For those that store their cars during the winter, do you raise the car off the floor? And if so, how do you do it, jack stands?

Regards,

Chuck Dugan

'92 Dark Red Metallic convertible.

I have never done that. I've never had any issues getting her back out in the spring from just letting her rest on the ground. I'm not really sure what the school of thought would be in lifting it off the ground during storage.

Your location in Shillington, PA, is not far from mine in Ephrata, PA, so our weather temps and conditions would be similar.  For 12 years, I have parked my C4 in the garage with proper tire inflation, and all of the fluids topped off and a battery tender connected. 

Don't just let it sit there;  there are many days in our area that are sunny and dry, if cold, so just take it out for a drive of at least an hour to let all of the fluids and metals get comfortable with each other, and allow the tires to get "round" again;  dry weather allowing, I try to do that al least once a month during the winter;  and winter drives in the cold, clear weather can be some of the best ever.

I don't always raise the car off the floor but when I do I place jack stands under the suspension, not the frame.  When I leave the car on the floor I increase the tire pressure to 50 lbs to reduce the flat spot a bit.

Jim Olson

 
"The Toys"...!!!  Save the Wave! 

 Where I've been in a Corvette...!!!

I read that on a Corvette Facebook page. Said to raise the tires off the floor to preserve the tires. I was just curious what others did or thought about that. 

Regards,

Chuck Dugan

'92 Dark Red Metallic convertible.

I agree, we several days through fall and winter that are nice enough to break it out and go for a drive. Maybe I'll take it to St Boniface in Ephrata :-) 

Regards,

Chuck Dugan

'92 Dark Red Metallic convertible.

I put the car on a battery tender, fuel 3/4 to full with stabil in fuel ( AND run through the system), tires are sitting on squares of plywood. Car is there November until march or April ( I hate the northeast. want to move and never put a car away again). Come spring I hook up the battery take of my covers turn the key, move the car to my back garage lift, change oil, check fluids, air pressure, etc. and im good to go.....FINGERS CROSSED never an issue. 

Any flat spots in the tires are woked out in a few miles but I've never really had an issue. currently running BFG's comp 2's I think? stock size. 

^^^This....except I usually put 40-42 lbs in. Takes just a couple of minutes to let the air out for a ride. Both my C4s have Continental Extreme Contact tires, they do tend to flatspot a little with continued sitting, but about 10 miles down the road they're good to go.

An old time car guy once told me (and he had 4 from the 40's and 50's) it's not the sitting, but the concrete will suck the life out of tires.  He told me he put big black garbage bags under each tire, rolled them back and forth a bit every couple of months to help with flat spots and his tires lasted twice as long.  Another friend who was a mason agreed, said concrete is nasty stuff even when it's been cured for years.

Thanks for that tip!

Thanks for sharing.

Hello, After attending a Tire Seminar for RVs, the consensus was to not have the tire in constant contact with concrete. Anything between the tire and floor will lengthen tire life. 

Ok, so after doing a lot of research and hearing what other members have said, I settled on a solution. I purchased interlocking foam pads from Harbor Freight.  Covers the whole floor, except under the engine (have a small oil leak). Keeps the tires from having contact with the cement and feels better walking on it. Cost less than $60 and I can still easily take the car out on a nice day :-) 

Regards,

Chuck Dugan

'92 Dark Red Metallic convertible.

Thank you for the tip on tires. I’ll give this a try.

The HF pads sound like a great solution. That’s a win win, good for the tires, soft to walk on and great for my back when I lay down under to work. And maybe take a nap 😴 

Jack stands.  I’ve seen tire cradles, would have to match tire radius to work well, to help prevent flat spots. Worried about dry cured concrete??? Epoxy your floor. Makes clean up a heck of a lot easier