It's October, which means a lot of Dark Horses are about to get parked until spring. Here's a storage checklist built from Ford's own long-term storage guidance, plus the one thing that guidance doesn't cover and that matters more on this car than on most: the tires.
FIRST, WHAT COUNTS AS "STORAGE"
Ford's guidance applies when the car will sit for 30 days or more. If you're driving it every couple of weeks through the winter, most of this is optional. If it's going under a cover until April, all of it applies.
BEFORE YOU PARK IT
Wash it properly. Ford specifically calls out the wheel housings and the underside of the fenders, which is where road grime and salt sit. Anything left on the paint or the underbody stays there for months.
Change the oil and filter before storage, not after. Ford's reasoning is simple: used oil carries contaminants, and you don't want those sitting in the engine all winter.
Fill the tank. Ford says to fill with high-quality fuel until the pump clicks off the first time, and not to top off past that. A full tank leaves less room for moisture.
On fuel stabilizer: Ford's current storage guidance doesn't mention it either way. Plenty of owners add one for a multi-month layup and older Mustang manuals did recommend it, so treat it as a common practice rather than a Ford requirement. If you use one, add it before the fill-up and drive the car a few miles so treated fuel reaches the whole system.
Pick the spot. Ford's wording is dry, ventilated and out of direct sunlight.
THE BATTERY
This is the one that actually catches people in spring. A modern car draws a small amount of power all the time it's parked, and a few months is enough to flatten a battery.
Ford's guidance: check the battery and recharge as needed, keep the connections clean, and if the car will sit more than 30 days without being recharged, disconnect the battery cables. Ford also notes that disconnecting means resetting memory features afterward.
The common alternative is a battery maintainer, which keeps the battery topped up without disconnecting anything. If you go that route, check your owner's manual for where Ford wants a charger connected on your car rather than guessing.
THE TIRES: THE PART THAT'S SPECIFIC TO THIS CAR
Every Dark Horse leaves the factory on summer tires, and summer compounds do not like cold. This isn't only about grip.
Tire Rack's published guidance for high-performance summer tires is that they should be stored indoors at temperatures above 20°F, and that a tire that has been at 20°F or below should be allowed to warm gradually to at least 40°F for 24 hours before it's flexed at all. "Flexed" includes driving on it, moving the car, and even adjusting the pressure. The risk is compound cracking, and tire makers generally treat cold-weather cracking as improper use or storage, not a warranty defect.
What that means in practice:
If your garage is heated or stays above freezing, you're in good shape. Park it and leave it.
If your garage is unheated and you live somewhere with real winters, the tires are the thing to plan around. Options owners use: pulling the summer wheels and storing them somewhere warmer, storing the car on a spare set of wheels, or at minimum not moving the car at all during a cold snap.
Either way, do not roll the car out of the garage on a 15-degree morning just to shuffle things around. That is exactly the scenario the guidance is written for.
We have a longer thread on the Dark Horse tires and cold temperatures here:
On flat-spotting: tires that sit in one position for months can develop temporary flat spots, usually felt as a vibration that works itself out as the tires warm up on the first drive. Set pressures to the door-placard spec before you park it and check them again before the first drive.
WHILE IT'S STORED
Ford's guidance says to start the engine every 15 days, run it at fast idle for at least 15 minutes until it reaches normal operating temperature, with the climate control on defrost, and to run through the gears with the brake pressed.
The important part of that sentence is "until it reaches normal operating temperature." A two-minute start to hear the exhaust does more harm than good, because the engine never gets hot enough to burn off the moisture it just made. Either run it properly or leave it alone. And never run it in a closed garage.
If the tires and the temperature allow it (see above), older Ford manuals also suggest moving the car a short distance periodically so it isn't sitting on the same patch of tire and the same spot on the brake rotors all winter.
A few things Ford lists that people skip: a light oil on hood, door and trunk hinges and latches, and covering the interior if the car sits where sun reaches it.
WAKING IT UP IN SPRING
Check the coolant level and look under the car for anything that leaked over the winter. Reconnect or check the battery. Set tire pressures cold. Look the tires over for cracking before you drive, especially if the car sat anywhere cold. Ford's guidance also calls for an oil change before the car goes back into regular use.
Then take the first drive gently. The brakes will likely have a film of surface rust that clears in the first few stops, and the tires need a few miles to round out.
A NOTE ON WHAT I LEFT OUT
No fuel stabilizer brand, no tire pressure number, no battery maintainer model. Those depend on your car, your garage and your climate, and your owner's manual is the authority for anything on this list. If something here conflicts with your manual, go with the manual.
YOUR TURN
For the owners who've already done a winter with a Dark Horse:
1. Do you store it, or drive it through the winter?
2. Heated garage or unheated, and what do you do about the tires?
3. Anything you did the first winter that you won't do again?
Owners in cold states especially. That last answer is the one that saves somebody a set of tires.
Thanks for all that info!!! I never really thought about it before, I have to change my habits a bit.