The most depressing time of year

[PreludeMOFO]

Well its winter now in Minnesota, and the mighty snow god took a giant shit on us this weekend. Well no more speeding round town till next year, its really depressing.

Just wondering, aside from storing my Prelude, what other precautions can i take in order to maintain its appearance/performance through out
winter? That ice just coats it and i'm afraid of the paint getting damaged. Also as far as driving goes, is there better ways to drive in winter than perhaps in summer? Don't wanna get stranded out in -1000 degree weather cuz my engine decided to die.....


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1994 Honda Prelude VTEC

[1600cc]

Why don't you store it away in the garage? If not, then you should cover it w/ a car cover. Don't just let it sit outside and let the snow beat on it, you might as well drive the car if you're going to do that.

[Ricochet]

Make sure you get a thermal one (big bucks btw) and not some thin dust cover. The thin one will ruin your paint if left on your car for days at a time.

[mycivic]

garage it. if your not gona drive it for the winter, start it up once in a while like every morning for like 10 mins, like warm it up or something. glad it does not snow here.

[BlkCamaroSS]

I hate the snow, I'm just waiting for it to crap on us here for the first time. I'm in trouble when it does. I was supposed to get new tires for my car in September, and still no tires. The ones that I have on it now will not do well in the snow...

[Ricochet]

You don't have to start your car up every day man.. maybe once a week or two is fine just to get things circulated.

[mycivic]

Originally Posted by Ricochet

You don't have to start your car up every day man.. maybe once a week or two is fine just to get things circulated.

ok...maybe once or twice a week i guess. i read some article about storing vehicles for long periods of time bout changing the fluids (i think oil change and some other fluids) before doing so.

[PunkAlex]

Just dont run it IN the garage-after a few minutes of that you wont be worrying about your lude anymore! But you should run it jsut to let the alternator run and charge the battery.

[imprtsyco]

def start it as often as possible. like they already said. but not driving it even if it is just sitting outside is still a ton better than driving it because the salt will make it rust to shit they throw so much salt on the road its not funny. but the dryer you keep it the better.if you do garage it put mothballs around it and in it so the mice dont get in it. but if your going to start it often you dont have to worry about that. i lived in vt my whole life and always had to store my conquest in the winter. it sucked when i put that away and took out the 89 mazda 323 but when i took it out i thought i had an indy car after driving that mazda for 5 months.

[PreludeMOFO]

ya i gotta drive it everyday, its such a bitch but its a labor of love, i guess. Ill try to keep it as dry as possible, but damn i know that won't work. lookss like ill just have to fix the body when the rust starts forming

[DVS LT1]

Originally Posted by PreludeMOFO

Well its winter now in Minnesota, and the mighty snow god took a giant shit on us this weekend. Well no more speeding round town till next year, its really depressing.

Just wondering, aside from storing my Prelude, what other precautions can i take in order to maintain its appearance/performance through out
winter? That ice just coats it and i'm afraid of the paint getting damaged. Also as far as driving goes, is there better ways to drive in winter than perhaps in summer? Don't wanna get stranded out in -1000 degree weather cuz my engine decided to die.....

If you want to keep your car for many years - put it into storage.

Take the money you save in insurance and put it towards a cheap 10 year old beater - just to get you through winter.

If you must drive it in winter get it rust checked again and again - the problem with most rust proffing is that the applicant hardens once its sprayed on. Any rocks or debris hitting the undercarage will chip away at the layer and expose the metal. The best kind of rust proffing is applicant thats smeared onto the underbody. I know of just one guy in the Greater Toronto Area that does this - he's making so much cash - and its the best. He gets right under your car and smears this shit everywhere. It may appear dirty but theres no chance for salt to get into the little spots and the applicant won't chip off. After winter just take the car to the coin op and preasure blast all the shit off!

[DVS LT1]

Originally Posted by mycivic

ok...maybe once or twice a week i guess. i read some article about storing vehicles for long periods of time bout changing the fluids (i think oil change and some other fluids) before doing so.

I personally like to change the oil after taking it out of storage but it doesn't hurt to do it before.

In terms of starting it up or not - its better to prep it for storage and leave it alone. If you decide to start it periodically then it has to be done consistantly - like 2-3 times every week. The problem with starting it up every so often is condensation forming. Especially in extreme cold, once you get your engine up to normal operating temps and kill it the rapid cool down tends to form a lot of condensation - in the engine and all along the exhaust path - which will increase the changes of rust.

Put her on blocks, keep your battery inside where its warm, tarp her up and let her sit. If the car is being left outside you're better off NOT tarping her because when the wind blows and moves the tarp around the paint will get sandpapered by all of the dust thats managed to sneak underneath it. If the car is not on blocks its a good idea to move the tires so no lumps can form - and I wouldn't start it up to move it just push it back/forward a bit or jack it up and spin the tires.

When its time to bring her back to life I like slide a portable heater underneath the oil pan to get the fluids nice 'n warm(15w50 is pretty thick) Battery goes in, if its been two summers I'll change the sparkplugs but leave the ignition wires unplugged, pull out the fuses for the fuel injectors, and crank the ignition to get the oil circulated - the engine won't turn over and you won't fill the cylinders up with fuel. I'll crank her for about 15 seconds then give the starter a break, and keep doing this until the low oil/oil light goes out on the dash. After you put the fuse(s) back and connect the spark plug wires the engine will turn over instantly - with zero engine wear.

EDIT: remote starters are wicked if you drive your car in winter - can walk up to your front window in your pj's & holding your morning tea, hit a button, and 15 minutes later when you get into your car its nice 'n toasty.

[KoRnboy]

Originally Posted by DVS LT1

If you want to keep your car for many years - put it into storage.

Take the money you save in insurance and put it towards a cheap 10 year old beater - just to get you through winter.

If you must drive it in winter get it rust checked again and again - the problem with most rust proffing is that the applicant hardens once its sprayed on. Any rocks or debris hitting the undercarage will chip away at the layer and expose the metal. The best kind of rust proffing is applicant thats smeared onto the underbody. I know of just one guy in the Greater Toronto Area that does this - he's making so much cash - and its the best. He gets right under your car and smears this shit everywhere. It may appear dirty but theres no chance for salt to get into the little spots and the applicant won't chip off. After winter just take the car to the coin op and preasure blast all the shit off!

Yeah Oil undercoating, the downside is the oil they use eats your seals and anything rubber in your suspention and engine if it touches it... meaning you have to replace them 4 or 5 times as often, my uncle used to do it but it got to were unless you have a brand new car it's just not worth the money to eat your seals for what could be a fine underbody if you just be careful with it and take care of it before and after winter.

BTW some of you mentioned you lived in VT? Where about's? I'm in Southern and we've not had a damn bit of snow over about 1/8th of an inch and that only stayed for a day.

[pheurton-skeurto]

maybe im old school but heres what ive learned to do from my dad and g-pa and ive never had a problem with rust...ever: about this time of year, or right before you know its gonna start snowing, wax the shit out of your car, i mean like twice a week or more for about two weeks. then when the snow hits wash the shit out of your car with a low powered coin wash. thats only if youre driving the thing throughout the winter. i just bought my 97 lude and it breaks my heart but icant afford ins on two cars so im stuck driving it. like i said laugh if you want but none of my cars have ever rusted.