Advice (Page 4)

During a period of inactivity anything mechanical has the potential to degrade. Here are our top tips for how to look after your car during a lockdown or any period of inactivity. Background During a period of inactivity anything mechanical has the potential to degrade – batteries can go flat, brakes can seize, paint can fade all resulting in an inconvenience when you may need your mode of transport for that essential trip, or for the glorious day lockdown is lifted. Furthermore, the value of your car may suffer. The easiest thing would be to place it in the hands of professionals such as Windrush Car Storage to take care of these risks on your behalf, but for those who are caring for their pride and joy at home let’s go through each potential issue to discuss how you can proactively care for your car yourself in curious times. Batteries The issue Without a healthy battery you aren’t going anywhere, and in the modern age let’s not assume we are talking about just starting the engine. With many EVs now in circulation, without battery charge you are stuck and we’re not talking about a simple ‘jump start’ like the good old days – it’s most likely the car may need to be recovered by a tow truck and taken to a specialist for repairs. Any battery left unattended for a length of time will discharge, with the speed of this discharge somewhat dependent on weather conditions (temperature, humidity etc). Generally, the older the battery is the closer it will be to the end of it’s serviceable life and it will not have the ability to hold as much charge as a new battery, discharging faster as a result. Click here to read a dedicated article on battery care. Solutions Placing the vehicle on charge will top up the battery but it’s not a good idea to leave your car on a regular car charger for prolonged periods. At Windrush Car Storage we use specifically designed fully automatic battery charger conditioners. These will charge a flat battery but also automatically switch to an automatic float/maintenance mode, which will monitor feedback from the battery, increasing and decreasing the amount of amps it supplies depending on what the battery needs. These are designed to be left connected safely for months on end. You can use the engine to charge the battery. Engines have a device called an alternator (or dynamos on very old cars) and as the engine turns, a belt drives the alternator which puts out a current which tops up the battery. This can be done by driving your car or sitting stationary. Clearly sitting still isn’t very environmentally sensitive, and leaving your car running left unattended could increase the chances of theft. Driving your car for essential food or medicine supplies on the other hand would charge your car’s battery whilst being socially responsible. There is also the option of fitting a battery monitor which you can connect your smartphone to monitor battery health. Many EVs have this feature already integrated within their system, but for regular cars it is possible to purchase a dongle that attaches to the battery terminals and connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth. As you notice the battery levels drop, you can use solutions 1 or 2. Tyres The issue Over time tyres will lose pressure and deflate. Why? If my car is new or has new tyres, surely it won’t do this! Not true: all tyres are microscopically porous (rubber is a natural compound) and the air molecules will percolate through the rubber very slowly over time. This can be bad for your tyres for a few reasons. Deflated tyres will result in poor vehicle handling and could result in loss of vehicle control – clearly not a good result for you, your family or placing the emergency services under more pressure. Soft tyres can develop flat spots on the contact patch with the road surface. This can affect vehicle handling as described in 1. Tyres left outside degrade with sunlight. Over time the UV light leads to perishing of the rubber, which increases the chances of a tyre failure. Simple aging – older tyres do not age well for obvious reasons. Solutions At least once a month check your tyre pressures. The manufacturers prescribed pressure for your vehicle can be found in your car’s handbook, sometimes on the driver’s door shut area or inside the fuel filler flap. Most petrol stations usually have a tyre inflation facility which will give the current tyre pressure read out when connected. Alternatively, you can purchase a tyre pressure gauge to keep in your vehicle for periodic checking at home. The issue with having your own gauge is that whilst this is calibrated when new, it can go out of tolerance over time. A garage, however, has a duty of care for public safety to have their equipment calibrated at least once a year. Try to garage or cover up your tyres to prevent the UV light getting to them. Be wary of the risks on covering the whole car when parked outside, however – see bodywork section below. All modern tyres are individually date stamped. These can be tricky to find but have a good look on the sidewall and it will be there. Essentially general advice is not to keep your tyres in use more than 10 years, however this time can be further reduced if UV damage occurs resulting in perishing. Some motoring professionals now advise not keeping tyres in service for longer than 6 years. Let’s face it – the small four contact patches where your car meets the road are the only thing keeping you on it in a safe controlled manner, so taking due care is crucial. More information on tyre advice can be found here. Brakes The issue Brakes are moving parts and rely on use to keep in full working order. Due to their location they are exposed to extreme temperatures, cleaning chemicals, salt and grime. As a result of this they only work well when maintained and serviced, so whenever Windrush take a car for a service we ensure the pads are removed, cleaned, and checked before replacing if required and applying anti-squeal and rust compound to the relevant areas. However, brakes do work best when they are used day to day, week to week. When parked up these moving parts can seize resulting in binding brakes or at worse a seized brake. Even if your brakes do not bind, periods of inactivity can reduce braking efficiency which could be unsafe when you do fire your car back up. Solutions When your vehicle is serviced ask your garage to not only visually inspect the wear surfaces (which is usually done by a trained eye through a wheel spoke) but to remove the wheels, which again is a good idea to ensure they are not seized to the hubs. Have them remove the friction pads, inspect, replace if needed but importantly clean the sliding surfaces and apply a high temperature copper grease. This effort will reward you with maximized braking efficiency and by minimizing the chances of seizing during periods of dormancy. Use your vehicle when you can, and don’t be too shy when using the brakes. Too little pressure can also reduce the braking performance over time, so ensure no one is following and when the road is clear on a safe road use a reasonable amount of force for around 4 seconds from 50mph to give the pads and mechanism a work out. Think of yourself sitting on the sofa all day – you would seize up, exercise is healthy for humans and mechanical components. After the winter ensure to really rinse down your wheels, underside and brakes to remove any salt residue which will accelerate mechanical degradation if left unattended. After washing your car, you may notice your brake discs turn a golden brown colour. Whilst this can look ‘pretty’ it is rust, the arch enemy of cars. If you didn’t move your car this rust would bind the brake pads and to the brake discs, potentially resulting in seized brakes. If you can, leave the car for 24 hours and then take for a short drive applying the brakes to remove this flash rust. Try to leave the handbrake off when left for extended periods to avoid seizing. The safest practice is to place the vehicle in gear, chock the wheels and turn your wheels to the curb. Bodywork The issue Bird poo, tree sap, brake dust, road grime, road salt and grit all attack the bodywork and glass of your car. If not removed during lockdown these may degrade the appearance and aesthetics of your car, which can be demoralizing at a challenging time but also negatively affect the value of your vehicle when you wish to sell it on. If left for too long not only will the condition of the paintwork be adversely affected but the protective layer in the paint could be compromised ultimately rendering it susceptible to rust. Solutions Wash your vehicle properly (here’s our guide on how to wash your car the right way!) Don’t cover your car outside. Be careful here as a generic cover will chafe and rub at the corners of your paintwork possibly causing more damage then not using a cover. The paint on your car is designed to protect as well as looking pleasing to the eye. Accessories During uncertain times and even during every day life, a proactive approach to car care is always a good idea. Having a breakdown that could be avoided and having to call someone out to assist takes them away from someone who may need their help more and potentially placed both of you in a higher risk of virus transfer. Here are a few essential items which could help. You can keep these in the boot of your car or at home easy to hand. Automatic battery conditioner Bluetooth battery condition recorder which links to your smartphone Jump leads Tyre pressure gauge High visibility jacket for you and any passengers Service record which is regularly updated In secure car storage at Windrush we keep all cars on the button in a secure, controlled environment alleviating all of these risks. Every vehicle is accessible with same day notice, and our clients can use their cars as often or as little as they wish knowing everything is good to go.

As providers of eco friendly car storage, Windrush welcomes any green motoring advances. But do the latest hybrids hit the mark? Green is the colour As the Windrush team has witnessed at our eco friendly car storage facilities, hybrid doesn’t have to mean Prius – it can also mean 1000bhp of McLaren or 200mph of Lamborghini. But are these mean greens or merely paying lip service to the cause? All fingers seem to point to the motorist when pollution or green issues are raised. As a result, supercar manufacturers had to adapt, and hybrid powertrains were a fantastic solution. Not only did the hybrid benefits allow them to be compliant for ultra-low emission zones, and an appearance of ‘doing the right thing’, but they also added a healthy increase in power, particularly during acceleration. The Big Three The Holy Trinity are, arguably, the most famous of the fast hybrids and were the first of their kind when launched in 2014. The Porsche 918, Ferrari LaFerrari and McLaren P1 all need to be plugged in regularly to keep healthy, especially when you consider replacement batteries costs tens of thousands of pounds. But how much electric motoring do you get from your seven-year-old supercar? Porsche claim a relatively useful 12 electric miles, McLaren 6.2, and Ferrari… well, they don’t make a claim at all, but some owners have since found their cars can go, literally, yards as a pure EV. Not quite the electric revolution they claim to offer. Power To The People Electric motoring is only one side of the story, however, as power output is usefully increased when boosted by electricity. The Porsche 918, as an example, has a naturally aspirated 4.6 V8 combustion engine along with a pair of electric motors, all producing a mighty 894hp and 944lb-ft. A 154hp electric motor is mounted at the rear axle, driving the wheels in parallel with the engine and also acting as the main generator for the hybrid system. A 127hp motor drives the front wheels and can be decoupled by an electric clutch when not in use. You can’t blame the manufacturers for doing this, after all these cars were faster than any of their non-hybrid vehicles, but also met at least some of the required environmental expectations imposed on them. And it wasn’t just supercars that benefitted, sports cars also wowed with performance, good looks and all the electric vehicle benefits needed to avoid being tutted at when sat in London traffic. The BMW i8 looked like it came from the future and continues to look fresh eight years after its launch. Meanwhile, with an electric-only range of up to 22 miles, and electric-only speeds of up to 75mph it truly offered a good mix of performance (155mph top speed) and electric-only city driving. Similarly, the Porsche Panamera e-hybrid can offer 33 miles of electric driving and 185mph performance, both of which make for impressive statistics. It seems hybrid sports cars make the most sense for those who want both driving pleasure and a clear conscience.   Heroes Or Zeros? But what of the supercars? Hybrid powertrains are certainly the new normal if a petrol-powered motor is to be used. Ferrari recently unveiled the SF90 Stradale and Lamborghini the Sian, both offering stunning looks and equally stunning hybrid performance (211mph from the Ferrari and 217mph for Lamborghini). McLaren are also at the top of the hybrid game with the Speedtail, offering over 1000bhp and a top speed of 250 mph (yes, really). Speed is a given with a hybrid, but does a modern hybrid supercar offer better electric range having benefited from seven years of technological development since the Holy Trinity broke the mould? Not really, no. McLaren and Lamborghini offer no EV-only range with their Speedtail and Sian models, and Ferrari still claim relatively low electric-only miles for the SF90, 15 to be exact. Yes the range may not be all that useful in a hybrid supercar, but if it allows supercars to still be offered to market, then the Windrush prestige car storage team are all for it. In a world where cars are often cited as the villain, it’s worth celebrating the fact that 200mph cars still exist, hybrid or otherwise. Besides, if it’s range you want, there’s always the 2021 Mercedes GLE with a claimed 66 mile electric-only range. Perfect for daily duties while the Ferrari rests… plugged in, of course.  Eco friendly car storage for green motorists (and gas guzzlers) Whether you drive a hybrid – or anything else – Windrush’s prestige car storage is led by the philosophy is that keeping your cherished vehicle in optimal working order is better for the planet than scrapping it and buying new. It’s an ethos you’ll find echoed in every element of our eco friendly car storage, too, right down to the solar panels that help power our cutting-edge facilities in Central London and the Cotswolds. For more information on our long term car storage, drop a line to the Windrush team on info@windrushcarstorage.co.uk