Storing an F12

The best storage is to drive it a couple of hundred miles each month (PM if volunteer required) !

Seriously it would be better to put it on the battery conditioner

Details of cut-off & storage procedure are in the manual but if he has not left it you download here All Ferraris

 

Anthony,
Tell your friend it is not a good idea to just let the car sit on a battery tender...it should be driven at least twice a month .

 

TOTALLY WRONG ... it MUST be driven EVERY DAY.

Yes there is a battery quick disconnect that could be used. Better to leave it on a battery tender if not driven for a couple weeks or more. But you should be arrested if you don't drive it at least every week.

Rick

 

Suggest you clean it off, then put it up on some kind of tire protector like tire cradles (see Welcome to TireCradle ). Then attach tender. Make sure car is in gear and the brake is on- I think it comes on automatically with the F12. Also the tires will sink into the cradles a bit and that will help guard against its rolling away if you are on a relatively flat surface. I always worry about these computer controlled brakes and transmission- if a computer has some kind of "hiccup" the car can come out of gear/ the brake can release- Ive never seen it happen with the new cars but I have heard stories with the earlier F1 cars. Of course those have real hand brakes. Anyway once its in gear and brake on I would connect the tender to the car and then cover the car. Then connect the tender to your electric supply and thats it. A few months wont be the worst thing ever for it but it would be better if it is driven every 4-6 weeks..... or more frequently

 

Wrong, it must be driven several times a day. At least once a day on a track. Sideways.

 

My cars sit MONTHS at a time. In all honesty, I really don't do too much. They are hooked up on a battery charger, Check tire pressure. Start them every so often and your good for SHORT TERM storage.

 

I FAILED again , you are quite right!

Not a lot of real help here from some of us, sorry. The tire cradles sound OK. I really have never let a Ferrari sit so long it needs the cradles which are rather expensive. After a few miles the flat spots do go away in modern tires. The Ferrari trickle charger is mandatory. Disconnecting the battery does nothing to a modern Ferrari other than requiring you to reset the clock and date. The engine and ECUs will not care. Depending on where the battery is in the F12 that is probably very easy, it is on the FF, just a small panel under the hood. I disconnected mine once to try to reset an error code, didn't help though.

If you do drive it with the owner's permission, unless you have an F12 or an FF of your own be aware these cars are extremely powerful. It took me months of daily driving to get used to rate of acceleration and speed which the engine RPM rises, it is very impressive for a few months (I changed scary to impressive here, I still say "Holy crap Batman" at times yet when I'm having fun with my FF). So be very careful! The computers do a tremendous job of protecting the car but they can't protect against stupidity.

Rick

 

If you put it on a battery tender, make sure the battery tender has the ability to switch charging modes and set it to the SNOWFLAKE/AGM mode/symbol.

F12/FF/HELE California/HELE 458 all use AGM batteries and they MUST be charged with the battery tender set under the SNOWFLAKE/AGM charging mode or the battery will gradually drain. AGM batteries require a 14.7V charging voltage, regular battery tenders and charging modes only supply 14.4V and they will not fully recharge/top up the battery. Depending on how long the car sits, this can ruin the battery.

Since it is a UK car, it may also have the HELE (i.e. engine STOP/START) function. If you reset the battery in a HELE car, the ECU will lose its HELE parameters and the car must then go through several setup procedures to get it working properly again after the battery is reconnected. So I suggest you not to disconnect the battery if it is a HELE car. On UK current, the draw from the tender is miniscule.

 

I would agree. When I store for 3 months, I just bring tire pressure up to near max on tires to avoid potential flat spots, add fuel stabilizer, like Sta-bil marine, make sure garage has no food or water for potential rodents, plug in battery maintainer and put car cover on it. If several months would change the oil, so mechanicals sit in fresh oil.

 

From the sounds of it maybe HELE is really NOT worth the extra money?

Rick

 

You mean, if you reset the battery by accident and then have to set up the parameters?

Here's what you need to know. The car will still run fine but HELE will stop working. To get it to work again you'll need to arrange a quick visit to the dealer where a tech can hook up a DEIS to the car to clear the error detection flag, check and set the re-learn flag. Essentially, he'll drive it a few short distances for about 5 minutes and play with the DEIS.

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Then you take it home and keep it off the battery tender for at least 6 hours after you shut the car down. After that HELE will run again and re-learn your driving habits. That's it. You can even do all that at home if you own a DEIS (and a PC laptop).

So, you have to balance that along with the small amount of extra money against:

- a more robust starter motor
- more engine torque applied to the driving wheels = faster acceleration, faster car
- on average 10% better gas mileage
- option to take a break from making noise while you wait for a long stop light
- a more robust engine oil recirculating design in the engine block
- reduced drag coefficient at high speeds due to a sophisticated engine cooling system
- more battery capacity available to other systems when the car is in motion
- sophisticated pedal maps learned from driver's manual shifting pattern is applied when car is driven in AUTO mode
- a more robust battery recharging system in the car
- a much better battery than in the standard car
- a much better battery tender than in the standard car
- reduced weight
- lower carbon emissions

I figure it's well worth it. I mean, how often will you reset the battery? And the car will still run fine even if HELE is off. The part I really like is the MORE ENGINE TORQUE to the driving wheels part.

My apologies for the slight detour from the main topic.

 

You might also consider a Car Capsule. I've used it for two winters now in my unheated garage. Very good product, and guards against dust, rodents, condensation, etc. You need room for it, however, as it does tend to billow out on the sides relative to its footprint.

 

Thought I would way in. I have had 3 Ferraris and my F12 is in production. Living in the Chicago area I have stored each of them 5 months a year with never starting them during that time. In the sring they have started up as if they had never been stored.

What have I done?

1. I always have nitrogen in the tires. It does actually reduce air leakage.
2. Wash and wax the car just before it is stored.
3. Put the battery trickle charger that comes with the car to keep battery fresh.
4. Put the cover on the car that comes with the car.
5. Wish my car a good rest and I see it in the spring.

No additives, no putting car on a lift (tires have never flattened out). Cars have been spectacular.

My dealer has always told me best way to store it.

I can't say the same for my previous Porsches. Oil leaks occurred year any they had to replace gaskets under warranty.

 

Michael really fantastic information. I really hate the start stop systems though!

 

The DEIS, is that the computer that the dealer connects? If so I thought only dealers could have those?

And I will agree, whatever it takes for more torque

Rick

 

Yes, it's always good to have more torque, even if you don't know exactly how much more you're getting.

DEIS does refer to the computer diagnostic interface module for the ECU. There are apparently different iterations of Ferrari diagnostic tools: SD1, SD2, SD3, SDX, SD4 and I believe the latest is called SD5. Here's one listed for sale on eBay and a Luxembourg retailer for the same tools.

There are also less expensive 3rd Party tools like this one that can read and set parameters on specific Fcars. But they will almost certainly lag in terms of how up-to-date or comprehensive their support will be for the latest factory updates to the ECUs.

 

I just recently saw this and visited their site. Would like to know some further information on it. Sounds and looks plausible but I have some doubts.

For those that are unaware go to carcapsule.com. Its basically a zipper-up beach ball you place your car into and it uses a computer-like fan with a small foam filter to keep it inflated. Its says that it keeps condensation from forming because it cycles all the air in the chamber 3-4 times an hour although it does not de-humidify. For those of you that have used this, here are a couple questions (I called the site just now and got an answering machine):

1. How does the air exit the bubble if it only has one fan pushing air in? Seriously, does air leak out through the zippers? Shouldn't there be a fan on the opposite end with a slower draw out (relative to the draw-in fan) so the bubble maintains positive pressure providing flow from out --> in --> out?

2. How do you get the trickle charger cord/charger through the bubble? Is there an air-tight access port somewhere?

3. Someone reported severe molding and oxidation of the aluminum parts of a stored car with lots of condensation using their outdoor product over the winter. Don't know the cause other than they speculated that there is a basic design flaw in that moisture gets in but doesn't get out. If you use the indoor product in an unheated (but attached) garage over the winter would this product be safe on a $400K+ F12 or is there a safer method to recommend?

Also, I think the owner of the company is on FChat but having difficulty re-discovering his posts.

Thanks

 

Is this for real??

 

Yes it is odd but for real. They make the beach ball bubble and the moon bounce rectangle.

Just spoke to them on the phone to get the answers to my questions above. Apparently, air exits vial the zippers but you can also crack the zipper to increase flow. A port on one side allows for pass thru of cables.

The guy that complained about humidity damage in the beach ball version was discussed. They are of the opinion that the storage site had existing high moisture issues. Who knows.

Just thought this might keep dust off without messing with a cover as with the moon bounce version you can just drive the car in after a cool down. In the winter you could also store without a cover and keep the mice out and still be able to access the vehicle from side panels to get a Ferrari leather smell fix when needed.

Here's the site:
Showcase

Here's a link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDPdMHWdzC4&feature=player_embedded

Anyone use these?