GET YOUR CLASSIC CAR READY FOR WINTER LAY UP

Motul recognises that carefully planned storage is essential to protect the engine and fuel systems of classic vehicles against winter corrosion, ensuring that when you return to your cherished classic after the winter your engine will be ready for the new season.

By the end of the season classic engine oils contain products of combustion such as acids, oxidation products, varnishes and lacquers. Leaving this dirty, used oil in the engine over the winter exposes the internal surfaces and galleries to potentially harmful corrosion which is worsened by condensation on engine walls, galleries and components as the engine and fuel system ‘breathe’ in moisture during lay-up.

To protect your car, Motul advises that you take some basic, proactive steps to prepare it for winter storage. 

Engine

For example, it is strongly recommended that as part of this preparation you always consider changing the used engine oil to a fresh charge of a high quality classic engine lubricant, such as Motul Classic Oil 20W-50, and that you then run the engine briefly to ensure that all the components are coated with fresh oil before laying your vehicle up for the winter. In its Classic 20W-50 Oil, Motul is one of very few classic engine oil suppliers to include a ‘tackiness’ additive to ensure that the metal surfaces are coated with a protective layer that prevents condensate from adhering to the metal surfaces by preferentially wetting them and so eliminating winter lay-up corrosion.

Fuel system

Additionally, to protect the fuel system, we would advise storing the vehicle with a full tank of quality fuel treated with Motul Fuel Stabilizer for winterisation.  Filling the tank reduces the headspace above the fuel, and minimises the amount of water that can be absorbed from the air. Motul Fuel Stabilizer keeps the fuel in good condition throughout the Winter months, ready for use in Spring.

Brake and clutch

While some fluids benefit from being changed before storage, other fluids, such as brake and clutch fluids will deteriorate over the winter months, mainly by absorbing moisture from the air, as will any opened bottles of brake fluid.  It is better to change these fluids in Spring,  just before returning the vehicle to the road, so we would recommend draining the brake and clutch system and replacing with Motul Brake Fluid DOT 3&4 after winter storage.

Beauty comes from the inside…

Following these winterization steps ensures that classics returning to the road in Spring will not only be pristine on the outside but on the inside too!