Battery

My 550 has an Interstate battery. Not sure what the exact model is, but I keep a maintenance charger on it when it is parked in the garage. No problems for two years.

My Mondial and my wife's minvan have Optima red tops.

There is a lot of general battery discussion on FerrariChat if you search for "battery."

Everyone has an opinion on batteries, it is a bit of pick your battery type, price, and application, then just buy one.

Types: gel - AGM - wet (lead acid) and maybe a couple more.

Good luck

Jerry
DRG

 

Braille B7548
AGM internal racing technology

Weight 45lbs / 21.8kg
Length 10.9" / 277mm
Width 6.8" / 173mm
Height 7.5" / 191mm
PCA 2390
Ah 75
Right Side Positive
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+1
Show'em the Tank Barry...
The stickers peel right off should they bother you. 3.5 years in and no signs of concern. Car driven every couple weeks. No chargers involved.
John, should be an easy search for more options if you like.
Bill
FL

 

See if this helps. A little out of date, but still some good info. The Odyssey is the other top end battery, although my Interstate MTP91 is still going strong and half the price.

The AGM batteries have the advantage of being able to be deep discharged dozens of times without degradation. Plus they cannot leak.
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I put one in my Challenge car too, Bill.

Braille lithium technology powered all Indy cars in this year's Indianapolis 500. They're found in Rolex 24 Hours GTD Class cars too...
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I haven't used anything but Interstate batteries in my cars and trucks for over ten years. Had a bad cell in a 14 month old Interstate battery in the 456M, and it was covered under warranty.

You can keep your fancy, schmancy, "Batteries for Blind People." lol.

Cheers,

George

 

I have had an excellent experience with AAA Battery Service. One of their batteries has been in my 575 for over a year with no issues. Price and warrantee are competitive. Their database contains Ferrari models and will select the battery that matches the specs. An added bonus is that they send a truck to your location for installation and warrantee replacements. If you have a Maranello, this allows you to remove/install the coolant tank yourself rather than allowing a shop with unknown Ferrari experience to experiment on your car.

Recently, my car was not driven for a month but fired up perfectly without ever being on a charger. I typically drive it about two weekends per month and the AAA battery has maintained its charge while sitting.

 

I agree.

I have purged almost my entire client base of exotic batteries and we have no more battery problems. We had more Optima failures than all other brands and types combined. If there is a battery life issue 99% of the time it is a car electrical system issue and not the battery.


Ferrari for a period used Optimas as OE but quit (in about 2 years they got smart). I was hired as an expert in a case involving a Scuderia with phantom, random electronic system issues, a car with the OE Optima. My investigation was strongly leading towards it as the cause but the plug got pulled before my part came to fruition. In the end all I can say is for a car depending on a very stable voltage supply to critical systems it is not a good choice.

 

I recently had a battery failure, bad cell, with my 29 month old Interstate MTP-91 over Memorial Day weekend in my 550 and spent all day Friday riding around Ft Walton Beach unsuccessfully looking for a replacement. The good news is, that after a 6.5 hr trip back home...not cutting the car off, a got a free battery under warranty..

The reason for the post is this...the MTP-91 has been replaced by the MTP-48/H6, which should be commonly available at most Interstate retailers, including Firestone, Tires Plus and others. However, the ability of many retailers to cross reference this, in my experience, is questionable.

So this is my second Interstate battery to fail in the 2-3 year time frame and I am thinking the engine is too hot for this type of battery. Interstate tried to install an upgraded Interstate AMG battery, closed cell, better temp tolerance etc., but it is slightly too tall for the angle brackets.

I must say that an additional $75-$100 for a more reliable battery is better than an impaired vacation. I just don't know what is more reliable and fits. Doug

 

Doug- The replacement is actually the MTP-91/T6, the MTP-48/H6 is another good alternative. In the olden days, these came with an 85 month warranty, but that has been shortened to 72 months for both, hence the change in name.

Batteries - Mega-Tron Plus 91/T6 Automotive Battery Six-Year Performance 60 Ah

Brian- Are you still able to get the Delco 91 you mentioned once? Always liked Delco batteries.

 

They changed the name to 91PS


I wouldn't call Interstate the end all be all of batteries but we have used many and I have seen far less reliable batteries. I have only ever had to warranty one. Interstate has a very aggressive marketing and distribution program so they are everywhere. The stocking dealers pay nothing for inventory and get a good mark up on the product. No questions asked for returns. Hard deal to turn down for the parts houses.
I also have seen zero evidence they tolerate the heat of the engine bay any better or worse than any other brand.

Since Ferrari went away from Bosch alternators everything they have used since is a bit of a time bomb and have no tolerance for the universally compromised batteries we see in Ferrari's. Few shops seem to understand how to properly test an alternator and most go undiagnosed for a very long period of time. We test them on routine services and it seems about 50% of the fist time visits here have a bad alternator.

 

Brian- So maybe I am full of crap and that heavier duty alternator is a good idea?

 

My MTP-91 failed after 40 months. There was some noticeable change in how the car started before it flatlined. There was a bad cell. I replaced it with a MTP-91/T6. The dealer where I bought the battery wasn't surprised given the car and the fact it was a garage queen before I bought it. Interstate is given me credit/refund for old battery which was purchased by the former owner of the car.

Taz - You always mention a vent. The battery I replaced wasn't vented. Should one be added?

 

From the stand point of output they already are. From the stand point of durability not so much but that is normal for the Japanese alternators. I am not ordinarily a huge fan of Bosch but they do make good alternators. When the auto industry went to 100+ amp alternators the Bosch offering was huge and expensive. The auto manufacturers wanted neither so they went with the small Japanese hand grenades. They'll be OK if the battery is kept up and you use the car regularly so it shouldn't be a problem. The problem arises when every infrequent time the car is used the alternator needs to work flat out because the battery is half dead. Bosch alternators can shrug that off but not the Japanese parts. For the Japanese, rated output is maximum and the fuse gets lit. Bosch considers maximum as max for a 100% duty cycle.

When all this began Ferrari went with Delco. For the TR they went with the big expensive police/ambulance alternator. Those things never break. But for the V8 cars starting with 348 and Mondial t they used a little Delco tinker toy. Those were so bad Ferrari covered replacement with a Nippondenso update kit for quite a few years after warranty ran out. Cost a bundle. Well they figured out the Japanese parts were good enough to get the cars far enough past warranty they didn't need to feel responsible.

 

Under the hood is not as big an issue as in the interior of the car but a vent tube will prevent getting any possible overflow away from fragile parts. The old regular MTP had an oval vent right at front center of the top of the battery. There was a vent kit available from Interstate to attach a rubber tube to that port and point a hose overboard to the cars right side of the battery, down behind the right front wheel.

 

Bill- Both Ferrari and Interstate make a vent hose that will fit. Most Interstate dealers throw in the vent hose if asked, and there is a Ferrari one on e-bay for about $2 last time I looked. It does not match the vent fitting perfectly, but will expand enough to work. That is what mine has. The early 575Ms came with the VR760 FIAMM battery, an AGM battery that did not need a vent hose and was also fitted to the 360 and F430 because of their interior location. Ferrari later went to a conventional lead acid battery that was sealed for the 575M, but did require a vent hose, the FIAMM L3 80.

The Interstate vent kit part number is 7003051, and I would definitely want one to prevent acid fumes from affecting the battery mounts, about $5.

Looks like a bit of a price increase on the OEM vent hose, now $8.

Ferrari 575 Tube for Battery Acid Ferrari Part 180056 | eBay