My max has been in the garage since Nov. When winter is over and it comes time to drive it again, should I change the oil and filter first?

 

I wouldnt be too worried about it. If its time to, then go ahead, atleast you know all the oil is pooled up in the oil pan

However I would be worried about the gasoline in the tank. I dont know how long it takes, but gasoline deteriorates over time and sludges up.

 

Depends when you take it out. It's not a bad idea, but oil can last a year anyway.

Gas is a good point. AFAIK its shelf life is no more than 6 months. I had some in a lawn mower that was 9 months old and spent the best part of last summer working out the crap because of that. I won't do that again! It actually ran great for about two weeks and then just deteriorated until I cleaned the living heck out of it.

 

cars don't care too much about the fuel... my 240 sat for over a year with about 3/8 tank in it before I replaced engines and when I turned the key, it fired right up.

it wouldn't hurt to go straight to the gas station and fill up on 93, but the car shouldn't have problems running on gas you pumped in November.

As for the oil, don't worry too much about it if it was fairly new.. I would recommend pulling off the filter and filling it with oil to help prime the pump, but otherwise you should be fine.
If you're close to the end of the oil's life by mileage, then change it.. but the 4 months its been sitting really won't hurt the oil unless it's been out in the elements.

 

My car is a low miler and a stealerhsip recently suggested I change the oil every 6 months because it supposedly gets moisture in it. On occasion, I have gone 9 months and changed it with say 2,800 to 3,000 miles on it, rather than 3,750. He suggested doing it more often. I suspect your oil was last changed in the summer so perhaps it wouldn't hurt to change it again for peace of mind. You didnn't state whether you were running synthetic or dino. I use dino.

 

As for the gas, you can get stabilizer that will keep it from deteriorating. BTW, is the oil in it now synthetic?

 

Cool. I'm running Mobil 1 5w-30. I've been starting up the car once every like 3 or 4 weeks to get the fluids flowing. I'll be sure to top it off with 93 gas when the weather gets nice. Maybe I could fill up my gas can and put some in the car too.

 

I would be inclined to start the car up more ofter than once every 3, or 4 weeks, say once a week and let it run for awhile.