Corvette: C5 questions

com wrote: 

Do a Mobil 1 oil change right before storing. Start the car every week or
two. Ecklers said that the Michelin Pilot has good wear characteristics.
Yes - lose the run flats. Best performance tire for the car is the Goodyear
Eagle F1 Supercar that the Z06 uses.



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________________________________
Klecko's Komrades. All the way in 2003

I would strongly disagree with starting the car periodically unless you plan
to take it out and get it up to operating temperature for at least an hour
each time (that's at operating temp for an hour). Everytime you start the
engine you introduce humidity into the crankcase. Under normal
circumstances it's not a problem because the engine reaches temp and the
water evaporates. If you only run it a short time it accumulates and forms
acidic sludges. Most engines today will not reach full operating temp
without being under load. I can let my Aurora idle until the cows come home
and the temp gauge will not hit it's peak normal reading. Even if the
coolant temp reaches normal range the oil won't unless it's driven. Best
thing to do is shut it off, disconnect the bat cable to prevent self
discharge and leave it alone. I like to jack the car up and support it at
the frame so the suspension hangs and tires are off the ground. Depending
on where you're storing it, protect against rodents. I've seen mice and
squirrels do an incredible amount of damage to vehicles stored inside as
well as outside.
Steve
<com> wrote in message
news:leXtb.12251$bellsouth.net... 
Goodyear 

> Hello, I have a 98 coupe, and it needs (4) tires (again)... does anyone 


Have had GREAT luck with the Eagle F1 GS-D3, much quieter,
tremendously smoother, better dry and wet traction. Being that they
are not EMT, I bought a little battery-operated compressor and a plug
kit and keep that in the "trunk". Can't say much about the wear as
they are still within a couple thousand miles, but according to the
various reviews I've read, they say they last longer than the EMT's.

Check around for the tires as they vary DRASTICALLY in price from
store to store.

I have a new set of Eagle F1 GS-D3s. I concur, MUCH quieter than
the RE 71 Potenzas I took off. Smoother ride also.
'94 Six Speed Ragtop.

Al wrote:
 

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Ric Seyler
Online Racing: RicSeyler
GPL Handicap 6.35
net
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I agree, it's not a good idea to "start up the engine from time to time"
when stored.

Steve G wrote:
 

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Ric Seyler
Online Racing: RicSeyler
GPL Handicap 6.35
net
http://www.pcola.gulf.net/~ricseyler
remove -SPAM- from email address
--------------------------------------
"Homer no function beer well without."
- H.J. Simpson

Definitely interesting points made. But I have always started my cars and
run them for 30 minutes or so every now and then, and never had any
problems with the cars. Once the weather warms back up, I get the car out
for an oil change ASAP. I have always done that with my motorcycles as
well. Never had any bad luck with doing it that way (knock on wood). I
hate letting the cars sit for too long without running, and also pull the
cars out and put them back so I don't get flat spots on the tires (which may
be an old wives tale, but sounded real enough for me to worry about it).



"Ric Seyler" <net> wrote in message
news:urwub.2550$bellsouth.net...
I agree, it's not a good idea to "start up the engine from time to time"
when stored.

Steve G wrote:

I would strongly disagree with starting the car periodically unless you plan
to take it out and get it up to operating temperature for at least an hour
each time (that's at operating temp for an hour). Everytime you start the
engine you introduce humidity into the crankcase. Under normal
circumstances it's not a problem because the engine reaches temp and the
water evaporates. If you only run it a short time it accumulates and forms
acidic sludges. Most engines today will not reach full operating temp
without being under load. I can let my Aurora idle until the cows come home
and the temp gauge will not hit it's peak normal reading. Even if the
coolant temp reaches normal range the oil won't unless it's driven. Best
thing to do is shut it off, disconnect the bat cable to prevent self
discharge and leave it alone. I like to jack the car up and support it at
the frame so the suspension hangs and tires are off the ground. Depending
on where you're storing it, protect against rodents. I've seen mice and
squirrels do an incredible amount of damage to vehicles stored inside as
well as outside.
Steve

You aren't likely to see any immediate damage. This is the kind of thing
that results in someone getting only say 150,000 miles out of an engine and
the guy that left it alone in the winter gets say 200,000 (numbers are
arbitrary). In my days of working in a shop you would pull the oil pan
drain plug on cars driven only short distance in the winter and never
allowed to reach temp and pure water would run out first before the oil
started to flow. Had one customer with a ford 302 engine I think, that
drove his car in with the oil pressure light glowing red and the engine
clattering. This was in the dead of winter (very cold up here in Manitoba)
and he had only driven the few blocks from home. Coincidently it was the
same drive he made everday to work. (he worked across the street). We
brought the car in and there was so much water (not antifreeze) in the oil
pan that it froze around the pick-up screen and wouldn't allow the pump to
pick-up oil. Thawed it out until the water and oil ran out, filled it with
fresh oil and away he went. Clearly wasn't coolant in the pan because it was
frozen and there was antifreeze in the rad. That's an extreme case, but I
have scraped the sludge off valve covers and oil pans on engine that were
run infrequently and didn't often reach full operating temp. Also, it's
common knowledge that most of the wear in an engine occurs in the first few
minutes after startup. If you've ever started an engine with the valve
covers off you know how long it takes before you see oil dripping from the
rocker arms. It used to be common with large diesel engines to use a
preluber that would inject oil under pressure into the engine oiling system
prior to startup to avoid dry starts. If you started the engine and never
shut it off you could probably get 3/4 of a million miles out of it. It's
one of the reasons that highway tractor engines last as long as they do.
Start it once and drive 2000 miles. Why bear the startup wear if you're not
going anywhere. Like you, I've never encountered problems either with my
motorhome or any of my collector cars when I let them sit all winter without
running.
The tires, on the other hand, may be true. It's one of the reasons I've
always jacked my cars up. And I also believe it healthy to take the weight
off the springs when not using it. Over time the springs will sag, that's a
given. Why keep using the springs if you're not using the car.
Forgive my rambling, I'm old.
Steve
<com> wrote in message
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Steve G wrote: 

Not rambling at all. I found it all quite informative. Thanks.
--
________________________________
Klecko's Komrades. All the way in 2003