I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: Winter storing
With winter approaching, my first with this particular 5. I was looking at getting prepared on the best way to go about keeping the car over the salty months. I Don’t have access to a garage/ storage, and would prefer not to pay the fee to store it. The car wont get driven in the salty months, other than maybe to give it a run round the block.
So is a hardtop an effective enough barrier to stop water ingress into the sills and so on, or do i go full cover. Wary of a cover due to trapping moisture and the scratch risk. I’ve recently checked all the drains and done a bilt hamber spray job down all the inside of the sills.
My driveway also has a slight slope, has anyone found that the car prefers facing a certain direction?
Our drive is on a slight slope as well and I park nose down so that any water that collects in the rain rail will run forwards towards the drains. If you park nose up and there is heavy rain then there is a risk the rain rail could overflow. Of course you need to make sure your drains are both completely clear.
I’m glad you are asking this question. I’m in the same position.
I don’t know if any one reading this can confirm, but I read that a half cover (one that covers just the soft top area) is better than a full cover as it allows for better air circulation around the vehicle while protecting the soft top from the elements.
As above, I think if mine was laid up for winter it would be the half cover if I had a soft top.
Give it a polish and wax for protection, all drains cleared park nose down handbrake off, wheels chocked.
For completeness I’d, strip, clean and lube brakes also and possibly cover the wheels.
Keep the battery on charge, on or off the car.
That’s good, i have recently started parking nose down as i noticed a small puddle at the back of the engine bay after heavy rain.
with regards to the rain rail and drain points around the soft top, would having a hard top eliminate the chances of flooding in the rail and drain if there was a blockage?
Thanks for mentioning brakes, had new rears recently and would like to try keep them that way.
I would avoid parking near hedges if possible as it seems damper and more rust/seize friendly.
If you store it when the weather is warm and damp (say 15 degrees dew point) take the opportunity to open it up to super dry, cold air in the winter - those days when it’s freezing outside but you can see for 20 miles (dew point at or below zero). Low dew point = less condensation = no mouldy upholstery.
For the battery charger I have used the ‘cheap’ Aldi and Lidl ones for many years without any issues. Others will recommend you spend over 5 times as much, but for most uses there is no real need unless you have ‘brand snobbery’ issues!
Many posts on chargers or battery maintenance as some call it.
Take your pick, Aldi/Lidl when they have stock, not a regular line, then Ctek are good too which are around 6 times the price of say the Lidl one.
I have 2, the Lidl and the Aldi, both do the job that I want them to do👍
The £14 ones are the ones that I use.
Why is an I phone so much more than a basic phone from Motorola or Samsung?
Status? Snobbery?
Marketing is a science of cunning. All those extras that you never realised you didn’t need until you had been suckered into buying them!!! Then spending the rest of your life trying to justify them!!!
They are not the latest model but still cost £70. Having said that I use it a lot. It appears to benefit batteries that don’t get too much regular use. The “renovation” mode as I call it has revitalised one of my batteries that I might otherwise have been tempted to renew (for £70) If I had one of these stop/start batteries (£££££) it would make even more sense.
After I replaced the old Mazda battery I tried to revive it but the CTEK told me it was faulty and not taking charge.
It’s also easier to use if you have a battery cover, as you leave the bulldog clips on and just use the push on connector. Some have it in the front grille so that you don’t have to lift the bonnet.
Just another viewpoint. (I think it also does early Mazda “jelly” batteries)
I’d recommend this below too in the tool kit re battery maintenance. It checks condition of the battery, the ability to hold a charge and the alternator charging ability.
Yes there are many on sale and that cost more money,this is a basic bit of kit that for me works well.
Last year was my first full year of MX5 ownership and I went for a full cover, only driving the car when the roads were completely dry (even though I had the car professionally Waxoyled).
Condensation was an issue, I confused it with water ingress like many posters here do. So what would I do differently this winter? Probably stick to the only-drive-when-dry rule (easier in the South than the North!) but use a half-cover instead of a full cover. They are very convenient. Full cover probably still useful if you can see that it is going to be absolutely torrential in the days ahead, but it shouldn’t be the default position since it is a pain to attach and you get the condensation issue.
Checking drains if the car is new to you is also a good idea, plus the grommets in the windscreen wiper mechanism area (or is that an exclusively NC problem?). Wax the painted body. And apply protector and cleaner to the soft top even if you are covering it.
My understanding is that condensation occurs when the temperature outside falls below the dew point of the air in your car cabin. So if you’ve got residual damp in your carpets or you shut it up on a day when there was lots of moisture in the air, it will be running with condensation when the temperature hits freezing point some time in the early winter months. Your cloth seats will turn green.
The other day, when it was hot and hazy, the dew point outside was over 20 Celsius. When it’s freezing outside but you can see for 20 miles the dew point must be at or below freezing. It’s counter intuitive but it’s on freezing days like that when you should open your car up and let the freezing cold, super dry air in.
In the meantime , if you take it off the road in the moist Autumn months, you could use some device to get rid of the moisture. Plenty of suggestions on here.
Yep agreed. I would re-emphasise giving it a run whenever possible. One side-effect of that though can be that the heater fills the car with warm air which then sees the water content condense on the outward-facing surfaces like the inside of the roof when you return home. So leave it open for a few minutes on your return before closing and covering it if it’s going to be a cold night ahead.
Just saw this old thread. Everyone saying park nose down. Anyone noticed that on the ND at least that causes pooling of water round the boot lip. It’s like a pond after a lot of rain. Nose up prevents this…
