Driven Racing Oil Discusses Winter Vehicle Storage Tips

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Our friends over at Driven Racing Oil concentrate on one thing and one thing only – lubricants and fluids to keep your vehicle running smoothly. Their website is chock-full of great information regarding each of their products and the best uses for them.

With winter upon us, especially for those of us in the northern half of the country, storing a classic or late-model street machine is a rite of passage. Not one any of us particularly like – because who wouldn’t want to be driving their car year-round – but it’s the price we pay for the pleasure of enjoying four seasons.

The three items that are most important when it comes to ensuring that your car performs after the winter are oil, coolant, and fuel.

“I hear people say all the time that they put fresh oil in their car when they pull it out after the winter, but that’s the wrong time to do it,” explains Driven Racing Oil’s Lake Speed Jr. “It is so much better for your car to have fresh oil in the engine when you put it away for the winter.

As the oil that’s been run for a while has combustion byproducts in it – carbon, fuel, and water – that create acids, it can actually attack the engine while it’s in storage, drying out the seals and potentially causing other issues like pitting and corrosion of the internals. Speed suggests that it’s a good idea to change the oil prior to locking the garage door for the winter.

corrosion5

Ethanol in fuel can cause corrosion like this – don’t let yourself be a victim.

Ethanol is another killer, and since it’s in nearly every drop of pump fuel out there, it can also create issues if not properly dealt with. Ethanol is hygroscopic – meaning that it attracts water – which can cause corrosion in the fuel tank, the fuel pump, and inside your carburetor. It can also dry out gaskets and fuel lines.

Thirdly, although your coolant is designed to keep your engine cool while it’s running, the water that it’s mixed with can cause issues. Water has trace amount of minerals in it, which interact with the metals in your block, heads, and other metal components of the engine to create a chemical reaction and cause corrosion.

To read the complete article, along with their suggestions for protecting your vehicle’s engine and related components, head on over to the Driven website and check it out.

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About the author

Jason Reiss

Jason draws on over 15 years of experience in the automotive publishing industry, and collaborates with many of the industry's movers and shakers to create compelling technical articles and high-quality race coverage.
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