regualr items

H

houtie123

Member
 Cape Town, South Africa
I have a Z4MR that is currently doing around 1-2000 km per year, as its a summer car.
For my own piece of mind, I think its sensible to have oil, filters etc performed annually.

With such a low mileage , what else would anyone suggest is worth having done/checked?
The car is garaged and trickle charged.
 
I think there's a fair few folks on here that do low mileage but do an oil and filter change annually.
I change mine myself between indie/dealer stamped 2 yearly services, usually as it comes out of winter storage.
Premium brand Oil plus genuine filter can be found for very reasonable prices and for the sake of 30 mins work its a no brainer.
 
Im in the same boat. About 3000 fair weather miles a year amd currently SORN'd till the spring. Oil and filter is a must at the end of hibernation. Only other things I make sure about are:
1. store the car complete dry. By that i mean dont wash it and store. This could cause brake callipers to seize up and similar problems in normally moving parts that will stand for months.
2. Over pump the tyres to avoid flat spots
3. Brim the fuel tank to prevent petrol from oxidising and condensation from occurring inside the tank.
4. Do not apply the hand brake to help prevent brake seizure.
Apart from that i can't think of anything I'd check or service before or at the point of bringing the car back onto the road.
 
Our Z4MC is in winter storage similar to the above. Attached to a trickle charger.
One question though and I can't fInd a definite answer....
Is it best to regularly start it and run it on idle until it warms up or best just to leave it in hibernation ???
In the 'old days', I was taught never to start the car and let it idle. If you start it then run it immediately.
Thanks
 
Cobs said:
Our Z4MC is in winter storage similar to the above. Attached to a trickle charger.
One question though and I can't fInd a definite answer....
Is it best to regularly start it and run it on idle until it warms up or best just to leave it in hibernation ???
In the 'old days', I was taught never to start the car and let it idle. If you start it then run it immediately.
Thanks
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It's best to leave it alone, keep starting it up and letting it idle does more harm than good.
 
I was thinking of changing the oil / filter before it went to storage, but the consensus sounds like this is best to do when it's taken out of storage?
 
Yup, otherwise you'll have the oil sitting in the car oxidising ( a bit) durinnng the winter. You might as well leave the old one in there.
 
srhutch said:
It's best to leave it alone, keep starting it up and letting it idle does more harm than good.
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Not sure I fully agree with that. Just starting it up on the cold cycle without getting it fully up to temperature is defo not good but similarly there are a lot of oil seals and o-rings around the engine and particularly vanos that can dry out if left without oil for months. Personally I would recommend a start up and 20 mile drive once a month. Failing that I would hold it at 2000rpm and bring the oil fully up to temperature.
 
You could consider keeping the battery on trickle charge and once a month turn the engine over with the spark plugs removed this will allow the oil to circulate around the engine without producing any hydrocarbons etc. if the car is stored on axle stands you could also turn the gearbox and diff over for a few revs just to lube every thing without any real strain. Maybe only starter motor probably less than starting a reluctant engine, when the plugs are out though.
 
PDJ said:
You could consider keeping the battery on trickle charge and once a month turn the engine over with the spark plugs removed this will allow the oil to circulate around the engine without producing any hydrocarbons etc. if the car is stored on axle stands you could also turn the gearbox and diff over for a few revs just to lube every thing without any real strain. Maybe only starter motor probably less than starting a reluctant engine, when the plugs are out though.
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Only problem with that is pushing a load of unburned fuel into the cats, and it will also wash the bores, removing the oil film from the cylinders.
 
Great info here guys thx. :thumbsup: The Zed gets enough running through winer to not worry. But this year we have our son's Mx5 sat on the drive while he is away adventuring. :)
 
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