Winter layup

[oily66]

Just wondering what the consensus is for what you do in the salty season, for those that don’t continue to use their dolly.
I have a battery conditioner that I connect once a fortnight then leave on for a week or so.
Do you just start and run up to temp stationary without much blipping of the throttle?
Or do you run it up and down the driveway a bit? And how often?

Cheers

[dollyman]

Personally Trevor, unless i go out in one of my Triumphs.... I don't start them unless i need to move one. Starting them up does untold damage to engines, they are not designed to run cold. Just leave it alone for the winter lay up and it will be fine. Charging the battery is fine.Short runs are a car killer.

Tony.

[Carledo]

I agree with Tony, I tend to run my Triumphs all year round, avoiding this quandary, but I also have various cars that do sit around for months at a time. And my finding is that (quite apart from accelerated bearing wear which is concomitant with frequent cold starts) what happens is that, even running it right up to temp will still result in plug fouling, making the NEXT start harder, till eventually it won't start at all.

There are other considerations though. I like to run a car a few miles, at least once a week, to stop the tyres flat spotting, discs going rusty, clutches sticking to flywheels and brake hydraulic parts seizing. A few extra days won't matter if it's persistently raining or icy and salted. But wait for a half decent day and give it a run whenever possible. It does a car no good at all to stand idle for months. Even, possibly especially, a recently restored one!

Steve

[oily66]

Thanks guys
If we could at least get a break from either the rain, the white stuff and the salt, then it would be great to get out for a run. A lovely sunny day today but lashings of salt on the roads. Typical