Best battery

100% Antigravity. My 458 would die if I didn't drive it enough every week or left it off the tender for about 4-5 days. Switched to the AG H6 60Ah battery and it fired up no problem even after three weeks of sitting during a business trip. The wireless jump start feature is awesome as well, never had to use it on the 458 but I had to last week on one of my other cars. Get the bluetooth battery monitor too for extra peace of mind.

 

No changes necessary, just a straightforward (albeit much easier simply due to the weight of the new battery) swap just like any other battery change. Regarding the tender you'll just have to make sure you change to a Ctek model that charges lithium batteries.

 

Search the forum for "Braille i48CS"

https://braillebattery.com/products/i48cs-1

Ray

 

If you feel more comfortable sticking to an AGM, the Braille B7548 is hands down the best and most powerful battery there is.

If you want to try lithium, I second AG.

Here's what you need to keep it plug and play.

CTek XS lithium charger.

Adapter for CTek charger.
https://www.juicemyride.com/products/ferrari-458-adapter-only

This allows you to use the normal charge point with the CTek.

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Is there any downside to Lithium?

For example, although rare, do you increase the possibility of lithium catching on fire like other lithium batteries (eg cell phone batteries). I don't think I've ever heard about a standard AGM battery catching on fire.

Any other downsides besides cost and having to purchase another Ctek?


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I’m a newbi. Why are Ferrari batteries so bad and need charged ?


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The batteries are bad because Ferrari don't feel like spending money on a quality battery.

 

Thanks. Looking at an f8. Would I need to
Charge it every night? Cheers

 

If ypu drive it as a daily, no you won't. I only have my cars on tenders when in storage. When they are driven several times per week, they stay charged. That is of course, if the battery is good.

A Ferrari battery is a total unknown.

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The lithium cells used in automotive batteries are a different design than cell phone batteries as far as I know. I believe the chemistry and makeup are different enough that the fire risks are not nearly as much of a factor as with some of the cellular batteries of the past that caught fire.

Anyway, there is no down side to Lithium, other than when it goes totally flat, you have to know how to recharge it. Due to the low internal resistance, it can potentially overload things should you suddenly go to recharge a totally flat battery. I ran the Braille i48CS in my 458 and my 488. Never had to use a battery tender of any sort. I also use their G30 Lithium in my Toyota pickup. It's literally like 3 lbs and has never failed me once. In the pickup truck, I run a 140 amp alternator, which has extra think wires and also redundant circuit breakers designed to prevent the Lithium battery from being able to draw the full 140 amps all at once. But aside from that, the Lithium setup is great and I highly recommend switching to it. Also, it's voltage runs a little higher than a traditional car battery, which seems to help prevent the "electrical failure go to dealer" error message that the Ferraris love to throw so much. The car's electronics just seem to function all that much better using a lithium battery. As soon as I installed the i48CS on my 458, that was the complete end of all of the odd-ball error messages and starting failures.

In my opinion, if you want the absolute top of the line battery in your Ferrari, it's the Braille i48CS.

A number of people have ventured off and tried out the Anti-Gravity batteries also. I don't have any first hand experience wit them, but I'm not a big fan of their basic overall design, nor their use of a system to disconnect the battery when low and/or all the app stuff that runs with it. The nice thing about the Braille i48CS is that it's just a very simple, straightforward and robust design; no app, no internal circuitry. However, a lot of people do seem to have success with the Anti-Gravity batteries and it is cheaper. Just think of it like this: comparing the Anti-gravity and the Braille is a lot like comparing a Tesla to a half-track. Both work fine in their own ways, but it's two radially different approaches to getting you down the road.

Ray

 

Braille is used extensively in racing. That says a lot. Also, my understanding is that a lot of the cost goes towards the higher quality lithium cells they use. I can tell you this much: I disassembled my G30 battery once to examine the internals and the design is not only a very straightforward but it's also built like a tank inside.

For me, I like simple stuff that works. That's been my experience with the Braille products since I've been using them. Also absolutely excellent support from the company.

True, the cost is higher. However, if you've ever had your Ferrari fail to start when heading out to dinner w/ a woman who just spent 45 minutes getting all dolled up and/or you've had an entire weekend gateway ruined by worrying that you'll randomly end up stranded while trying to enjoy yourself and your Ferrari, then you know that suddenly $2K doesn't seem like all that much.

People spend $2000+ on a bottle of wine but won't spend that sort of money on the single most important electrical component in their entire $300K car?

$9000 for a stripe on the car, check! - but OMG not $2500 for a battery so it runs better and always fires up.

That's the part for me is harder to wrap my mind around than the actual cost of the Braille battery.

Ray

 

Pardon my ignorance, but how do you know how many amp hours you need/want? I was looking at the Antigravity battery that was recommended for the 458 and there is a selection of 24/30/40/60 amp hours.

 

You were give good advice. I fitted a 40Ah to my 458 a few years ago and it worked great but only because the 60Ah version hadn't been launched. I have the 40Ah on my Porsche RS and it lasts longer than on the 458 as it has much less parasitic draw.

 

It's the amps the battery can supply for 1 hour basically. I'd recommend the 60 amp hour, since it will give you greater standby time.

Ray

 

This is Ferrari land. As much as humanly possible. 60 ah.

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I’ve had my F8 for 5 months. I drive it about once a week and still haven’t taken the tender out of the box (I’ve never plugged the car in). Voltage (on the car gauge) is always around the same and I’ve never had an issue starting the car. Is this drain issue less of a problem on the newer cars, or is it just because my battery is so new?

 

The drain should be pretty consistent regardless. It's more a function of a new / healthy battery being able to sustain it better.

Ray

 

There’s the eBay seller based in the UK, but it cost me around $80-85 with shipping.
Then I recently found out a friend of mine has the adapters for a more reasonable price. He makes aftermarket Lotus stuff, so I never really perused his website until recently. PM me for info (since he doesn’t make Ferrari stuff, they aren’t a sponsor here so I’m not sure if it would be appropriate to post it).