The dealer wants big $ for a new battery in my CS. Any suggestions on what to replace it with? Thanks Surf
I just bought the same battery and it's more than a $100 more like $134 after you return the core. Good luck
Get the interstate for ~$100. My dealer service guys actually told me to get one at the local Napa (or whatever) and they drove to my house and istalled it. They did the same for the battery tender. Now that I think about it they did the same with my tires. Bought all those parts at the local parts place/online (for the tires). Dealer installed for min $. Love my dealer. I'll never forget when I had to replace the battery in my (IRCC) Maserati (happened before I had the Ferrari). Called AAA and they came out and wanted $170 for the interstate installed in my garage. I said "gee, that a lot, let me check with the dealer". So I called the Ferrari/Maserati dealer. They said "its $400 here". Yikes! I then called Kragen and they wanted IIRC $110 or so. I told the AAA guy to go ahead for the $170 installed right then. Anyways, next time it happened was with the Ferrari and I had learned...just went to the parts place and brough it home to meet the Ferrari tech at my driveway.
I replaced the battery in my CS with an Optima and it has been great. Same as the battery in the Scuderia. Saves weight and less acid concerns. Both are great cars.
The Odyssey PC 925 has way less cold cranking capability than the OEM FIAMM or the Interstate MTP-91. I would never go with an under-powered battery for a Ferrari application, even though many owners do it. Too many bad things can happen when a battery is undersized. There are better Odysseys with better cold cranking capability, but they are expensive. Battery prices have risen pretty steeply in the last 18 months or so. Metal prices have gone through the roof. If you fit an MTP-91 like the one in my car, make sure and fit the vent hose. Joe- Ferrari had reliabilty problems with the Optimas and stopped using them. Not sure how the new ones are doing.
I'm in the Chicago area and the Costco's don't seem to carry this. Do you have an item# or more detailed description? I asked for anything with "91" in it but they do not stock anything. I've also found the MTP-91's to be closer to $130-$150 in my area, and most Dealers I've contacted from the Interstate website are no longer dealers or don't keep that size in stock, strange.
I find the 997 GT3 RS battery is the best and relatively cheap too, have it in my 2 Ferraris and highly modded 996 TT
Rick- Not enough cranking power. Much less reserve power. Especially critical for Ferraris that are not not driven often. Not recommended by Odyssey for that application. They recommend the 34R-PC1500 for the Ferrari 360 and other Ferraris. Other than that, nothing.
There's considerable weight saving from them though - 10kg (?). And if left on a trickle should be ok ?
SURF, you pick up another CS? I recently replaced my battery in the CS and wanted a dry cell. Put a DEKA 9A34R AGM in and it fit fine. Has worked like a charm ever since.
Costco's item number is 517999. The vent is in the middle and the fit is perfect for a 360. Image Unavailable, Please Login
be aware that AGM batteries, as good as they are, are designed for constant heavy use, they will fail as fast or faster than a std "wet" battery if left in a discharged state for a length of time... that is their weak point... being left discharged or low charge levels... charging systems not designed for AGM batteries also may not get them fully charged... AGM use a different voltage and has a preferred charge profile to get them to 100%
AGM batteries can be deep discharged dozens of times without losing their ability to be recharged, unlike normal wet cell batteries. They do, however require a really heavy duty charger if they are discharged to around 80% and may seem dead to the layman.
Hum.... Not good to hear this about AGM's as today I just shelled out $165 clams for a Sears Diehard Gold AGM battery in the 48 group size....... I mainly got the AGM due to implied to be safer in an accident, or less chance of spills, and no venting of gases. 3 year replacement - so if it dies- get a new one. I am adding a trickle charger - Battery Tender, and on it 24/7.......
I wouldn't feel any remorse if I were you; AGMs are great for all the reasons you cite and they don't particularly require special handling. They're used in lots of normal automotive and marine charging environments. I bought a Powermaster for my race car and they recommended a schumacher charger like this one Schumacher SC-1200A SpeedCharge 12/8/2 Amp Charger/Maintainer/Starter/Tester : Amazon.com : Automotive so out of shear perfectionism I bought it since it has an AGM switch setting and was cheap to boot. But the fact is that most of the time it's being charged by a perfectly ordinary alternator and it's perfectly happy.
it's not about deep discharging the AGM battery, that is where they shine, what they don't like is being left in a state of deep discharge, that is where they go wrong... in applications where they are deep discharged they are brought back to full charge immediately after being exhausted and have a long useful life... typically a std wet cell battery can go though 250-300 charge cycles, while an AGM can easily double or triple that before needing attention AGM batteries have a preferred charge cycle profile which controls charge voltage and temperature which can be had only for a charge system designed for the AGM, a std 12v charge system will not allow the AGM to be used at its' optimum
