[MrFergus]

Well guys and gals, it’s that time of year again for me to put my RS into winter hibernation. I’ve been real busy for a while and I’ve not been as quick off the mark this year but now she’s done.
I’ve inspected all fluid levels, connected the ctek battery conditioner, polished the wheel hubs, cleaned the wheel arch liners, cleaned the whole of the alloys (alloys off), cleaned all glass inside and out, leather cleaned/conditioned the interior, washed and waxed the paintwork, installed an internal dehumidifier and finished by fitting my car cover.
I’ve shared a few photos for you fellow enthusiasts to feast your eyes over my good ladies wide haunches.
Setting her bye today certainly reminds me how enjoyable it is to have a hobby that allows you to completely forget about what else is going on around you during this crazy year and read fellow enthusiasts comments, sarcasm, wit and advice.

 

[MrFergus]

Looking superb. Nice and safe for the winter months. Love that your ctek is Audi branded

Tony - oh yeah, I never noticed that in the photos till I took a second look. If I remember correctly about £70 bought from Audi parts dept.

 

[MrFergus]

I got the car cover dry cleaned during the summer just in case it had picked up any dust or grit particles on the inside. The tyre dressing had left marks on the four corners but all that is gone.

 

[MrFergus]

I’ve read of different ideas on how to properly store your car for long periods of time. I think I may be the only one doing so in the A5OC but I’ll share anyway just in case it’s of an interest to others.
One method is to never start your car during its time under storage and have your battery conditioner on full time. The idea here is that if you do start the car then it creates condensation that sits in the engine parts and induces rust. This is how I did it last year.
Lately I read an article suggesting you are better to start the vehicle periodically and allow the engine and oil to properly heat up. It’s suggested that if you don’t then oil seals and rubber gaskets etc higher up in the engine may dry out and distort potentially creating a bigger future problem. Keeping seals and gaskets wet is the idea with this method.
I’ve opted to go with starting the engine periodically this year as I feel this take on storage makes more sense.

 

[MrFergus]

I’ve read of different ideas on how to properly store your car for long periods of time. I think I may be the only one doing so in the A5OC but I’ll share anyway just in case it’s of an interest to others.
One method is to never start your car during its time under storage and have your battery conditioner on full time. The idea here is that if you do start the car then it creates condensation that sits in the engine parts and induces rust. This is how I did it last year.
Lately I read an article suggesting you are better to start the vehicle periodically and allow the engine and oil to properly heat up. It’s suggested that if you don’t then oil seals and rubber gaskets etc higher up in the engine may dry out and distort potentially creating a bigger future problem. Keeping seals and gaskets wet is the idea with this method.
I’ve opted to go with starting the engine periodically this year as I feel this take on storage makes more sense.

Never thought about starting a vehicle to keep seals from drying out. I've been storin my motorbike for years and that is on a stand so off wheels, and on a trickle charger. Bike is now 12 years old and I can't comment on negative effects of not starting it.

I don't even bother with draining fuel , I just use what's in the tank and never had issues.

Having said all of that, the rubber grommet to the petrol tank on my petrol strimmer did harden and need replacing, but that was stood for years....

Tony,
That’s just the theory of the two options for storage. Same as you, I don’t tend to start my bikes much either and again don’t drain it’s fuel. We maybe should drain the fuel as this can go to gloop in the carb. If the RS gaskets and seals did dry out that would be an expensive repair so just trying to minimise possible issues as a car is far happier being continually used.

 

[MrFergus]

My decision this year for my take on RS Hibernation was to occasionally start and properly warm the engine. Today with it being a beautiful sunny day here in Scotland it tempted me to remove the cover and take the car out to get an airing. Started first time and as usual sounded amazing.

 

[MrFergus]

Prepping the car for Saturday - 1st May. I know spring has arrived when the RS is back on the road.

 

[MrFergus]

Taxed the RS yesterday and took her out a country run through the twisty windy roads we have here in Scotland. It was fantastic getting behind the wheel again after six months in storage.
For most of the drive I slipped her into manual mode to allow me to control the revs and gear changes through the bends. The better half was with me for the outing and asked why it was always making “that noise” (referring to the downshifts). I explained about the ECU throwing load of fuel in when shifting to richen up the mixture and ignite it in the exhaust and she rolled her eyes in quite an unimpressed manner. I just had chuckle and continued to fully appreciate its personality.