockdown thing is affecting my attention span, lol.

 

I agree, Covid is making us all a little stir crazy. I love Bermuda, but much too expensive, and foreigner can't buy property for less than 3 or 4 million, plus it is not tropical, so not the best for the winter. Don't dive so any vacations are not to dive spots. Went to Young Island, off St Vincent one year for a week and decided that Barbados has the best beaches, so why leave.

 

So what’s the consensus on storing the tires? Do you over inflate them or lift the entire car up on stands? Does over inflating them actually stop/slow flat spot formation? Does putting the car up on stands create any suspension issues because it’s fully extended? Or do you just take the weight off the tires but not fully extend the suspension?

 

My experience with quality tires is that at 32-40 psi you will get flat spots. However they work their way out driving 50kms for a couple kilos. Ive also put in 50psi over winter that has avoided flat spots. I then kept tires at normal psi, I think around 42 psi and just moved the car a 1/4 turn of the wheel every 2 weeks. The link below is from Goodyear which says someting similer.

https://www.goodyearrvtires.com/tire-storage.aspx

 

I park mine and forget it.
Have you ever noticed a big car dealership with 100's of new and used cars. I doubt they go out and move them every few weeks.
I've stored vehicles for 6 months for the past 17 years, cold storage, temps many time went below O, no problems, a few miles in the spring with thump/thump from the tires, but it all went away very quickly.

 

Funny you mention a car dealership and moving cars. I worked for one years ago and we actually did move every car every couple of weeks. It wasn't to prevent the tires from flat spotting, it was to move the inventory around for a different presentation. Customers always thought we'd gotten a new batch of cars in. While it was miserable to move 100 cars in the winter, it did create more floor traffic.

 

This video is hilarious and awful. Do you know exactly where it was taken?

 

You drive the car w/ 42 lbs/in?? Bring it down to 32 and tell me what you think.

 

I remember some years back taking my old x100 with 18" summer tyres to a business meeting in Cumbria. Arrived the night before and all was fine. A blizzard (by UK standards) hit overnight and there was 3ft of snow the next morn.

My.x100 handled well on the freshly plowed roads, where my colleague in a people carrier with skinny 15" tyres was all over the place.

I think that:

1) The weight of the car helped
2) Taking your time is a must
3) Carrying some kitty litter or sharp sand & a shovel...just in case!

Would imagine on compacted ice it would have been a different experience