Issue with the 296 Boost Hose

I've owned a 2024 296 GTS for 5 months and 4k miles (including 1 track day and multiple mountain passes). Looooooove the car. The only thing I wish it had was a bit more sound volume (love the tone, just too quiet). So I decided to install a couple of Capristo products:

1) https://capristoexhaust.com/product/e2e-exhaust-remote-kit-c-for-electric-valves/
2) https://capristoexhaust.com/product/ferrari-296-250-cell-sport-cat-downpipes/

I gained about 20-30% increase in volume and so I honestly liked the result. Then on a recent roadtrip from Norcal to Socal, I experienced issues:

1) CEL
2) Limp mode (or in Ferrari world, turtle mode)

It was a pretty terrible experience, needless to say. When on turtle mode (which would come up pretty much every time when pushing the pedal aggressively), the car won't go over 4k RPMs to protect the engine...

So I had my local mechanic (not the dealer) look at it.

1) First, we checked the codes, and sure enough the car complained about emission issues. We cleared the codes
2) Then we put the car back to stock, returned the products to Capristo (who have been great all along and refunded me the money right away), and then
3) Headed over to my local Ferrari dealer.

I openly told them about the whole story - I always prefer to be honest and upfront, and they know me very well. So they tested the car, checked the codes again and then... the big surprise: The code showing up this time was related to lack of pressure.

So then they checked the boost hose, and... See the picture attached.

So this left me thinking of 3 things:

1) Did the Capristo products have any effect on the hose cracking? Here's what AI suggests:

would 250 sport cats cause a ferrari 296 boost hose to crack
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-can-cause-a-ferrari-296-b-TiFC.EUdRoGymzSqPzCaSw

2) What actually caused the crack? I can 100% guarantee the car was NOT TUNED at anytime.

what can cause a ferrari 296 boost hose to crack
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-can-cause-a-ferrari-296-b-TiFC.EUdRoGymzSqPzCaSw

So the dealer charged me a whopping $2500 for the new hose and the labor to install it. Since I told them about Capristo products, they said this could not be covered by warranty.

3) I'm going to drive this 296 like there's no tomorrow, both at the mountain pass and at the track. Should I consider aftermarket products? Here's Fabspeed's video, but there are other brands offering

Fabspeed hoses video:


Capristo:
https://www.vividracing.com/novitec-turbo-inlet-high-temp-heat-protection-set-ferrari-296-gtb-20222025-p-156262378.html?matchtype=&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_keyword=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21849297966&gbraid=0AAAAA97k17kGZZuzKW6HWfJtcQKeyyB5g&gclid=CjwKCAjw9anCBhAWEiwAqBJ-c8zjVGtjCkEYPiT03vl1rxFBuV6zsYOLBWIh7ayoAjQ3ANQ6nWDaoxoCQAAQAvD_BwE

Thoughts anyone??? I bet this will get a lot of boost heat and pressure... no pun intended
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Mine’s gone into limp mode 3 times in 9 months!

Can’t recall what they did the first time.

But the second time they determined it might have a bad cylinder fire. But checking all the spark plug cylinders requires an engine out. But one side is normally accessible. They decided to replace one plug and coil that looked potentially problematic. Car seemed to do well and I got it back after 6 weeks. Tech mentioned the 296 does cycle to cycle engine management so it can be very sensitive small changes including marginal gas.

Third time was just a few weeks ago on the way to dinner. About a mile out it starts sputtering and won’t allow me to go into e-mode! Even if the ICE is limping! Terrible failure mode! Anyway nothing obviously wrong they decide to tweak the engine software. I’ve only run it a few times but the engine does seem to run noticeably smoother.

Anyway going to continue to monitor it. All the times it happen after doing a warm up cycle on the cats, then going to e-mode then starting back up into ice modes.

 

Wow I’m sorry to hear that. That’s way worse than mine.

 

I am surprised that even just an increase to 250 cells created this problem level.

Was there any volume gain or sound improvement with just the valve controller?

 

No, zero gain there.

But to clarify: I'm not certain at all that the 250 cel cats would cause the crack of the hose. Here's what one of the links I shared said about it:

250 sport cats alone are unlikely to directly cause a Ferrari 296 boost hose to crack if the car is otherwise stock and the hoses are in good condition. The risk increases if the car is tuned for higher boost, or if the hoses are old or made of less durable material. Upgrading to reinforced silicone hoses is recommended for any high-performance application to mitigate this risk

 

Is it the hose that broke for you the same as the replacement hose that Fabspeed offers?

 

Yes. Fabspeeds is built differently to make it more durable and it’s colored red. Ferrari OEM is the same as the one I showed in the picture.

 

Interesting that they all offer boost hoses. Seems like the new cars are so sensitive that aftermarket is almost guaranteed to mess something up!

 

Thanks for the heads up.

 

Is the consensus that the Ferrari hose is a potential failure point and the silicone hose is better?

 

yeah so basically after all the research I’ve done and the multiple conversations I’ve had, the 296 is one hell of a car, possibly one of the best modern Ferraris (I’d personally say the best myself), but it’s the biggest drama queen as well. And by drama queen I mean you’re best NOT to mess with it, not modify it, and really take good care of it.

Given the complexity of the ICE+electric engines (which is a tech marvel and runs incredibly), anything you do to it will trigger a warning light, turtle mode, whatever. Even Novitec is apparently in their 3rd version of their exhaust system for the 296 (while in the 812 and the F8 it’s been flawless for years and thousands of miles).

One LA dealer told me that even the relatively basic remote valve controller will mess it up and trigger the CEL.

I don’t know how the hose cracked, so potentially if you’re going to drive it hard, you may consider getting an aftermarket.

having said all this, in my experience if you leave the car stock and pay attention to the recommendations regarding the charging of the battery, the car should be fine. I’ve had no other problems in 5 months and 4k miles.

 

My GTB has zero mods, is on the factory included tender anytime it’s not driven, and still manages to unexpectedly give the all codes salute and go to turtle mode almost reliably on any day i decide to risk being late to something by choosing the 296.

Love it or hate it, Ferrari just is not able to make a reliable car, and that’s why the Puro or Lusso can never be the dependable daily as the backup to the Ferrari mud engine sports car.

 

Luckily, and I say this as someone without a lot of experience with a 296 or modded one, the sound of the car is unique and very pleasing. I felt the novitec made it louder, but ruined the quality of the sound.

 

I actually disagree. I’ve been fortunate to drive my Ferraris quite a lot: 458 (33k miles), F8 (19k miles), 812 (11k miles), Scud (4k miles) and the 296 (4k miles). None have given me any major issues. The his hose issue is the first and it seems driven by poor quality material but I can’t tell if my mods were part of the problem tbh.

but in general I don’t consider Ferrari to be unreliable - but you do need to be proactive in servicing them!

 

My Roma was super reliable. The only issue was that the left tail light would occasionally fail, but it sorts itself out in a minute or so.

Now, I've only had the 296 for 3 months now, but its been "quirky." The Bluetooth likes to spaz requiring a factory reset to get the phone connection sorted out. Other than that, I did get a check engine light once on a cool morning, which sorted itself out. Suspect emissions related issue due to what codes I could pull with a generic obd2 reader.

 

Oh I forgot to mention: When I took the 296 to the local Ferrari dealership they told me about this firmware update!

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/exhaust-flap-actuator-ferrari-kmX06A13TV6o5eAS9SlWng

I'd suggest all 296 owners to swing by the dealer and get it.

 

How recent was this update put out ?

 

From what I know, pretty recent. I only know it from about 2-3 weeks ago.

 

Has anyone installed valve controllers on their 296 here? Any issues reported with it?

 

yes if you read a few comments ago I mentioned the Capristo remote valve controller. Insignificant difference unless you couple it with the 250 cel cats. And… according to the dealer, a source of issues for the drama queen!

 

That's too bad. It helped my SF90. Not louder, but open all the time so low rpm and throttle lift the valve wouldn't close.

 

It’s totally OK to disagree! Unreliable to me is simply that I rely on the car to get somewhere, and it is unable to get me there in the manner that I expect from the car. 296 has run into turtle mode twice, which is twice too many, especially when the dealer claims nothing is wrong.

 

I am pretty certain that the valves on the 296 behave differently than say a 458/488/F8.

On those cars, the valves can completely shut and divert exhaust flow to an alternate path leading through a silencer or muffler. This can also serve to module back pressure. When the valves partially or fully open, the exhaust flow takes a more direct path to atmospheric pressure which means more sound also gets out.

On the 296, the valves do not completely shut as there is no alternate exhaust path. It’s simply there to increase or decrease backpressure.

 

Get new bigger boost hoses from 2M Fabrication and use the high end band claps to secure them. I even wrapped mine in gold thermal tape to resist heat.

I noticed significant improvements. Getting the ones by the turbos off and on is no fun and you have to take apart everything but the air volume increase makes a difference. Every little thing adds up.

Bigger boost tubes and exhaust will make the car sing. Now if we only had a Tune.

 

Any effect on the warranty?