Occasional starts during “hibernation”?

[GRStinger]

A question for the cold-weather owners… Here in the US upper mid-west/Great Lakes, we’re getting our nastiest winter weather in decades. REALLY COLD ambient temps -5 to -20 F (-20 to -30 C), with windchills -30 to -50 F. Plus, here on the windward side of L. Michigan, we’re getting lots of snow – 18” plus in the last 2 days and more coming down. Per the weather the last few days and the forecast, I’ve parked my Stinger for the time-being, - since Saturday (I'm taking the ol’ 2008 Sorento back/forth to work - that old heavy body style is a champ in the snow!). The garage is unheated – a few degrees warmer than the outside ambient. Should I start/let her warm occasionally, or let the outside temp warm up – supposed to be 32F Sunday – before I fire it up? My instinct is to start/let it run for 5-10 min every day? Thoughts?

 

[SKStinger]

A question for the cold-weather owners… Here in the US upper mid-west/Great Lakes, we’re getting our nastiest winter weather in decades. REALLY COLD ambient temps -5 to -20 F (-20 to -30 C), with windchills -30 to -50 F. Plus, here on the windward side of L. Michigan, we’re getting lots of snow – 18” plus in the last 2 days and more coming down. Per the weather the last few days and the forecast, I’ve parked my Stinger for the time-being, - since Saturday (I'm taking the ol’ 2008 Sorento back/forth to work - that old heavy body style is a champ in the snow!). The garage is unheated – a few degrees warmer than the outside ambient. Should I start/let her warm occasionally, or let the outside temp warm up – supposed to be 32F Sunday – before I fire it up? My instinct is to start/let it run for 5-10 min every day? Thoughts?

Nope. Better off not starting it. You’ll just drain the battery by starting it.

How long do you plan on letting it sit? If it’s more than 3 weeks I’d put a trickle charger on it.

-43 Celsius here too with the wind chill. Brutal stuff!

 

[eflyguy]

Agree - battery tender on the jump points under the hood and leave it be. Would't really be necessary for a few weeks, but in that kind of cold, you need to ensure the battery stays at full charge because the electrolyte can start to freeze as it loses charge, and it's an exponential drop from there.

Starting and idling is not good for these engines for a whole bunch of reasons. Just keep it dormant until you can get out and drive.

 

[POS VETT]

A question for the cold-weather owners… Here in the US upper mid-west/Great Lakes, we’re getting our nastiest winter weather in decades. REALLY COLD ambient temps -5 to -20 F (-20 to -30 C), with windchills -30 to -50 F. Plus, here on the windward side of L. Michigan, we’re getting lots of snow – 18” plus in the last 2 days and more coming down. Per the weather the last few days and the forecast, I’ve parked my Stinger for the time-being, - since Saturday (I'm taking the ol’ 2008 Sorento back/forth to work - that old heavy body style is a champ in the snow!). The garage is unheated – a few degrees warmer than the outside ambient. Should I start/let her warm occasionally, or let the outside temp warm up – supposed to be 32F Sunday – before I fire it up? My instinct is to start/let it run for 5-10 min every day? Thoughts?

None of those, leave it alone.

If it's only for a few weeks, top off the fuel tank to minimize air space and condensation from temperature fluctuation. Park with parking brake disengaged. As an option, hook up a float charger and not a trickle charger.

If it's for several months, the option becomes important. Raise tire pressures to around 40 psig.

 

[washguy]

Besides the battery ....it is too cold to be starting up that engine....it hurts motors to start em in that negative zero cold let the weather get to the 30's before you go starting that cold motor Wash

 

[SKStinger]

Besides the battery ....it is too cold to be starting up that engine....it hurts motors to start em in that negative zero cold let the weather get to the 30's before you go starting that cold motor Wash

If that were true most of us Canadians would be SOL! It’s not getting the engine up to temperature that is more problematic over time. The actual cranking is only going to impact the battery.

 

[washguy]

If that were true most of us Canadians would be SOL!

That's my point.....living up there You are S>O>L> and your poor motors if left outside...geeez
actual cranking impacts those cold cold piston rings and bearings in the rods and crankshaft... doesn't matter if you have unobtainum oil in there or not. if you are cranking a negative zero motor you are hurting it bit by bit

 

[Ucinn]

Start it up and let it get up to temp.. It does not hurt the engine despite what some people believe and it will keep your battery fully charged. My Mustang stays garaged during the winter and I start her up once every couple weeks to keep the seals lubricated and the battery charged. Have been doing this for years.. at 85K on the clock with no problems.

 

[SKStinger]

Start it up and let it get up to temp.. It does not hurt the engine despite what some people believe and it will keep your battery fully charged. My Mustang stays garaged during the winter and I start her up once every couple weeks to keep the seals lubricated and the battery charged. Have been doing this for years.. at 85K on the clock with no problems.

It won’t hurt the engine to start it up. It does drain the battery though, especially cold cranking it at those temperatures. Running it for a few minutes up to temperature also does not “charge” the battery, especially when ambient temperatures are that cold.

When storing a car for extended periods of time a trickle charger is the best way to maintain the battery. By cold starting it you're shortening the life of your battery. This is compounded if the car is stored in ambient or near ambient winter temperatures.

I've been using a CTEK trickle charger for the past 10ish years to keep my stored cars charged over winter. They show you the state of the battery and after cold starting you can see on the display the impact it has on the battery output as the charger immediately reverts to it's full charging output and stays that way for up to 10 days.

 

[Ucinn]

It does charge the battery back up as it takes at least 15 minutes to warm up to operating temps just idling. I've never had any battery problems 4 years and counting now. Sorry, but I hate to disagree, but going to have to.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I don't know why people think an idling engine doesn't charge a battery. But OP, don't bother; just wait for the returning "civilized" temperatures promised for next week. Sitting for a week or two, with a healthy battery, won't hurt anything. You're going to be driving her again after this polar vortex passes, am I right? That should be good enough.

This is my only car. So I'd be driving it, sub zero notwithstanding. The only thing that would stop me is snow depths above the splitter.

 

[SKStinger]

It does charge the battery back up as it takes at least 15 minutes to warm up to operating temps just idling. I've never had any battery problems 4 years and counting now. Sorry, but I hate to disagree, but going to have to.

At temperatures where you live I’m sure it does but when the battery is in temperatures below zero for long periods of time it is completely different.

 

[GRStinger]

Thanks y’all for the input. But my Stinger “hybercation” ended up being shorter than planned. Wife works from home but needed to get out today with the Sorento, so I took the Stinger to work. Minus 9 this morning. It fired right up after sitting for a few days (man, that heated steering wheel is sue-wheat!). BTW: overall, probably the worst roads so far this winter. Along with the cold, we’ve had about 20” of snow the last few days. Most of it has been plowed, but actually the worst spots where the road was most-recently plowed. A layer of dense, hard-pack, polished, cold snow. Not quite ice, but close. But the Stinger with the Mic X-Ice’s is a champ here in the dreaded “vortex”! I know to never “push it” in those conditions, but I confidently passed a few SUV’s not so-well equipped!

 

[eflyguy]

That's awesome.. Many years ago in one of our occasional "snowpocalypses" in Atlanta, I had to drive 18 miles round trip to feed my cat while staying with my GF for the duration. I had an AWD Eagle Talon. With appropriate caution, it was a non-event, while we passed dozens of vehicles including big AWD trucks and SUVs stranded along the way.

 

[SteveCo]

I had an AWD Eagle Talon

That was a car I lusted after, all those years ago. I had all the brochures, and made up my mind it was going to be my first brand new vehicle - following the somewhat awkward attempt at an AWD car with the boxy AMC Eagle, I was really impressed with the styling of the Talon (though it looks dated today). And I could actually get a turbo engine - which was pretty rare in those days - on a car that was competent enough to win a couple of touring championships.

Then I made the mistake of actually trying to buy one from our local Chrysler/Jeep dealer - the salesman was such an ass that I never did get one, and it put back my new car aspirations for a long, long time ...

 

[eflyguy]

I had two, actually - both gens, so to speak. My dealer ran a race team as well, so they made "some special modifications" for me, which gave me a noticeable increase in low-end performance, but I don't recall what they did.

Fastest I've ever been on public roads (on 4 wheels) was in my 2nd Talon - 155 indicated. Rock solid..

 

[MerlintheMad]

Fastest I've ever been on public roads (on 4 wheels) was in my 2nd Talon - 155 indicated. Rock solid..

My Stinger was rock solid at that exact same indicated speed.

 

[POS VETT]

An employee at work who drives an '18 GT2 AWD reported nothing out of the ordinary with the very cold weather in Central Ohio (temperature around -2F), it started just fine in the last three mornings. Apparently it drove just fine in the the snow.

In the topic of DSM, I also owned one, a 2G Talon AWD with a manual transmission. I campaigned it in the local SCCA region and won E Street Prepared class one year. It also served as my winter warrior when equipped with winter tires.

 

[SteveCo]

Until the Stinger, I've always kept the 'good stuff' hibernating in my garage over the winter, and driven a winter beater of one kind or another during the dark and icy season.

I finally decided that I wanted/deserved a really nice car over the winter as well, and the Stinger has delivered on that more than I could have imagined. The AWD system with XIce3 snow tires is sure footed as a cat, and between the heated seats, steering wheel, excellent headlights and automatic climate control it's a very, very pleasant environment to be in when Mother Nature is throwing a fit.

Driving home from out of town during a near-whiteout snowstorm late last year, I did get a warning that my radar sensor was covered and the dependent features were not available - but that happens with pretty well all comparably equipped vehicles. The car still drove beautifully, and I passed a multitude of SUV's (including a couple off the road) that were definitely NOT feeling as comfortable with the driving conditions.

I still keep a convertible sedated in the garage over the winter, waiting to compete for attention when those long sunny summer driving days return, but in my first year of ownership I could not be happier with the Stinger as a year round performer.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Until the Stinger, I've always kept the 'good stuff' hibernating in my garage over the winter, and driven a winter beater of one kind or another during the dark and icy season.

I finally decided that I wanted/deserved a really nice car over the winter as well, and the Stinger has delivered on that more than I could have imagined. The AWD system with XIce3 snow tires is sure footed as a cat, and between the heated seats, steering wheel, excellent headlights and automatic climate control it's a very, very pleasant environment to be in when Mother Nature is throwing a fit.

Driving home from out of town during a near-whiteout snowstorm late last year, I did get a warning that my radar sensor was covered and the dependent features were not available - but that happens with pretty well all comparably equipped vehicles. The car still drove beautifully, and I passed a multitude of SUV's (including a couple off the road) that were definitely NOT feeling as comfortable with the driving conditions.

I still keep a convertible sedated in the garage over the winter, waiting to compete for attention when those long sunny summer driving days return, but in my first year of ownership I could not be happier with the Stinger as a year round performer.

What a succinctly, well written endorsement of the Stinger in Winter.