Car storage - fogging oil?

[BlueSE3P]

Hi all. New member here - hailing from Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies (that's the caribbean

)

I've done a fair amount of searching on the web, read product descriptions, and searched on BITOG as well.

One of my cars is a 2007 Mazda RX8. Due to teh nature of my job, I'm going to have to put the car in storage for next 4 months or so. I've read about the typical stuff e.g.

- fuel stabilizer
- wash/wax etc (well I love detailing, so no biggie there)
- over inflate tyres a bit
- I already have a Deltran Battery Tender, so I fugure I should be a-ok there.
- change oil to ensure minimal oil contaminatiin prior to storage etc.
- I should add that of course, we don't have any winter here. the garage qhere it's stored is probably better than my house (climate controlled, sealed, more sterile than my kitchen etc).

My question is, what about Fogging oil?

Now the car has a Renesis rotary (obviously). The side housings are nitrided steel (coated), rotor housing are chromoly lined, and the rotors have something similar as well. Plus, doesn't normal motor oil have an "affinity" for engine's metal surfaces? So there's always going to be a thin film of oil inside the engine's internals?


Should I consider the use of fogging oil in this car? I've seen some sites that sell it (AMSOIL, Sta-bil etc), but hardly anyone on the RX8 forums, or even on BITOG, seems to list this as a necessity for storage.

Should I perhaps just spray a bit into the intake before finally switching off the engine? But what about leaving residue on the MAF sensor and injectors?



Would welcome any input folks - thanks!

 

[demarpaint]

Here's what I've done for my son during his three tours to Afghanistan, a lot longer than 4 months.

You've got the basics, for 4 months there is no need to fog the engine. I had him drive to the gas station add Stabil and 1 full qt of MMO, and fill up. Then drive for half an hour or more, park the car where he planned on keeping it and change the oil and filter.

The MMO added to the gas will leave a thin film of oil in the combustion chamber and prevent flash rust. Don't worry about the heavy dose of MMO it will not foul your plugs! My son's car was stored on a Navy Base about 100 yards from the Pacific with no problems at all.

If you can't get MMO a good TCW3 oil added to the gas will work. I'd try about four ounces per 10 gallons of gas.

 

[gomes512]

I fogged several fuel injected piston engines in cars before for winter storage but after the sensors in the intake. The can of fog oil I have says O2 sensor safe, not sure if they all are.

My friend has a rx-8 and I've seen him flood it before. Quite the workout for the starter to get the excess fuel out the chambers.

On an engine that may already be prone to flooding, if it were me I'd skip the fog oil on the renesis for the 4mos.

But, if you do decide to do it. How hard is it to get at the plugs? I've only seen the engine from top, never wrenched on it.

 

[BlueSE3P]

Dudes - thanks for the replies! Much obliged.

gomes512, well I thought about it. But getting to those plugs IMHO is about as hard as getting to those on my WRX (if not harder).

So I figured I won't be pulling the plugs to spray any oil. Flooding was supposedly rectified with later model 8's (from late '06 onwards) due to a larger starter. But yes, I am paranoid about flooding. paranoid about the 8 on the whole actually LOL


demarpaint, what kind of car did you use the MMO on? I assume MMO = Marvel Mystery Oil?

in terms of the TCW3 (that's 2 stroke oil right?) I use Idemitsu Rotary Premix

. It's regarded as one of the best for our engines. I guess I could bump up the dosage!



I guess what my questions really come down to are:

1) What really happens inside teh engine during that time? Do the inner surfaces retain any oil film for a 4-6 mth period? I use Castrol GTX 10W30 btw - my car is a JDM import, and we're recommended to use 30W's from the JDM market.

2) Is Fogging oil only necessary for open engines stored for more than, a year perhaps?

3) What happens to the oil in the oil pan during that time? Does it develop any moisture content and /or acids? the car would be driven for approx 5 miles on the new oil, before storage.

4) The Renesis has a feature whereby starting teh car with the accelerator fully depressed, disables the fuel system. Could I therefore use that feature to "tumble" the engine and circulate oil around it periodically - WITHOUT starting the car?

5) If the oil develops any moisture in it, then circulating the oil while in storage = bad juju?

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: BlueSE3P
demarpaint, what kind of car did you use the MMO on? I assume MMO = Marvel Mystery Oil?

in terms of the TCW3 (that's 2 stroke oil right?) I use Idemitsu Rotary Premix

I guess what my questions really come down to are:

1) What really happens inside teh engine during that time? Do the inner surfaces retain that oil film for a 4-6 mth period?

2) Is Fogging oil only necessary for open engines stored for more than, a year perhaps?

3) What happens to the oil in the oil pan during that time? Does it develop any moisture content and /or acids? the car would be driven for approx 5 miles on the new oil, before storage.

4) The Renesis has a feature whereby starting teh car with the accelerator fully depressed, disables the fuel system. Could I therefore use that feature to "tumble" the engine and circulate oil around it periodically - WITHOUT starting the car?


My son's car was a 2000 BMW 323i. MMO= Marvel Mystery Oil. TCW3 is two cycle oil for water cooled engines, stay away from the TC oil used for air cooled engines.

If you have to drive the car after changing the oil I'd run it more than 5 miles. The whole point in changing the oil is to get acids, moisture, etc out of the oil. 5 miles is not long enough to burn off moisture you're creating but starting it up again. That's why I had my son change the oil where the car was going to be parked, and change it hot. If you're driving it after changing the oil run it at least 30 minutes to boil off any moisture. Fogging is good for engines that are going to be stored a year or more, or seasonal equipment where doing it is a simple task to an engine with no electronics, sensors, etc. I discussed this at length with a pro who cares for classic cars. Opinions vary.

As a side note I've torn apart engines when I was younger that sat a year or more having nothing done to them. There was little to no flash rusting, certainly nothing that would have caused harm if it was present at all. No prep was done to these engines prior to them sitting. Residual oil film clings for a long time.

 

[BlueSE3P]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
If you have to drive the car after changing the oil I'd run it more than 5 miles. The whole point in changing the oil is to get acids, moisture, etc out of the oil. 5 miles is not long enough to burn off moisture you're creating but starting it up again. That's why I had my son change the oil where the car was going to be parked, and change it hot. If you're driving it after changing the oil run it at least 30 minutes to boil off any moisture. Fogging is good for engines that are going to be stored a year or more, or seasonal equipment where doing it is a simple task to an engine with no electronics, sensors, etc. I discussed this at length with a pro who cares for classic cars. Opinions vary.

As a side note I've torn apart engines when I was younger that sat a year or more having nothing done to them. There was little to no flash rusting, certainly nothing that would have caused harm if it was present at all. No prep was done to these engines prior to them sitting. Residual oil film clings for a long time.



Thanks a mil - that's EXACTLY the information I was looking for!

 

[Chris142]

4 months ain't nuthen. My pickup sit's unused longer than that sometimes. The battery tender is a good idea though.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: BlueSE3P
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
If you have to drive the car after changing the oil I'd run it more than 5 miles. The whole point in changing the oil is to get acids, moisture, etc out of the oil. 5 miles is not long enough to burn off moisture you're creating but starting it up again. That's why I had my son change the oil where the car was going to be parked, and change it hot. If you're driving it after changing the oil run it at least 30 minutes to boil off any moisture. Fogging is good for engines that are going to be stored a year or more, or seasonal equipment where doing it is a simple task to an engine with no electronics, sensors, etc. I discussed this at length with a pro who cares for classic cars. Opinions vary.

As a side note I've torn apart engines when I was younger that sat a year or more having nothing done to them. There was little to no flash rusting, certainly nothing that would have caused harm if it was present at all. No prep was done to these engines prior to them sitting. Residual oil film clings for a long time.



Thanks a mil - that's EXACTLY the information I was looking for!


Glad I could help. Oh and BTW WELCOME TO BITOG!!!!!!

 

[chris67]

Think about what is done to new cars as they sit on dlrs. yards in some cases a year or more. Nothing....The worst that happens are dead batterys if they are not started frquently. BTW these all have manufactures warranties that can go for several years. Fuel has been stabilized at the plants however but most cars are coming with little to no fuel any longer.