Unfortunately I do not have a garage to keep my crossfire in, and have not decided whether or not I want to rent a storage unit. Would it harm the vehicle to leave it in my driveway covered up all winter? Do any of you keep yours outside covered up through the winter months?

 

Make sure the car cover is designed for year round use for one and your also going to want to get a Battery Manager from Griots Garage. You can actually get both items from Griots and remember, you get what you pay for from them. I have the Battery Manager and its great as its got a computer chip inside of it that doesn't allow the battery to be overcharged like most trickle chargers do. A couple other things your going to want to do is:

- fill the car up so its full of gas.

- air up the tires a bit more as your going to lose air for every 10 degree drop in the temp.

- wouldn't hurt to place a brand new box of Arm & Hammer baking soda opened up somewhere in the car to keep down moisture.

- make sure the oil isn't real old either as you get condensation build up after it sits for sometime.

 

Aren't you supposed to jack the car up, so the tires don't get damaged by sitting in the same position for several months?

 

The purpose of jacking the car up is to take the load off of the suspension, but you should put a vapor barrier between the tires and the ground so they don't draw moisture. When I store my car:

• Fill the tank and use fuel stabilizer which I run through the injectors before it goes into storage.
• Change the oil and filter.
• I use a 1" perforated rubber mat under each tire, lift the car off its suspension but not so high as to have the suspension hanging.
• Install a battery charger with a floating ground.
• Touch up any scratches and give it a good wax.
• Cover it with my car cover until spring.

 

This is what I did last year. Didn't have any problems just cleaned off the snow after the storms:

 

If I decide to put my new XFire on jacks for the winter, where exactly would I locate the jacks on the undercarriage. Which jack stands are recommended. Thanks.

 

There are four rubber jacking points. Two just forward of the rear wheels and two just rearward of the front wheels. This is where I would put your stands.

You can jack up the car just next to these points, just make sure you have a rubber or neoprene block to put between your jack and the body (or a triple folded terry cloth hand towel on a piece of 2x4 wood).

Good luck!

 

I'm planning on keeping mine in the garage covered, but don't want to jack the car and remove the tires. Is there something recommended to put on the garage floor or under the tires?

 

I put mine in storage every year and this year I came up with a inexpensive and very stable way to take the weight off the suspension during storage here is the tread: https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ighlight=%2420

In the link there are pictures where the plastic jacking blocks that TimeLord is referencing.

FPMartinez you don't have to remove the wheels but you should put a vapor barrier between them and the cement. I use a 3/4" perforated rubber mat under each wheel. It's not a true vapor barrier but I don't believe the moisture will migrate that far in garage, besides it keeps the tires from having flat spots. However, if you do store your car you should lift it off the suspension to extend the life of the struts. My jacks are supporting approximately 80 - 90% of the weight of the car so that the suspension isn't just hanging, that wouldn't be good on the struts either.

 

I just used regular jack stands, nothing special. I jacked the car from the suspension and put the stands under the jack points as said by the others. I like to take the wheels off for the winter then i am not tempted to drive it as much in the salt and crud!!

 

Good news I found a garage to keep my baby in, and it is heated...no charge!!! I have not decided if I want to jack the car up, right now I just have the tires on cardboard and waxed her one more time.

 

Plan on storing my XFire in my home garage. Should I be concerned that the XFire will be sharing the garage with my winter Pacifica, which most likely will track in snow from our wonderful Rochester winters. So half will be dry, the other wet. Moisture concerns, or am I over analyzing this whole thing. Heck, for fifteen years I've been storing my Lexus SC400 in a friend’s garage; just pull it in, cover it up and come get it in five months.

 

I don't want to jack mine up, nor remove the tires, so will any piece of rubber do under the tires to avoid flat spots, or are there product out there for sale for this purpose. Any advice is appreciated.
I got my cover last Friday and I'm getting it ready for winter storage in my own garage.

 

I intend to drive my Crossfire everyday that there is no snow or wet roads in Chicagoland. Although I know that is hit and miss but the last few winters had a lot of dry pavement throughout the winter months. I bought this car to drive and I intend to drive it as often as possible. On the other hand I have a motorcycle and it does get stored all winter in my garage.
Last winter I added a natural gas heater so my garage remains at 60 degrees. When the roads are crappy I will hit them with my 4X4 Explorer.

 

i'm thinking about getting a Car Capsule.

http://carcapsule.com/

my DD Wrangler has a remote start so it won't mind being kept outside all year.

 

ALL OF THE FORUM:
Would it hurt to drive the damn car a couple times a month in the snow? I live in Colorado and we had a really nasty winter last year. I didn't own my Xfire until April of '07 but we had a few late storms. The car didn't slip around on slick roads so I didn't have to pull up on the throttle either. I am enjoying many runs in the "hills" in the summer. I don't plan to pull out my old four wheel drive Silverado truck until I have to...I intend to drive my XFire in nasty winter weather...For God's sake we all drove RWD cars in the 70's and we are all still here. Our cars have many technological upgrades that we did not think possible years ago that will keep us on the road and out of the ditches. I think our cars are better suited for bad weather than the general thought on the forum. I think our cars will hold the road...

 

Seems like I read somewhere that you can use plywood covered with carpet under the tires. I would probably cover the pieces of plywood with plastic and then carpet.

 

probably not. but i have two Jeeps and no need to drive the car in the winter.

 

You could try these:

http://www.permabag.com/index.php?lo..._tireshoes.php

 

I like... Thanks woody.