# Car storage

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-storage/55854>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** mazda, miata\
**Created:** [October 2, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-storage/55854 "2010-10-02T16:17:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Happy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b38774/32.png) [@Happy2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Happy2)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-storage/55854/1 "2010-10-02T16:17:44Z")

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I put my 1992 Miata away for the winter in an unheated garage. Should I have a full gas tank or will half full be OK?

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**Author:** ![Caddyman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/caddyman/32/23_2.png) [@Caddyman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Caddyman)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-storage/55854/2 "2010-10-02T16:20:21Z")

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It makes little difference, the tank is sealed…I would leave it almost full but not completely full. Add some stabilizer to the fuel, disconnect the battery, pump the tires up to max pressure…

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**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-storage/55854/3 "2010-10-02T16:20:30Z")

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You want a full tank with a fuel stabilizer. A full tank of gas prevents condensation from forming inside the gas tank as it goes through temperature changes.

Tester

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**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-storage/55854/4 "2010-10-02T16:41:24Z")

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I agree. The fewer H2O molecules that are suspended in the air space inside the tank when it’s parked are the fewer that are available to deposit themselves on the tank walls when the temperature drops. The fuller the tank, the smaller the airspace, and the less water that will be in there.

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**Author:** ![Caddyman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/caddyman/32/23_2.png) [@Caddyman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Caddyman)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-storage/55854/5 "2010-10-02T19:09:44Z")

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There is never any air inside a modern fuel tank, just gasoline fumes. These fumes maintain positive pressure inside the tank…Full to the brim is no good, cold gas can expand and force its way into the evap system causing big problems. 3/4 of a tank, stabilized, is just fine…

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**Author:** ![racersteve](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/racersteve/32/1110_2.png) [@racersteve](https://community.cartalk.com/u/racersteve)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2010, 11:25am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-storage/55854/6 "2010-10-03T11:25:20Z")

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I have been using the full gas tank with Stabil for 20 years with my Miata. Here ia a “Guide” on Miata Storage…not that I go this crazy… [http://www.miata.net/garage/winterprep.html](http://www.miata.net/garage/winterprep.html)