I've just spoken to a Ferrari dealer who is selling a 2009 599 GTB HGTE I'm interested in. He only lists HGTE wheels & Exhaust upgrades and says he does not know if the car had the handling & ECU updates. He says it's not possible to find out if it has the ECU update... Is that true? Seems weird to me - there must be a way to find out, no?
This IS a real/official Ferrari dealer and it's apparently a Ferrari-approved pre-owned car but he says the car was modified by a dealer that is now bankrupt and nothing was recorded hands off? Surely if he could check with the VIN he would have?
dealer: Lumani Krüger Ferrari Vertragshändler: Startseite car: Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano F1 HGTE - FERRARI HANNOVER als Sportwagen/Coupé in Hannover
Lauritz- That looks like an OEM HGTE from the photos. Not sure anybody would go to the trouble of installing HGTE seats after the fact, and this one has them. Have the dealer print a build sheet or option sheet off MODIS and it will tell you all the options fitted at the factory. If it was modified to HGTE spec by a dealer as his personal ride, it likely had the full HGTE kit installed, which included the F1 ECU/TCU. She also has HGTE tailpipes, which were part of the HGTE Performance Package. Only a dealer could have afforded to do all those mods including the seats, and even then it would have been cheaper to trade it for an HGTE model. 599 HGTE Retrofit kit description from Boardwalk Ferrari in Dallas ________________________________________ For your 599, we offer the HGTE Retrofit kit which includes... Handling package - consisting of new more rigid springs and rear anti-roll bar as well as new calibration for the magnetorheological shock absorbers when in the sporty positions of the Manettino (SPORT and RACE positions). The handling features a better response time and a feeling of increased compactness without unduly compromising driving comfort. The car’s ride height has also been reduced and therefore the center of gravity lowered still further, which helps with the reduction of weight shift. The lowering of the center of mass combined with the new setup helps to reduce the squat and dive as well as pitch and roll, with the resulting benefit to the car’s dynamic performance. This setting reduces the static roll and rolling movements on the tracks as well as pitching. This gives the car faster turn-in and less under-steer effect. The car’s performance has also been improved with new tires which have been specially optimized for this package. They are characterized by a compound that helps to allow even more effective grip for better road holding combined with excellent ease of control. The front tires are fitted on modular rims with increased rigidity and a larger track. This improves axle performance which facilitates turn-in. These results are achieved through both mechanical and software changes: • Lower suspension (10mm) • New magnetorheologically controlled suspension calibration for the Manettino SPORT and RACE configurations • More rigid suspension springs (front + 16%, rear + 10%) • More rigid rear antiroll bars (diameter increased to 24.5 mm) • Tires with improved compound • Modular rims with reduced weight and special new design The kit also adds a strong styling component: the 20” modular rims with new design and finishing treatment. The rims have a forged flange to benefit weight. The design of the spokes is highlighted by a diamond surface treatment with a technical matte transparent trim called “Silver Corsa”. Performance package - NOTE-This kit cannot be installed on cars with manual gearboxes. Cars with VIN 156938 and greater can use this kit or HGTE Exhaust Kit part number 70001493 which is mufflers only. The installation of the “HGTE Performance” kit, which includes the replacement of the mufflers, exhaust pipes and new software settings, offers the client faster response of the engine controls. This enhances the car’s dynamic qualities which can be best experienced on the track. In performance driving conditions, the F1 gearbox activation is now more rapid. Indeed, thanks to optimized electronic control, the response time of the gear change command system has been reduced by 20 milliseconds during downshifting. A further enhancement involves engine control, which includes accelerator logic with modified mapping that enhances the rapid increase in revolutions along the wide engine use field. In addition, this kit includes exhaust tailpipes which are further enhanced in the rear ¾ views by the black chroming treatment on the side surface. The styling characteristics of the tailpipes are combined with a modification of the exhaust muffler. The sound produced by the car is more pronounced and exciting, especially for sports use, while maintaining a good level of comfort at cruising speed. Exhaust - Mufflers only upgrade Asthetic (exterior only) - Together with the other kits, or individually, this kit completes the “customization” of the exterior. It enhances the front area with the use of a grille with a special chromatic treatment where the Prancing Horse has a more definitive appearance due to a special brushed-finish treatment. The Prancing Horse with the same treatment is also available on the rear lid. Please give us a call regarding the HGTE kits. They can be done individually or as a whole
thanks - those are Daytona Seats though not HGTE-Seats (those have a stitching with "Handling GTE" in the headrest) But since it has the exhauste upgrade and is a 2009 model it would make sense the ECU has been updated as part of the Performance Package The Handling package should be checkable through the ride heigth so I will be able to be quite sure it's all be installed
Those, my friend, are HGTE seats. In this photo you can see the Handling GTE stitching well below the headrest. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yes indeed they are - it's because I linked the wrong add, lol the one I'm looking at has Daytona seats and is 30k cheaper: Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano F1 HGTE - FERRARI HANNOVER als Sportwagen/Coupé in Hannover Meanwhile the seller has confirmed that is only has the aestetics pack, wheels and the exhaust - he is willing to retrofit the handling pack though included in the price The exhaust indicates the presence of the full performance pack on a 2009 model right? Or could a customer have opted for only the exhaust without the ECU upgrade despite his car being able to handle it??
Lauritz- She looks very nice and that exhaust looks like an HGTE exhaust, but cannot tell for sure. Ask the dealer if she has the double wall tailpipes, which would indicated she had the performance pack. They look like this, blacked out except the tip. Image Unavailable, Please Login
looks like it from the pictures... low resolution but you can make out the double tailpipes - I will travel there in a week to see for my self, but the seller confirms HGTE exhaust and he also says he compared the ECU engine and gearbox programs with that factory HGTE he also has for sale (the one I linked first by mistake) and they are the exact same programs. So I think I can assume performance pack installed and even if it was just the exhaust I could still have the ECU update done later I assume to get the faster shift times and better throttle response Still weird though that it's not possible to see clearly from readout whether the performance pack ECU update has been done or not. He DID do a readout of clutch life (13.95% used) and carbon break disk life (22% used) which seems good to me I think with the missing handling pack installed for free I will go ahead and buy Image Unavailable, Please Login
Lauritz- Sounds like a great idea. Incidentally, normally those kits come with new Motronic and F1 ECUs, so the parts numbers may be different from the standard 599. Not sure that is true for the 599, but you can ask the parts guy, who will know.
Unfortunately, another salesman sold the car last Friday while I was still waiting for an answer from my salescontact. I'll have to keep looking... I'm sure there will be another HGTE coming up somewhere in Europe that fits my criteria
Could someone explain the difference between a 599 with a VIN of 156938 and greater and a 599 with a VIN less than 156938.
Affirmative, in late 2007, Ferrari made a major upgrade to the Motronic 7.3.2 fitted to the 599 (and 612). The earlier version of Motronic 7.3.2 is not compatible with the performance pack from the HGTE kit, although the handling and exhaust kits fit fine. Same thing happened on the 612, where they went from the HGTS/HGTC kits on early 7.3.2 612s to HGT2 on the updated 7.3.2 612s.
