The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas is a multi-day feast of modified cars for the eyes. That’s not all it is, though. It’s also a showcase of automotive parts and products, such as battery chargers from CTEK.
We caught CTEK’s MUS 4.3 battery charger connected to a 2017 Porsche 911 in Porsche Exclusive Miami Blue with yellow interior stitching and matching Sport Chrono Package stopwatch. Two of the car’s various sponsors also equipped it with a turbo back exhaust and modified Bilstein Clubsport coilovers. Let’s not forget the great-looking wheels, too.
The 4.3-amp unit is a cousin of the international market MXS 5.0, which not only charges, but also maintains and conditions batteries.
Putting the MXS 5.0 in its car mode sets it to charge the batteries of cars and larger vehicles. According to CTEK, “It will also manage [absorbent glass mat] AGM lead-acid batteries that are used in stop/start applications as well as leisure batteries. The stop/start functionality on many new cars puts the battery under tremendous strain, so this special AGM function can help to increase the battery life by up to three times.”
Setting the MXS 5.0 to its recondition mode allows it to extend the lives of older batteries by taking them back to their maximum energy storage capacities. There’s also a charge mode specifically for the batteries of motorcycles and small vehicles. Different maintenance stages enable the unit to maintain the charge in batteries of unused/stored vehicles without over- or under-charging them.
The CTEK MXS 5.0 battery charger retails for $92.99 and is covered by a five-year warranty. The MUS 4.3 has the same warranty and goes for $88.99.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
