Who does this with their Cobalts? yeah in theory i could store mine in a garage and wait for the warmer weather to come back, but i really dont want to....

The few gains i DO see by doing it though is to protect the body from salt, as well as the coil overs... and i do plan to go snow plow low here soon so it does sound like a viable option...

Question then is what is the "proper" way to do things when you store it for the winter?

 

Wash it. Change the oil. Put it up on jack stands to stop flat spot on the tires, failing that over inflate the tires. Block the intake and exhaust so no critters get in (make sure you can get the stuff out come spring!). Use dry lube on the door and trunk weather seals. Spray silicone lube on anything that would rust. Put on a battery charger with a maintenance cycle. I think that's all I do. Over winter clean the crap out of it, clay bar, wax etc. you can just do a body panel at a time since it's not going anywhere. I pull the wheels and clean and wax them usually too. Ohh yeah full tank of gas w/stabilizer!

****Don't forget to contact your insurance company about converting to storage insurance!
Saves me $100's, one company let me store the car for $20 a year and I could leave it legally parked on the street!!

 

Haha, I don't do as much as axmonkey does, but I do most of that when I used to store my cobalt, and now my solstice. Wash, clay bar, wax, change oil, and over inflate the tires. I also make sure I have a full tank of gas. Then once a month I will start the car up and let it get all the way up to running temp and give it some revs. I also roll the car a good foot either back or forth, just to change how the tires are sitting. I don't trickle charge the battery, or block the intake and exhaust (because it's stored where I know there's no little critters). I've done this every year for the past 4 years and haven't had an issue yet.

 

I park mine on carpets, and over inflate the tires. I wouldnt want the suspension hanging all winter while its up on jackstands. Add some Stabil to the fuel tank as well.

 

Winter is the best time to do big mods!

 

Garaging a FWD car? Madness I say.

But yeah axmonkey nailed it.

 

Yes sir!!

 

I drive mine! All 4 years now and 0 rust issues.

I live in MN

 

it will catch up. i dd my ion and it is starting to get a good amount of rust underneath it

 

this will be the first time i store a car for the winter, so this is useful. thanks

 

It's not so much as garaging a FWD, but garaging what I'd call a performance vehicle. I've seen too many people destroy their intercoolers driving in the winter, and I don't want to have a 2nd set of wheels with winter tires. I ran NT05's on the cobalt, those barely made it through the rain, I couldn't imagine what an inch of snow would do . Plus if we have a 2nd vehicle and the means to store it, why not? It's resale value is that much more, plus I saved money by turning off most of my car insurance during the winter too.


Yet, . Have you tried taking your downpipe off, or your sway bar endlinks, stuff like that? Just because there is no visible rust on your body yet doesn't mean it isn't rusting .

 

Thats what penetrating lube is for and heat!

Plus theres no need to take off the DP...Vband between header and DP

 

storing my car this year.

got a garage i rented 75 a month.
what im doing is taking the battery out of the car storing it inside my house on a battery tender.
and im putting sta-bil in the tank.
thats it

taking my pf01's off and putting the snow tires and the steelies on so the car isnt sitting on the pf01's

 

Agreed. I run summer tires, but have a winter beater. So no need to purchase snow tires and worry about my car getting beat up.

Car looks as good as the day I bought it inside and out.

 

It started snowing today so I guess its time to decide if Im actually going to drive the Cobalt this winter or try and get my old S10 running haha.

 

this!

i'm storing mine for the first time this winter, plan to go there once every two weeks (unless im modding it ofcourse!) and start it up, roll it back or forth; maybe on a nice day take it around the block just to make sure nothing siezes on itself like the shocks or something

 

i will be storing mine for the second year in a row, inflate the tires, pull the battery and leave it inside where its warm, fuel stabilizer and plug the exhaust.

 

lot of good tips in here, i'm subbing!

 

Last year mine just set in the driveway all winter. This year it will most likely be in a garage. I planned on just starting the car once ever month. A lot of good tips here.

Is there a certain kind of trickle charger everybody is using?
What PSI do you guys over inflate the tires to?
How much stabile do you put in the tank?

 

x2 on these questions

 

I do drive mine on nice days in the winter when the roads are clean. So I'm not a 100% storage guy, lol.

I inflate my tires to 35 psi, parked on carpets.

I just follow the instructions on the bottle of stabil.

 

Awsome thread.. Good information in here

 

i have a battery tender setup and run the cable out of the trunk

 

I have stored my G5 since new every winter. its parked from nov to april. Or till all the snow is melted and the roads are cleaned. I just change the oil fill the gas tank and park it in my garage and cover it. Last year was the first time it failed to start right up after sitting since i was still on the original battery. I do have a new battery now and a tender i will use this year.

 

well i asked because i have another car i can use in the winter since its not getting much use during the rest of the year(oops)

and because looking under the car you would think the previous owner didnt drive it in the snow.. i did when i first got it back in feb due to the other car taking a dump but now that its all good again i just might.. and it would give me the ability to finally send my wheels out to be re-done without a major time constraint...