Gas stabilizer for 599 while in winter storage?

My opinion/understanding, keeping in mind that I am not an expert: Starting weekly isn't always a great idea. Unless you get the engine fully warmed up, it puts contamination into the oil. The garage isn't heated so if it is very cold, starting has higher wear until it warms up enough for the oil to perform better.

I will let someone who knows comment on the gas stabilizer. Personally, I have never used it. Sure, the gas degrades some over the winter but I haven't found the need.

 

I start my car weekly while in storage. I let it warm up and then drive it through the garage slowly just to keep the tires round. The garage sits at about 50 degrees in the winter so I stopped using the stabilizer. I try to only put it away for six weeks starting on January 1. When it comes out it goes for an oil change and anything else that's due. My feeling is that running it is always better than letting it sit, but I could be wrong.

 

Yes, use Stabil. Do not start it up weekly unless you are going to drive it for a half hour or so. If you don't drive it, don't worry about the tires if you are using a quality tire.

 

You are one of the experts, and a rockstar for driving your car a lot. I drive my car but I am not an expert. Thank you.

 

You will have no problem with them. I have been using them since they first came out in 2017.

 

You can use a fuel stabilizer - but 4 months isn't a long time at all - but if you insist you can throw a can of Sea foam in gas tank and drive car for 15 miles before putting away
Just inflate tires 10 pounds more than normal ( cold)
Put some baking soda in a dish or two and place on mats
Put a battery tender on it
Leave it be until spring - starting without getting oil in transmission up to over 180's 200's will only cause more issues ( condensation)
One thing I will re-enforce is to make sure your last drive was a nice spirited 15-30 mile drive get all fluids as hot as possible then a few miles of cool down and then store
Also 4s are very soft . even with inflating over .. you may get a few miles of flat spots vibration when you take it out in spring until then go back to shape

 

I added a little more to post - wanted to make sure you saw it

 

I was told to store my cars with as little fuel in the tank as possible.

 

My understanding of this is that with a fuel tank that will not corrode it's not necessary to keep it completely filled. I fill mine up because I'm starting the car every week.

 

In a high humidity environment, such as the PNW, it is good practice to fill the car with ethanol-free gas if you can get it. Prevents water from collecting in the tank as temperatures fluctuate.
Don't forget rodents looking for a cozy place if you are not driving your car for a while. They can do an amazing amount of damage. I have had good success with several bait stations spread throughout the garage. I always keep my cars on battery maintainers unless they are driven at least weekly.

Electric cars add other wrinkles when stored for several months. Despite Tesla recommending to keep the battery (Model 3 LFP) at 100%, I set ours to 50% based on the LFP aging charts I have seen. Every week or so, the car will automatically add a couple of KWh to keep the battery at 50%.

 

I have had rodent damage to a car wiring harness. It cost me about $2K and the insurance a lot more than that. That wasn't my Ferrari but same idea. Since the remodel, my garage is tight so no rodents.

 

Generally old cars (pre-90's) you should fill to the top. More modern cars put a bit of stabilzer in, leave 1/4 tank for winter, then fill it up first thing in the spring. That's always worked for me.

 

Care to tell us why you think this?

 

I had a Rolls awhile back. It was from the 60's and I was told to fill it when stored. Some really old cars had steel components in the tank (sensors or the tank itself) that would corrode when exposed to air. The way to prevent this is to fill the tank. Ferrari may have never used steel or corrodable (sp?) components. But, I did this with my older 308, though, and never had a problem. Newer cars don't have corrodable components, so you can keep a small amount of gas in the tank and just fill it up in the spring with fresh gas.