SRT Hellcat Forum banner
  • Hey Everyone! Vote for the Site Favourite HOTM winner for the year of 2022 HERE!

Starting while in storage

5572 Views 105 Replies 40 Participants Last post by  JRod310
Question,I put my HC Challenger in storage for the winter.I did all the prep: full tank of fuel with sta-bil,inflated the tires and put it up on ramps(race ready)etc.should I start it and let it run periodically or leave it sit and wait till I get it out in the spring?
  • Like
Reactions: 1
61 - 80 of 106 Posts
Press and hold the pedal, the cranking will stop after 8-10 seconds
So just get in the car, press the gas and hit the start button? Or gas and brake? Then it stops by itself after 10 seconds?

thanks
So just get in the car, press the gas and hit the start button? Or gas and brake? Then it stops by itself after 10 seconds?

thanks
Gas and brake👍
And it stop itself after the prosess
Gas and brake👍
And it stop itself after the prosess
Thanks 👍🏼
With M6 you hold the button in for as long as you want to crank it, once you let go it will stop.

For A8 just press and release button, the same as when you are starting it.



Rookie question here....after you floor it, is it as easy as just letting off of the accelerator quickly or do I need to push the button to stop the starter and then proceed to start normally? I'm afraid if I let go of the accelerator the engine will start up at a high rpm at first.
After it cranks for it's set time (A8), then release the accelerator and hit the button again and it will start.


Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
  • Like
Reactions: 4
I'm confused then, where it's a good idea to start, what if it sat 25 years then?
Just fire it right up after that time? :rolleyes::unsure:
If your engine is fully lubricated after an hour, a month, a year, or multiple years, why would it matter if you start it, or not start it? :unsure::rolleyes:

That is really what is in question, the frequency.
That's the question, at what frequency is prudent.
This is actually a good question. I've always wondered what the optimal frequency should be.
Maybe just not starting it is better when only storing it for a short time like 4 months?
  • Like
Reactions: 2
Question,I put my HC Challenger in storage for the winter.I did all the prep: full tank of fuel with sta-bil,inflated the tires and put it up on ramps(race ready)etc.should I start it and let it run periodically or leave it sit and wait till I get it out in the spring?
I drove mine yesterday but otherwise I keep it on a trickle charger over the winter. I also drop my insurance to just storage insurance except for on the days that I drive it.
Also, ultimately, it’s just a car
  • Like
Reactions: 1
Also, ultimately, it’s just a car
Wonder why thieves are so interested in them then. Should be much easier to find Camrys and KIAs to steal.
  • Like
Reactions: 1
To prime- just pull the fuel relay in the trunk by the battery. Then crank it over for a bit, replace the relay and start the car.
Personally, I would rather start it every 2 or 3 weeks and let it run until it reaches operating temp.
Good info...I was in the start it every couple of weeks until I found out the details the oil system prime in this thread. The only thing to add comes from the 22 Challenger owners manual (and probably others) indicating the starter need a 10 to 15-sec cooldown after each attempt to start and after 8-attempts it needs a 10-min cooldown.
To prime- just pull the fuel relay in the trunk by the battery. Then crank it over for a bit, replace the relay and start the car.
Personally, I would rather start it every 2 or 3 weeks and let it run until it reaches operating temp.
Isn't it a lot easier to just hold the skinny pedal down? It has been for me.

Then again I only have to do it once, in the spring, since I wouldn't punish my favorite car (or even a rental) by cold starting it every two or three weeks for no reason.
  • Like
Reactions: 2
Oh man can't wait to see the following posts. Should be quite the range of answers...
I was just thinking “I better grab a Coke and some popcorn….shit is about to get REALLY interesting, REALLY fast!”
Sits back, offers popcorn
  • Like
Reactions: 1
The car doesn't know if it was run yesterday or 4 mo ago.. let it be..I've been storing cars for over 40 years during midwest winters in heated and ambient buildings and have never started any of them until the weather and the roads were good. never had an issue. treat the fuel and a trickle charger or take the battery out.
Yes aside from on first start up it might say “software update would you like to download now?”😞
  • Haha
Reactions: 1
So what's the secret to getting the oil up to temp without driving?? Heck, I can barely get it warmed up a lot of times when driving, without going up a somewhat steep and long grade.

Unless by "operating temperature" you mean the relatively meaningless coolant temp.
Very hard well, at least impractical to get the engine fully up to temperature without driving. (As for driving, even a prolonged drive (~10+ miles) did not have my Scat Pack or my Hellcat up to temperature. But what I quickly found with these cars -- courtesy of Performance Pages -- was that both would get up to temperature, and then some, rather quickly just driving in town conditions. And from a dead cold start, too.)
  • Like
Reactions: 1
Wrong. The longer it sits, the longer the oil has dripped off everything and left mating surfaces.
Still quite enough oil to provide suitable lubrication upon a cold start. "Priming" via the slow cranking of the engine via the starter is actually ill advised. There's a reason the most common startup has the engine spun up to around 1K RPMs right after start. This ensures the creation of the hydrodynamic bearing (created from the oil present) and the quick prime of the oil pump and subsequent rapid flow of oil.
  • Like
Reactions: 1
Still quite enough oil to provide suitable lubrication upon a cold start. "Priming" via the slow cranking of the engine via the starter is actually ill advised. There's a reason the most common startup has the engine spun up to around 1K RPMs right after start. This ensures the creation of the hydrodynamic bearing (created from the oil present) and the quick prime of the oil pump and subsequent rapid flow of oil.
If priming is not advised then why does it come recommended right from dodge? Lol.

priming just lets the oil flow around and coat the surfaces before you start the engine. Way was wear for a starter turning the engine “slowly” compared to the engine running immediately. Quick google search says typical starter turns a motor at 200rpm. At idle when you’re running you’re at around 1000rpm.
Id rather have the motor get coated with fresh oil at 200rpm for a few seconds before starting immediately at 1000rpm.
Well on the priming issue Dodge doesn't say anything on it either way and what we are doing is actually the Flooded Engine procedure listed in the Owner's Manual.

Still think it's not a bad idea coming out of storage.


Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
  • Like
Reactions: 1
Well on the priming issue Dodge doesn't say anything on it either way and what we are doing is actually the Flooded Engine procedure listed in the Owner's Manual.

Still think it's not a bad idea coming out of storage.


Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
It’s posted on dodge garage.
If priming is not advised then why does it come recommended right from dodge? Lol.

priming just lets the oil flow around and coat the surfaces before you start the engine. Way was wear for a starter turning the engine “slowly” compared to the engine running immediately. Quick google search says typical starter turns a motor at 200rpm. At idle when you’re running you’re at around 1000rpm.
Id rather have the motor get coated with fresh oil at 200rpm for a few seconds before starting immediately at 1000rpm.
The article was dated April 2019. If it was so critical why did it take Dodge this long to make this prime operation known? And only after some guy asked about it?

I checked the owners manual for my 2018 Scat Pack, Hellcat, and my 2020 Scat Pack, and there is no mention of any prime operation. Nice of Dodge to not inform owners of the importance of priming the engine... And apparently it is an oversight with all other vehicles too. In the owners manuals of various vehicles i have owned no automaker included any prime operation in the owners manuals.

Gear oil pumps are not very efficient at slower RPMs. With my Hellcat with the oil up to temperature just shifting from D to P with the small rise in RPMs caused the hot idle oil pressure to go up several PSI. The flip side is shifting from P to D
the resulting drop in RPMs had the oil pressure drop by several PSI.

So the concern is for the oil that drains out of the bearings. But a bigger concern would be the oil that could drain out of the oil pump and could delay its priming when engine spins from the starter.

With hydrodynamic bearings speed (and some load) is necessary to get the "bearing" to form. At cranking speed my concern would be the slow cranking speed would just force oil out of the bearing. Enough slow cranking might have oil flowing into the bearing but I wonder for how long how many revs will the bearings be subjected to with oil being forced out of the bearing spaces?
See less See more
61 - 80 of 106 Posts
Top