Every day tips for living with a 599
Discussion
cake eater said:
So I am pretty sure that I have no recourse as there is no way to prove I didn't top up the engine oil, or prove that there has been no work done to the car since it's last service at Stratstone, or that the last service was the result of the overfilled engine oil.
Same dealer (albeit with a V8): Serviced, then a few weeks later returned for something unrelated.As part of the (standard) Health Check it was declared that the oil had been overfilled; nobody had been anywhere near the oil since the service.
Paying Ferrari main dealer rates for an oil'n'filter is one thing - but when even that isn't done correctly
jw673 said:
Same dealer (albeit with a V8): Serviced, then a few weeks later returned for something unrelated.
As part of the (standard) Health Check it was declared that the oil had been overfilled; nobody had been anywhere near the oil since the service.
Paying Ferrari main dealer rates for an oil'n'filter is one thing - but when even that isn't done correctly
Very frustrating and why my car won't be going there again.As part of the (standard) Health Check it was declared that the oil had been overfilled; nobody had been anywhere near the oil since the service.
Paying Ferrari main dealer rates for an oil'n'filter is one thing - but when even that isn't done correctly
willy wombat said:
I appreciate this is a bit late but I think you let Stratstone off the hook a little to easily. As you’ve no intention of using them again, you could have threatened to complain to Ferrari North Europe (and you could still do that). I have found FNE surprisingly helpful in the past.
Hi WW,I know that you are right. I did not know that I have further recourse through FNE. Something I will remember for the future. I know that when the problem was identified I looked at my options, what the dealer would say in response, so I was expecting the denial. Along with my limited ability to to prove who carried out the overfill, I had already given up on the dealer paying out. I just wanted them to know and hope that the service department would check their procedures and speak to the technician to ensure that it was not done again, even though they denied responsibility. Vain hope probably.
Collected the 599 this afternoon. I was expecting a substantial hit on the credit card for the repair and additional service work that I requested. But it was not as bad as expected. Amazing how you can be charged a small fortune 
and come away thinking that you had value for money
They had parked the 599 in front of reception. As I walked out, I thought, that is a very nice 599, wonder where they parked mine. Then the realisation it was mine and that moment of 'I am so lucky'. A quick walk around and more smiles even though the credit card was crying. Jump in and set the driving position, pressing 1 on the seat memory.
Yes, my car!
Ignition on. Wait that little bit more after the blue check light it out for the LCD dash to change and confirm full start up checks completed.
Press the red button and more smiles.
Wait for the engine check light to go out and LCD dash to change again.
Pull the right paddle back.
Consider showing off but the devil inside says 'you'll cock it up and end up going through the dealers window!'
Pull away gently, still smiling.
So the 599 is back at home with Hill's Engineering 20mm spacers installed.
I had been reading a thread on Ferrarichat https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/599-gtb-... and decided on 20mm which Mark at MDL had also recommended. I think the rear looks a little too 'full' in the arch but it is okay.
I am not sure if it is a placebo effect but the steering feel seems to have changed, geo is standard 599 but with the 20mm spacer it seems more weighty, turn in better.
I also think that it is pulling harder. There is a nice section of the A5012 that is quiet, has tight second gear corners but the road has some space then it opens out with much faster open and often well sighted corners. Just left it in sport mode and it just felt so fast! It reminded me of when I changed from a 600cc to a 1000cc sportsbike, the acceleration is just relentless. So much so I am braking way too early. I am still struggling with getting a feel for the brakes, but they need a lot of heat and I just don't want to be taking that much risk. I'll need a few trackdays to get more confident.
The gearbox however is definitely different. The car is much better pulling away in 1st. 2nd and 3rd still thump home but 4, 5 and 6 are noticeably smoother. When in F1-S mode the changes are so much more aggressive and no hesitation to give a gear when I use the paddles. It's so aggressive I am very wary when changing up on corners that are opening up and the throttle is still buried but the revs demand a gear.
Best of all no faults on the dash.
and come away thinking that you had value for money They had parked the 599 in front of reception. As I walked out, I thought, that is a very nice 599, wonder where they parked mine. Then the realisation it was mine and that moment of 'I am so lucky'. A quick walk around and more smiles even though the credit card was crying. Jump in and set the driving position, pressing 1 on the seat memory.
Yes, my car!
Ignition on. Wait that little bit more after the blue check light it out for the LCD dash to change and confirm full start up checks completed.
Press the red button and more smiles.
Wait for the engine check light to go out and LCD dash to change again.
Pull the right paddle back.
Consider showing off but the devil inside says 'you'll cock it up and end up going through the dealers window!'
Pull away gently, still smiling.
So the 599 is back at home with Hill's Engineering 20mm spacers installed.
I had been reading a thread on Ferrarichat https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/599-gtb-... and decided on 20mm which Mark at MDL had also recommended. I think the rear looks a little too 'full' in the arch but it is okay.
I am not sure if it is a placebo effect but the steering feel seems to have changed, geo is standard 599 but with the 20mm spacer it seems more weighty, turn in better.
I also think that it is pulling harder. There is a nice section of the A5012 that is quiet, has tight second gear corners but the road has some space then it opens out with much faster open and often well sighted corners. Just left it in sport mode and it just felt so fast! It reminded me of when I changed from a 600cc to a 1000cc sportsbike, the acceleration is just relentless. So much so I am braking way too early. I am still struggling with getting a feel for the brakes, but they need a lot of heat and I just don't want to be taking that much risk. I'll need a few trackdays to get more confident.
The gearbox however is definitely different. The car is much better pulling away in 1st. 2nd and 3rd still thump home but 4, 5 and 6 are noticeably smoother. When in F1-S mode the changes are so much more aggressive and no hesitation to give a gear when I use the paddles. It's so aggressive I am very wary when changing up on corners that are opening up and the throttle is still buried but the revs demand a gear.
Best of all no faults on the dash.
Wonderful car, and wonderful thread! Enjoyed reading from start to finish.
Toyed with the idea of a 599 last year but was worried about potential problems ruining the enjoyment but seems like it's so good nothing can stop that.
For what it's worth I agree with your earlier post on keeping it and sorting things. I've always had that mentality with cars and bikes as once they're sorted at least you know it's unlikely to happen again. Devil that you know... and all that.
Love the colour also
Toyed with the idea of a 599 last year but was worried about potential problems ruining the enjoyment but seems like it's so good nothing can stop that.
For what it's worth I agree with your earlier post on keeping it and sorting things. I've always had that mentality with cars and bikes as once they're sorted at least you know it's unlikely to happen again. Devil that you know... and all that.
Love the colour also
roboR said:
Wonderful car, and wonderful thread! Enjoyed reading from start to finish.
Toyed with the idea of a 599 last year but was worried about potential problems ruining the enjoyment but seems like it's so good nothing can stop that.
For what it's worth I agree with your earlier post on keeping it and sorting things. I've always had that mentality with cars and bikes as once they're sorted at least you know it's unlikely to happen again. Devil that you know... and all that.
Love the colour also
Hi roboR,Toyed with the idea of a 599 last year but was worried about potential problems ruining the enjoyment but seems like it's so good nothing can stop that.
For what it's worth I agree with your earlier post on keeping it and sorting things. I've always had that mentality with cars and bikes as once they're sorted at least you know it's unlikely to happen again. Devil that you know... and all that.
Love the colour also
Thanks, it really is an amazing car
Yesterday started with an Electrical system failure warning light on the dash. So I called GreyPaul and emailed them after the call just to be sure that it is recorded in case there is the same problem as last time.
When I spoke to the service department they said that this is 99% related to low battery voltage, this particular fault is triggered when the ECU sees less than 12.4V. A restart of the car will clear the memory and it should be fine.
Obviously I was not happy with this answer. I said that this is what I was told before getting a £2,300 bill for engine oil overfill and resulting sensor damage. The car has been on a ctek overnight. Since collecting the car it has been driven for 1.5 hours over almost 50 miles including some Italian tune up, I don't believe that the battery has lost voltage. I never got that warning when taking the car from the dealership.
His response was that for this particular waring message, all they would do it put the car on a charger and give it back to me once the battery test says 100%. He also said that the ctek would need longer than overnight to charge the battery fully and driving the car (hard) doesn't charge the battery in the same way as other cars as Ferraris don't work that way.
Any way. . . . We will see.
Today, No faults. A quick morning drive in race mode with gearbox in manual. (Previously I had seen more ECU /electrical faults with the manettino in this setting and the gearbox more truculent in manual)
Thankfully everything was smooth, no issues. As for the car feeling faster. It is definitely faster. Scarily, thrillingly so!
When I spoke to the service department they said that this is 99% related to low battery voltage, this particular fault is triggered when the ECU sees less than 12.4V. A restart of the car will clear the memory and it should be fine.
Obviously I was not happy with this answer. I said that this is what I was told before getting a £2,300 bill for engine oil overfill and resulting sensor damage. The car has been on a ctek overnight. Since collecting the car it has been driven for 1.5 hours over almost 50 miles including some Italian tune up, I don't believe that the battery has lost voltage. I never got that warning when taking the car from the dealership.
His response was that for this particular waring message, all they would do it put the car on a charger and give it back to me once the battery test says 100%. He also said that the ctek would need longer than overnight to charge the battery fully and driving the car (hard) doesn't charge the battery in the same way as other cars as Ferraris don't work that way.
Any way. . . . We will see.
Today, No faults. A quick morning drive in race mode with gearbox in manual. (Previously I had seen more ECU /electrical faults with the manettino in this setting and the gearbox more truculent in manual)
Thankfully everything was smooth, no issues. As for the car feeling faster. It is definitely faster. Scarily, thrillingly so!
cake eater said:
Yesterday started with an Electrical system failure warning light on the dash. So I called GreyPaul and emailed them after the call just to be sure that it is recorded in case there is the same problem as last time.
When I spoke to the service department they said that this is 99% related to low battery voltage, this particular fault is triggered when the ECU sees less than 12.4V. A restart of the car will clear the memory and it should be fine.
Obviously I was not happy with this answer. I said that this is what I was told before getting a £2,300 bill for engine oil overfill and resulting sensor damage. The car has been on a ctek overnight. Since collecting the car it has been driven for 1.5 hours over almost 50 miles including some Italian tune up, I don't believe that the battery has lost voltage. I never got that warning when taking the car from the dealership.
His response was that for this particular waring message, all they would do it put the car on a charger and give it back to me once the battery test says 100%. He also said that the ctek would need longer than overnight to charge the battery fully and driving the car (hard) doesn't charge the battery in the same way as other cars as Ferraris don't work that way.
Any way. . . . We will see.
Today, No faults. A quick morning drive in race mode with gearbox in manual. (Previously I had seen more ECU /electrical faults with the manettino in this setting and the gearbox more truculent in manual)
Thankfully everything was smooth, no issues. As for the car feeling faster. It is definitely faster. Scarily, thrillingly so!
I’m pleased for you that there was no issue; good newsWhen I spoke to the service department they said that this is 99% related to low battery voltage, this particular fault is triggered when the ECU sees less than 12.4V. A restart of the car will clear the memory and it should be fine.
Obviously I was not happy with this answer. I said that this is what I was told before getting a £2,300 bill for engine oil overfill and resulting sensor damage. The car has been on a ctek overnight. Since collecting the car it has been driven for 1.5 hours over almost 50 miles including some Italian tune up, I don't believe that the battery has lost voltage. I never got that warning when taking the car from the dealership.
His response was that for this particular waring message, all they would do it put the car on a charger and give it back to me once the battery test says 100%. He also said that the ctek would need longer than overnight to charge the battery fully and driving the car (hard) doesn't charge the battery in the same way as other cars as Ferraris don't work that way.
Any way. . . . We will see.
Today, No faults. A quick morning drive in race mode with gearbox in manual. (Previously I had seen more ECU /electrical faults with the manettino in this setting and the gearbox more truculent in manual)
Thankfully everything was smooth, no issues. As for the car feeling faster. It is definitely faster. Scarily, thrillingly so!
cake eater said:
Have to say I think I was getting BS about the battery
Not strictly BS but you’d do well to upgrade the CTEK from the Ferrari issue one to a proper CTEK with better charging algos and current delivery. That way, you will be capable of getting a full charge overnight. You should also get yourself a Sealy BT102 battery condition tester. It’s essential for knowing whether your battery is underperforming or whether there’s a problem with the car. I’ve used it to establish that a 2 year old battery was out of sorts and replacing it eliminated the startup errors I was experiencing with the FF.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-BT102-Digital-Batt...
Finally, install an AGM battery. Their cold cranking amps performance is far superior to that of non-AGM batteries when new and degrades less over time. As result, AGM batteries have less voltage drop on startup which is the reason the car throws error codes at you.
ANOpax said:
Not strictly BS but you’d do well to upgrade the CTEK from the Ferrari issue one to a proper CTEK with better charging algos and current delivery. That way, you will be capable of getting a full charge overnight.
You should also get yourself a Sealy BT102 battery condition tester. It’s essential for knowing whether your battery is underperforming or whether there’s a problem with the car. I’ve used it to establish that a 2 year old battery was out of sorts and replacing it eliminated the startup errors I was experiencing with the FF.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-BT102-Digital-Batt...
Finally, install an AGM battery. Their cold cranking amps performance is far superior to that of non-AGM batteries when new and degrades less over time. As result, AGM batteries have less voltage drop on startup which is the reason the car throws error codes at you.
Thank you ANOpax, I'll do that. I already have a ctek MXS 8.You should also get yourself a Sealy BT102 battery condition tester. It’s essential for knowing whether your battery is underperforming or whether there’s a problem with the car. I’ve used it to establish that a 2 year old battery was out of sorts and replacing it eliminated the startup errors I was experiencing with the FF.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-BT102-Digital-Batt...
Finally, install an AGM battery. Their cold cranking amps performance is far superior to that of non-AGM batteries when new and degrades less over time. As result, AGM batteries have less voltage drop on startup which is the reason the car throws error codes at you.
I'll get the battery tester you gave the link to.
Is there a particular model of AGM battery you can recommend?
cake eater said:
ANOpax said:
Not strictly BS but you’d do well to upgrade the CTEK from the Ferrari issue one to a proper CTEK with better charging algos and current delivery. That way, you will be capable of getting a full charge overnight.
You should also get yourself a Sealy BT102 battery condition tester. It’s essential for knowing whether your battery is underperforming or whether there’s a problem with the car. I’ve used it to establish that a 2 year old battery was out of sorts and replacing it eliminated the startup errors I was experiencing with the FF.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-BT102-Digital-Batt...
Finally, install an AGM battery. Their cold cranking amps performance is far superior to that of non-AGM batteries when new and degrades less over time. As result, AGM batteries have less voltage drop on startup which is the reason the car throws error codes at you.
Thank you ANOpax, I'll do that. I already have a ctek MXS 8.You should also get yourself a Sealy BT102 battery condition tester. It’s essential for knowing whether your battery is underperforming or whether there’s a problem with the car. I’ve used it to establish that a 2 year old battery was out of sorts and replacing it eliminated the startup errors I was experiencing with the FF.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-BT102-Digital-Batt...
Finally, install an AGM battery. Their cold cranking amps performance is far superior to that of non-AGM batteries when new and degrades less over time. As result, AGM batteries have less voltage drop on startup which is the reason the car throws error codes at you.
I'll get the battery tester you gave the link to.
Is there a particular model of AGM battery you can recommend?
https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/599-new-...
"AGM or Absorbent Glass Mat is an advanced lead-acid battery that provides superior power to support the higher electrical demands of today's vehicles and start-stop applications. AGM batteries are extremely resistant to vibration, are totally sealed, nonspillable and maintenance-free."
https://www.autobatteries.com › en-us
"While 34 group batteries feature positive terminal on the left, 34R group batteries feature positive terminal on the right, hence the 'R' letter after '34' "
https://www.batteryequivalents.com/group-34-batter...
Edited by cake eater on Saturday 26th March 15:05
Edited by cake eater on Saturday 26th March 15:18
cake eater said:
Thank you ANOpax, I'll do that. I already have a ctek MXS 8.
I'll get the battery tester you gave the link to.
Is there a particular model of AGM battery you can recommend?
You’re welcome. If you’ve already got the MXS8 then you’re set on that front and the battery should’ve charged properly overnight. I'll get the battery tester you gave the link to.
Is there a particular model of AGM battery you can recommend?
For the AGM battery, I’ve had good experiences with Varta Silver AGM in all my cars. Bosch are the same, I believe, but with different branding. Which one you need to buy will be dictated by the required ah capacity and the physical size of the battery.
What you’ll find is that the stated CCA capacity of the AGM battery is a bit higher than the non-AGM battery. What you’ll discover in practice once you have the Sealey tester is that the real world CCA capacity of the AGM battery is far in excess of the rated capacity whereas the real CCA of a non-AGM battery isn’t much higher than the stated capacity. As a result, there is a gulf in CCA performance between AGM and non-AGM batteries and that performance widens during the ageing process as non-AGM batteries seem to deteriorate faster than their AGM brethren. I found all this out when I experimented with a Varta Blue (non-AGM) [EDIT: it was actually Silver non AGM] in the FF. it lasted 3 weeks before I traded it in for a Silver Dynamic AGM. Luckily the battery seller had a 30 day return policy.
Edited by ANOpax on Saturday 26th March 16:36
ANOpax said:
You’re welcome. If you’ve already got the MXS8 then you’re set on that front and the battery should’ve charged properly overnight.
For the AGM battery, I’ve had good experiences with Varta Silver AGM in all my cars. Bosch are the same, I believe, but with different branding. Which one you need to buy will be dictated by the required ah capacity and the physical size of the battery.
What you’ll find is that the stated CCA capacity of the AGM battery is a bit higher than the non-AGM battery. What you’ll discover in practice once you have the Sealey tester is that the real world CCA capacity of the AGM battery is far in excess of the rated capacity whereas the real CCA of a non-AGM battery isn’t much higher than the stated capacity. As a result, there is a gulf in CCA performance between AGM and non-AGM batteries and that performance widens during the ageing process as non-AGM batteries seem to deteriorate faster than their AGM brethren. I found all this out when I experimented with a Varta Blue (non-AGM) in the FF. it lasted 3 weeks before I traded it in for a Silver AGM. Luckily the battery seller had a 30 day return policy.
Would you believe it, Varta blue E11 is what is currently installed.For the AGM battery, I’ve had good experiences with Varta Silver AGM in all my cars. Bosch are the same, I believe, but with different branding. Which one you need to buy will be dictated by the required ah capacity and the physical size of the battery.
What you’ll find is that the stated CCA capacity of the AGM battery is a bit higher than the non-AGM battery. What you’ll discover in practice once you have the Sealey tester is that the real world CCA capacity of the AGM battery is far in excess of the rated capacity whereas the real CCA of a non-AGM battery isn’t much higher than the stated capacity. As a result, there is a gulf in CCA performance between AGM and non-AGM batteries and that performance widens during the ageing process as non-AGM batteries seem to deteriorate faster than their AGM brethren. I found all this out when I experimented with a Varta Blue (non-AGM) in the FF. it lasted 3 weeks before I traded it in for a Silver AGM. Luckily the battery seller had a 30 day return policy.
Ferrari 3 pin connector for reference
I will look for a Varta or Bosch AGM battery
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