1st Mods on 2020 GT500

[marklboris]

Mark,
I was just getting ready to order the CTEK Battery Sense and had a question. Does the device send your phone an alert about a low battery condition or do you have to constantly monitor the battery? The description was a little vague concerning this feature.

I haven't allowed the battery to go down that far. Every time I work on the car, I plug it into the CTEK charger (40-206 MXS 5.0) because I usually have the doors open and am constantly reviving the electrical to work on it. You do have to allow the notifications on the phone to be active all the time, not just when using the app otherwise if you want to see the battery condition, you have to refresh the app. With notifications always active for the app, it will connect to bluetooth when you get close to the car (in my case in the kitchen which is close to the garage) and you can check the status without having to manually connect. Today I am going to continue working on the interior ambient lighting (doors and footwells) and I will leave the charger off the car and see if the app alerts me that the battery is getting low.

Since this is bluetooth, it will only alert you if you are within about 30 feet or so of the car. On my other cars, I have always installed the Viper alarm/autostart system. I have the optional cellular module on them which will alert me no matter where I am of the condition of the battery, location of the car, speed the car if it's being driven by someone else, if the car is being tampered with, etc, etc. One time I was in Italy and had left my Ranger at the airport. I was gone just over two weeks and I got a notification that the battery was getting low. FROM ITALY I remotely started the truck and let it run about 15 minutes. The battery was charged enough when I got back two days later the truck started fine. I did not have an electrical draw on the truck. The battery was actually going bad and not holding a good charge. Replaced it of course.

I will let you know later today if I get an alert or not.

 

[kilobravo]

GREAT story, Mark, as is, I'm sure, the "inside Italy story." <smile>

Anxious to see that lighting project come to fruition. That's something I might actually try. <laughing>

Hope it's a 1X job.

 

[Snoopy49]

Mark,
Thanks for clearing that up for me and taking the time to put together that post, I really appreciate it.

 

[kilobravo]

I took advantage of crummy weather to get Sarah up in the air today and install the SlipLo skid pads.

Much easier than anticipated, I doubt it took me a half an hour and I used the entire box of 8 strips completely. Just enough so I should have enough for the '14 with the remaining box.

Thing is, I immediately saw some hits but I damn sure don't remember hearing or feeling them. Still pretty minimal.

Also discovered that some of the splitter bolts were loose. Need to see if those will tighten up tamarra.

Here are Before and After shots.

 

[Caballus]

Noticed you placed the skid pads in rows, KB. Second row is obvious, based on scrapes, but how did you determine where to place the first row?

 

[Snoopy49]

KB
I am a little worried about those skid protectors, they actually increase the chances of an impact because they are lower than the damaged part and the blunt leading edge would absorb the impact rather than deflecting it, so the chances are high that they could be sheared off or possibly cause damage to the panel.

 

[kilobravo]

If you watch the SlipLo clip, Earl, they address this issue directly. First, that 3M adhesive is there to stay. Secondly, when a splitter comes up on a concrete edge, whatever it may be, the splitter actually begins to bend up on contact allowing the scrape to occur as advertised on the polyurethane skid pads. It's a pretty convincing video.

As for the slightly lower height, maybe 3/16" I'd guess, if one ever gets that close to an obstacle and still doesn't hit it, I'd be amazed. :-) Bottom line, I think they'll do precisely what they're designed to do and they'll all be there when my driving days are done. <grin> I'd bet a good bit of dough on it.

 

[kilobravo]

..but how did you determine where to place the first row?

Cab: I sat at the side of the car and looked down the splitter, picturing a dicey "dip" situation. I was sure the back row would be precisely where it needs to be for the big, unexpected scrapes but...

I kept looking at how far the rest of the splitter stuck out from the first line of SlipLo's and I thought, at the right angle, that area could hit so that's the reason for the shorter, row two.

Plus, I had those pieces left over along with another full box for the '14. Didn't figure I'd need ten for that so I put 'em to use. NBD if they never touch a thing, either. :-)

 

[marklboris]

Ok Earl, here you go. I just walked into the kitchen (about 30 feet from the car in the garage) and both my watch and phone gave me a message on the lock screen that my battery needed to be charged. The CTEK Battery Sense app had a red dot notification on it also. Below is the locked screen and the app screen.

 

[Caballus]

Cab: I sat at the side of the car and looked down the splitter, picturing a dicey "dip" situation. I was sure the back row would be precisely where it needs to be for the big, unexpected scrapes but...

I kept looking at how far the rest of the splitter stuck out from the first line of SlipLo's and I thought, at the right angle, that area could hit so that's the reason for the shorter, row two.

Plus, I had those pieces left over along with another full box for the '14. Didn't figure I'd need ten for that so I put 'em to use. NBD if they never touch a thing, either. :-)

Got it. MK-1 Mod-1 eyeball, along with a little common sense. Works every time.

 

[Jmeo]

Ok Earl, here you go. I just walked into the kitchen (about 30 feet from the car in the garage) and both my watch and phone gave me a message on the lock screen that my battery needed to be charged. The CTEK Battery Sense app had a red dot notification on it also. Below is the locked screen and the app screen.

Pretty cool Mark. I need to stop following you, as you keep spending my money lol.

 

[kilobravo]

I gotta have that rig too, Jaime, don't feel too badly. :-)

 

[2020GT500]

Pretty cool Mark. I need to stop following you, as you keep spending my money lol.

Said the guy that bought the trailer, that I'm now trying to convince my wife to buy for Mother's Day!

 

[marklboris]

^^^^ Exactly

 

[Snoopy49]

I pulled the trigger on 2 CTEK Battery Sense monitors. I have never experienced a dead battery in my 2013, but I think the 2020 is going to be a problem child so that one was a no brainer. The battery in the 2013 is the original, so I figured it would wise to monitor it.

Thanks Mark for pushing me over the edge.