Storing Car

So, I leave for basic in a couple months and will be gone for 5 months. Family in Iowa has offered to let me garage my car at there house since my Gma doesnt drive. I was thinking of highest octane fuel I can find (prob 93), a battery tender, putting it on stands and covering it. Is there anything else I need to do? The car will be 5 hours from my house and like I mentioned gma doesnt drive so the car will stay locked and covered the whole time.

Just want to make sure I cover all my bases.

Full tank of gas.

Remove battery and just fill tires to max "tire" psi, so like 44-51ish or you can leave it on jack stands, dont really matter.

pull the plugs and spray some wd40 in there then reinsert plugs.

^ Also might invest in some sta-bil. We always use it in our jet-ski's and corvette. Just a little insurance.

Ahh yes, I forgot that part.. I am going to put some of that in the tank too.

maybe slip in a cheap air freshner to elimante any bad odors

Throw some dryer sheets in the engine bay, interior, and trunk to help keep the mice out. Be careful where you place them in the engine bay in case you forget about them. Does grandma have a neighbor that could back out the car and let it run for a bit?

I wound up inadvertently letting mine sit for 8 months, never even started it. When I went to use it battery was dead I charged it and started it it ran like crap for about a minute then smoothed out and ran fine

The only other thing I can think of is to toss in a small bucket of damp-rid or similar to keep the moisture down.

stabil and let the car run with the stabil. dryer sheets on the floor of the car, fill tires to max psi, dissconnect battery + tender on the battery then. plus cover should cover all your bases

ive known ppl who use a plate of baking soda to soak up smells and moisture

Octane won't change the longevity of the fuel. You should leave it with very little fuel in the tank, mixed with the proper abount of stabil, that way when you go to start it again, you don't have a ton of old fuel in it.

Battery tender is a dumb idea. Disconnect the positive and negative wires if you're worried about the battery.

Most people don't use covers anymore, they scratch paint, but its just a kia... Speaking of which, isnt this a question better left for the koup fourms?

It is a CAR question..... It will be kept at home in the garage. Mom will drive it a couple times a month for maybe an hour at a time or so.

In that case, you need to do nothing at all. Old people go months without driving and don't prep their cars and they are fine.

Another thing is this...like brian said octane doesn't matter but I would keep as much gas in the tank as possible...less chance of moisture build-up. Another thing about octane if I remember right is the longer it sits, the more potent it becomes, to an extent...so that 93 might be rated quite a bit higher when you come back in 5 months.

Then again, my blue car sat for a year and it was fine...started right up with a little bit of black smoke for a minute or two.

I'd also just set the fugger on jackstands and bump the tire pressure if you like.

try and find ethanol free gas when you store it. forget the starting and letting run for a hour then letting it sit, just let it sit till spring time

I would love to put it on stands. However, I dont know my moms plans with it when I am gone. It will be in the garage most the time, but I I doubt it will be the whole time.