Why Only 1/4 Tank For Winter Storage

[John]

Paul Koerner, in his four minute video, a great Corvette Master Tech who has helped so many C4, C5, C6 and C7 owners, explains why if you store your C5-C7 Corvette during the winter, why you want no more than roughly 1/4 tank of gas. For those who are unaware, Paul and his super capable colleague, Brittany George, are hired annually by NCM for both the BASH and the Labor Day Anniversary event to help Corvette owners, both with very informative seminars, and also with their providing us 1-to-1, walk-up Q&A time to ask questions about an issue(s) we are facing on our Corvette. Paul solved our C6 question in less than two minutes, and his suggestion worked perfectly to fully solve our issue over the next seven years we owned that car.

[Busa Dave]

Ahhhh yet another good reason to run E85 and not worry about it.. Interesting vid...…..

[MikeC8]

Good video didn’t know that. Thanks

[Boomer]

Good video didn’t know that. Thanks

Me neither. I always thought you should store with a full tank to help avoid condensation forming in the fuel tank. I guess the charcoal filter removes the "humidity" from the air when it enters the tank as the fuel level drops so there is minimal moisture in the air that gets into the tank to begin with.

Sometimes it seems these folks have thought of everything.

[likefast&redcars]

I have a 2000 C5 with 10,200 miles. It was manufactured in May 2000, 18.5 years ago. Always driven about 10 miles every 2 to 3 weeks. Sta-bil in gas. Always a full tank. Never an issue.

[Jeff@DaumPhotography]

Thanks John for posting that. It seems strange that the unit wasn't designed with the sensors encapsulated and protected from direct fuel contact. Especially since those of us with other and older cars have always been told to store with a full tank of gas.

[John]

Good point Jeff. Kind of like the difference with carbureted cars where we were told to warm them up nicely in winter before driving away, now just 15 seconds or so for fuel injected cars.

Maybe GM has learned something about sensor protection and will incorporate it into the C8?

[JB]

Thats my gm chevrolet tech ...he is great. I really find with his servicing my vehicle ...i have a flawless ownership experience. His fine efforts are what kept me from buying a jaguar f type supercharged v8 and a porsche...

my wife was pushing for me to try something other than corvettes and loved the sleek jaguar...

corvettes being more raw fun helped too but pauls excellence in service is above reproach at jackson chevy in middletown ct..

i travel 3 states for service no less...i get up before the sun roses and travel up the beautiful merit parkway...a couple of hours each way without traffic..

[John]

I remember the Merritt Parkway. It is beautiful. The second to the last time I was on it was around 1972; however, the last time when we drove it was went we were driving north to turn in our 9 year old C6 Z06. It is such a great road when there is little traffic.

Paul Koerner is your Tech. No wonder your above post was about the fifth or sixth time you have bragged about him. Lucky you!

[MidEngine]

While I have never met Paul or Brittany, I have had a couple of friends who attended their C7 seminar at the Bash and said they learned a heck of a lot about their cars.

[Shadow]

Very educational video. Well done and informative.

[JB]

I remember the Merritt Parkway. It is beautiful. The second to the last time I was on it was around 1972; however, the last time when we drove it was went we were driving north to turn in our 9 year old C6 Z06. It is such a great road when there is little traffic.

Paul Koerner is your Tech. No wonder your above post was about the fifth or sixth time you have bragged about him. Lucky you!

Sorry if i came off as bragging...he is just such a great tech amd a nice fella. I owe him a lot as he has made my 20 year corvette ownership experience with my past 3 vettes excellent.

he is always available to give good insight. His passion is delivering excellence regarding corvettes.

when i go to the dealership im welcomed by all members of the entire dealership as a superstar...as is my handicapped autistic 23 year old son..

they love that i travel three states at 5 30 am to have my various cars serviced there...and when i bring my son they are dolls to my son which makes me very happy..

they deserve all my praise.

[Frenzy36]

Thanks John for posting that. It seems strange that the unit wasn't designed with the sensors encapsulated and protected from direct fuel contact. Especially since those of us with other and older cars have always been told to store with a full tank of gas.

Exactly, Poor Design , So I would have to say that you shouldn't drive you car either because fuel may slosh around and get on the sensor. That's absolutely insane. Also the fuel tank will condensate from temperature change and how long will the charcoal be able to remove moisture and actually be effective. No matter what most fuel will have some water in it from poorly run stations who do not properly remove moisture and if they want to believe that small charcoal filter canister is going to remove 100 percent of the moisture they are surely crazy. 3/4 tank of Air will also evaporate the fuel and cause varnish to build up and greatly lessen the effect of Sta-bil . The tank should always be stored to the rim if possible to avoid evaporation and corrosion in the tank. I call BS on the 1/4 Tank Full because they designed a flawed fuel sensor and they know it.

[Queasyrider]

Paul Koerner, in his four minute video, a great Corvette Master Tech who has helped so many C4, C5, C6 and C7 owners, explains why if you store your C5-C7 Corvette during the winter, why you want no more than roughly 1/4 tank of gas. For those who are unaware, Paul and his super capable colleague, Brittany George, are hired annually by NCM for both the BASH and the Labor Day Anniversary event to help Corvette owners, both with very informative seminars, and also with their providing us 1-to-1, walk-up Q&A time to ask questions about an issue(s) we are facing on our Corvette. Paul solved our C6 question in less than two minutes, and his suggestion worked perfectly to fully solve our issue over the next seven years we owned that car.

My only question is don’t the new cars come with a full tank fill up from the factory before being shipped to the dealer? And don’t they offen sit at the dealership for months before being sold? That would create the identical problem. I believe that putting Stabil in the tank would help alleviate the fuel/water separation problem as modern ethanol blended fuel is hydroscopic and attracts moisture. This has been found to be a major problem in the past by destroying seals.

[CORVETTE]

I had issues w/ the C7, but not the C6. And the C6 has a heck of a lot more miles than the C7, which has since been sold.

I think the C7 (14 model) had a fuel sensor issue around 34k mi. The fuel sending unit (board) was replaced under 3/36k warranty.