Ctek

[adamellisdj]

Hey all

Being a new owner, I will use the 458 daily I’d imagine for a while. After that I want to make sure the battery never causes me issues.

I was going to get a Anti Gravity battery from the off, but thought I’d give the Ferrari battery a chance with a better charger and the battery monitor app they make. It’s about £900 cheaper ha.

What battery setup do you guys use?

Anti Gravity told me their 60amp battery will last 4 weeks without being charged. Appealing for airport stays etc

[Drl22]

Does it not still have the original one that came with the car? They are ctek ones but just rebranded and I’ve never had any issues with it. Last month or so I haven’t connected it but drive it at least once a week. I think you’ll only really need to do it once when you get the car to make sure it’s topped up and then use it if you go away or when the weather turns and you use it less frequently.

[adamellisdj]

It does yes, and yes the F one is just a rebranded. Ctek, but this charger is a more powerful charger. So i am told.

There is a guy on Ferrari chat who’s done a write up about the 458/488 batteries and suggested that the best option for me would be a better charger, rather than the £1000 battery upgrade.

Edited by adamellisdj on Wednesday 31st March 10:56

[johnnyreggae]

My recollection is that its not plug & play - Ferrari use their own plug on the CTEK so you'd have to change all that too to make any changes so you're probably still better off leaving battery & charger til they fail

[Taffy66]

I had battery issues with my old 458 if left undriven for 10 days or so. I solved it by fitting an Antigravity 40Ah battery which was brilliant and a no-brainer IMO. I was going to transfer it to my 488 but i find the magnetic contact for the CTEK by the rear number plate so easy to use i've kept the standard battery.
If i got another 458 first thing i'd do would fit the Antigravity 60Ah.

[adamellisdj]

johnnyreggae said:

My recollection is that its not plug & play - Ferrari use their own plug on the CTEK so you'd have to change all that too to make any changes so you're probably still better off leaving battery & charger til they fail

You just get a Ferrari Ctek adaptor. Makes it plug and play.

[adamellisdj]

johnnyreggae said:

My recollection is that its not plug & play - Ferrari use their own plug on the CTEK so you'd have to change all that too to make any changes so you're probably still better off leaving battery & charger til they fail

This might be an option though

[adamellisdj]

Taffy66 said:

I had battery issues with my old 458 if left undriven for 10 days or so. I solved it by fitting an Antigravity 40Ah battery which was brilliant and a no-brainer IMO. I was going to transfer it to my 488 but i find the magnetic contact for the CTEK by the rear number plate so easy to use i've kept the standard battery.
If i got another 458 first thing i'd do would fit the Antigravity 60Ah.

Interesting.

What’s the longest you ever left it without charge.

[adamellisdj]

Taffy66 said:

I had battery issues with my old 458 if left undriven for 10 days or so. I solved it by fitting an Antigravity 40Ah battery which was brilliant and a no-brainer IMO. I was going to transfer it to my 488 but i find the magnetic contact for the CTEK by the rear number plate so easy to use i've kept the standard battery.
If i got another 458 first thing i'd do would fit the Antigravity 60Ah.

Did you need this adaptor with the 458 anti gravity Taffy?

[Durzel]

I just used the Ferrari charger, never had any issue.

Shorty after I got it I naively thought I could leave it off trickle charge for a couple of weeks with no issue. I soon learned the error of my ways when the next time I drove it the dash was lit up like a Christmas tree with portentous warnings about "Go to dealer", etc.

Rang dealer at the side of the road, the guy said "yeah they do that, just turn it off and back on again", and sure enough it was fine.

Was always left on the trickle charger after that, usually after I had finished driving it.

[adamellisdj]

Durzel said:

I just used the Ferrari charger, never had any issue.

Shorty after I got it I naively thought I could leave it off trickle charge for a couple of weeks with no issue. I soon learned the error of my ways when the next time I drove it the dash was lit up like a Christmas tree with portentous warnings about "Go to dealer", etc.

Rang dealer at the side of the road, the guy said "yeah they do that, just turn it off and back on again", and sure enough it was fine.

Was always left on the trickle charger after that, usually after I had finished driving it.

Ahh man.

I’d rather invest in an AG battery than deal with that st.

I’m going to grab one as soon as I stop using it every hour in every day ha

[ANOpax]

Adam,

I have all the parts which you've posted photos of (CTek charger, battery monitor and cable adaptor).
The Ctek is an upgrade over the standard Ferrari CTek as the MXS5 has intelligent charging modes etc. Crucially, it's rated at a higher current so it will actually charge your battery rather than simply maintaining it which is what the Ferrari branded ones do.

Just buy all the bits and be done. I was at my indy today and he said that the antigravity isn't worth it as you can buy 6 premium lead acid batteries for the price of one antigravity. Even if the lead acid only last 2-3 years each, the single antigravity would have to last 12-18 years to be cost competitive.

[adamellisdj]

ANOpax said:

Adam,

I have all the parts which you've posted photos of (CTek charger, battery monitor and cable adaptor).
The Ctek is an upgrade over the standard Ferrari CTek as the MXS5 has intelligent charging modes etc. Crucially, it's rated at a higher current so it will actually charge your battery rather than simply maintaining it which is what the Ferrari branded ones do.

Just buy all the bits and be done. I was at my indy today and he said that the antigravity isn't worth it as you can buy 6 premium lead acid batteries for the price of one antigravity. Even if the lead acid only last 2-3 years each, the single antigravity would have to last 12-18 years to be cost competitive.

Thanks buddy. Il try this I think then and see how I get on. If all else fails I can try the AG.

I just want to be able to leave it a minimum of 2 weeks without being worried.

Of course, il charge it in the garage also.

How does the app fend? Any good?

Edited by adamellisdj on Wednesday 31st March 12:02

[ANOpax]

adamellisdj said:

How does the app fend? Any good?

The app is clunky and slow on iOS but it does the job. Unfortunately, simply monitoring voltage will not tell you when a battery is failing. Mine is starting to go even though it's showing 13v on the CTek monitor. I have a Sealy BT102 CCA tester (great bit of kit BTW) and it shows that my battery is more than 20% down on its rated CCA.

You should be fine to go for two weeks at a time off the tender in the summer - my wife's Cali did just that during last year's lockdown. The problems start when you hit cold weather or leave the car for longer than three weeks.

[Taffy66]

adamellisdj said:

Did you need this adaptor with the 458 anti gravity Taffy?

I never bothered with a trickle charger with the Antigravity as it was not needed. There was no 60Ah battery available then but today i'd get it as it has 50% more capacity. You won't need a trickle charger unless you leave it for more than 6 weeks at a time.

[oharedm]

From my research the estimated shutdown current drain on the 458 is 75 mA when the car alarm is set.
The OEM AGM battery has a 70 Ah capacity. So with the car alarmed, it would take 467 hours (35 Ah/75 mA) = approx. 19 days to produce a 50% state of charge. A perfect AGM battery at 50% state of charge will result in the battery outputting a voltage of 1V or more less. That is just the inherent chemistry of a lead/acid battery (for lithium there is no voltage drop with state of charge). When cold cranking this will produce a further instantaneous voltage dip that triggers all the ECU errors.

[adamellisdj]

oharedm said:

From my research the estimated shutdown current drain on the 458 is 75 mA when the car alarm is set.
The OEM AGM battery has a 70 Ah capacity. So with the car alarmed, it would take 467 hours (35 Ah/75 mA) = approx. 19 days to produce a 50% state of charge. A perfect AGM battery at 50% state of charge will result in the battery outputting a voltage of 1V or more less. That is just the inherent chemistry of a lead/acid battery (for lithium there is no voltage drop with state of charge). When cold cranking this will produce a further instantaneous voltage dip that triggers all the ECU errors.

What’s that mean then ha?

[Jules360]

If i know I won't be using mine for a few days I plug in the Ferrari Ctek. Never had an issue. On the odd occasion I forgot, plugging in the Ctek does charge the battery, so not sure about the earlier post saying it maintains rather than charges.

[ANOpax]

Jules360 said:

If i know I won't be using mine for a few days I plug in the Ferrari Ctek. Never had an issue. On the odd occasion I forgot, plugging in the Ctek does charge the battery, so not sure about the earlier post saying it maintains rather than charges.

Charging on the standard issue charger is less of an issue with new batteries but as the battery ages, the charger doesn't have the current capacity to keep up and you enter a vicious circle of poor charging leading to faster degradation. Hence the view that the stock charger is best seen as a 'maintainer' rather than strictly a 'charger' (For example, it's not capable of recovering a battery beyond a certain state of discharge that the 5 or 7 amp chargers manage with ease). The stock charger won't properly charge an AGM battery either if you choose to upgrade to that type of technology.

[adamellisdj]

I think the best thing for me is to use what I’m given and get the AG battery. Not having to plug in is super appealing as well as the saved weight, auto jump start etc.

We”ll see. Il surely keep you guys updated.