Topic: Battery relocation

[Mr.Marky]

So a couple of u guys want to know what I did. I'll do my best to explain. First of cause remove fender and battery. Now I cut the supporting brackets which the battery sat on. You don't have to.


As you can see there's nothing there now. I connected the new postive to the old and used the old connector to tighten down on the new wiring. You must make sure you get a good ground on the negitive end. I went to the frame rail. You can cut the battery connector off or not. It depends on the way you are going to connect the wiring to a ground. Here you can see the postive wire as it runs into the body of the car.

It was a pain in the @$$ to do this so remove the rear fender cover first, but with a guide wire and time it can be done. Once you get it to the back, it's e-z to find the hole which you need to run it into the trunk.

Now if you want you can cut into the trunk and have the postive wire enter anywhere. But I think this is the best way to keep the wire away from the exhaust and etc. Here's the new ground for the battery, this is the best ground I found in the trunk. This bolt does connect into the frame.

I like using top termanls, this way it doesn't use up too much room in the trunk. But side mount ones would save you from having to make room for the top ones. As seen here.

For holding down the battery I used the standard piece the car came with. With a nut under the car.


I cut the mat in the trunk and used it to cover the battery to finish the job.


It's not the cleanest job but it cost $0. I was able to get the postive and negitive wires out of a old BMW.  I hope that this can answer any questions you may have. Anyone can always pst me with any questions, and I will try to answer.

[Yamatr3]

Thanks for the write up.  I am going to do this for sure.  Where did you get the wire from to extend the factory cable?  Is it anything special for automotive?

[spicy3480]

That's a very good idea...that stock battery is also very heavy on top of being inconvenient to change...LOL. Thanks for the post Mr. Marky!

[Go-N Def]

So why was this done again? I think I remember something about relocating your foot panel fuse box.  Right???

Honestly, I can only see one benefit otherwise - Putting more weight over the rear wheels for better hole-shots off the line.

It seems to me, though, it would decrease your handling in the twisties since it takes weight off of the front tires and and puts it high in the rear of the car.  Also, now you have even less trunk room.

If anyone is going to do this mod, I would recommend a sealed gel battery like an Optima.  They don't off-gas like lead acid batteries do, plus they wont leak fluids all over the place if they get ruptured for some reason.

[lil goat]

I'm with Go-N Def on the the battery, you can also get a dry cell Odyssey, no way I would put a lead acid battery in my truck, and the dry cell weighs a lot less too.

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc1200.htm

[Cheers]

THANKS!

[Mr.Marky]

Yes I'm going to get a gel battery this summer. Reasons for moving the battery. One it offsets weight (Front to back)(and it's hard to notice but it's set to the right side of the car to off set my weight). Less heat in trunk so battery should last longer. But the big reason for me was to make room for the fuse box. Now it's placed down where the battery was so air can flow out of my fenders. I'm fully vented.  As for room in the trunk I pack light..."no passengers".
 
And yes I did move my inside fuse box. It's up against the bottom of the glove box, which makes for about three inches of more leg room. For when the ..."no passengers" law is broken.

[lil goat]

Cooler in the trunk, ah maybe not. It gets very hot back there, I have melted things in my luggage. The muffler is right under the trunk.

[Morfious]

Muffler?!?  What muffler, I ripped that thing out long ago thanks to my Solo Street Race system.

I agree about the Optima or Odyssey battery.  Also a proper battery box would be a safer and cleaner install.  Heck you could go full on race car and install a kill switch on the outside as well!!

[Yamatr3]

Does anyone know the wire gauge of the positive wire?  If I ordered 2 AWG would that work?
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=100-180

Or would this be better?

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=100-970

[2kwk4u]

2 AWG would be better than the other stuff you linked to.  The lower number, the thicker the wire.  The thicker the wire, the less resistance.  The longer the run, the larger the gauge you'll need to be safe.  The other stuff you linked to was 6AWG.  I wouldn't even use that to power the amps in an aftermarket stereo system.  You can never go "Too thick."  Sure, at some point you're at overkill, but it's better than taking the chance of cooking the insulation off the wire.  Then you have REAL problems! (like your battery could explode if it shorts to ground).

[Go-N Def]

Bigger is usually better, but there is also quality to consider.  This is coming from a car audio guy.  I re-wired everything in my Explorer with 1/0 AWG from JL Audio.  Of course, I was running 1300w RMS (about 4000-5000w Peak) worth of amplifiers at the time.

Something to consider when running battery cables is suppleness.  Especially if you have to run it through a maze of tight turns.  In that aspect, JL Audio is one of the best on the market...

[Yamatr3]

I'll go with the first one.  Only reason I posted the second one was because it said it was battery wire.

[DeepBlueGXP]

Good luck with the upgrade.   Take some pics of the progress

[Gunnys GXP]

Yes I'm going to get a gel battery this summer. Reasons for moving the battery. One it offsets weight (Front to back)(and it's hard to notice but it's set to the right side of the car to off set my weight). Less heat in trunk so battery should last longer. But the big reason for me was to make room for the fuse box. Now it's placed down where the battery was so air can flow out of my fenders. I'm fully vented.  As for room in the trunk I pack light..."no passengers".
 
And yes I did move my inside fuse box. It's up against the bottom of the glove box, which makes for about three inches of more leg room. For when the ..."no passengers" law is broken.

Can you please do a DIY thread on the inner cabin fuse box relocation?  I want to do this to mine.  I HAVE A PLAN.....HMUAAHHAHAHAH!

[Johnny-Longtorso]

Not sure what anyone else's experience has been, but I've gone through 2 Optima batteries in my Mustang and they suck.  They do not last. After about a year in service they drain amazingly fast (I was chatting with a guy after some back-roads fun for about 10 minutes with my fogs on and the car barely restarted).  I started with a red top and then went to a yellow top (deep cycle marine) - several hundred bucks wasted.

Someone mentioned that it was lighter - no experience with the ones that fit the Kappa, but decidedly untrue of those that fit a Mustang... possibly even (much) heavier.

I'm sticking with the lead-acid units.

YMMV

[lil goat]

The Optima's are heavier the Odessey's are lighter by a lot and much smaller as well, I am just now experiencing the same thing you did with my Optima in my truck, I have a small Odessey for my car but have not installed it yet, it came off my Harley they use the same battery strangely enough, I had to get a bigger battery for the bike the 11 to 1 compression was eating the Odessey up.

[Imaj]

If I wanted to get the same small battery you have goat...What is the model and where do I get it? Also, do I need ant special support clamps and stuff like that? Thanks!

[Mac]

You know once the stock muf is out there is alot of unused space , you could french the battery down in and lower the weights cg as well. The stock muf is HUGE takes up the whole rear of the car

[lil goat]

If I wanted to get the same small battery you have goat...What is the model and where do I get it? Also, do I need ant special support clamps and stuff like that? Thanks!

 I have been looking and reading there is one called a Dyna BatT that might be even better, it has pretty good reviews for the most part, it is $99 but the mounting bracket is $79 WTF. I am looking at this one as it has the right posts and everything.

5575B   Dyna Batt with Top Post Terminals     $99.00

Part# 5475 (Dyna Batt Bracket) $79.00
http://www.performancedistributors.com/batteries.htm


Lighten up your street car, hot rod or race car! Remove the heavy 40 lb battery and replace
it with Performance Distributors 13.5 lb Dyna-Batt. The Dyna Batt produces more power per
pound than any battery on the market. It has the cranking power of wet cell batteries three
times its size! This is due to the extremely low internal resistance which allows faster, more
consistant starting. The Dyna Batt does not have a cold cranking amp rating like other
batteries, but has been tested to crank engines with compression ratios as high as 15:1.
The reserve capacity of the Dyna Batt is 16 Amp Hours. The Dyna-Batt is completely dry
cell and can withstand the rigors of high performance and racing enviornments. It is built
with corrosion resistant terminals and is truly maintenance free. The Dyna Batt has an
excellent storage life and recharges very quickly. Any 12 volt charger can be used to
recharge the Dyna Batt but a low amperage battery charger/maintainer, much like the
charger/maintainer we sell listed below, is recommended to avoid overcharging the battery.
This battery works great with one of our alternators!
SPECIFICATIONS: Weight = 13.5 lbs, Dimensions: Length = 7", Width = 3" & Height = 6 1/2" ,
Reserve Capacity = 16 Amp hours, Cold Cranking Amps = Not Rated

Here is the link for the Oddessey batteries, this is what I have left over from my bike. I think I will make a jump start kit out of it, the one I have has the wrong terminals for a car.
http://www.odysseybattery.com/batteries.html

[snaponbob]

Interesting thread. First time I've seen it.

1) The Dyno Batt has received some real good comments everywhere.
2) Having had a lot of experience with multiple Snap-On tool trucks (mine and others) I've learned a lot (good and bad) about standard and deep cycle batteries ('cause they have both and use them HARD). Power storage and constant controlled discharge (powering electrical equipment, trolling motors, etc.) deep cycle = perfect, regular batteries = bad. Lots of quick charge/discharge use (like cars, trucks, bikes, etc.) deep cycle = LOUSY, regular batteries = great. Some of the small batteries get down to 9 pounds, can have as much as 700CCA(!!!), and cost north of $200. In the +/- $100 neighborhood there are a lot of really good batteries for our cars (500-600CCA) that will weigh 10-13 pounds. They will NOT live as long as a "normal" battery so one just have to sort of expect failures sooner.
3) Our Canadian friends should thing about stock style batteries.
4) Placing the battery will balance the car a bit better. Up near the bulkhead might be better.
5) If a trunk mounted battery goes dead, you damn well better have a plan for how you are going to start the car !!!!!!
6) Goat has uncovered a REAL   issue with the mounts. They are CRAZY expensive.  

p.s. Gonna do it over the winter.

[Ben L]

I run a Braille "no weight" in the Coupe.  Cranking power is amazing, but probably would not so good on a car running lots of accessories with the motor off, because I doubt it cycles very deep.  Its compact and lightweight in the extreme, and can be mounted in any position

Specs are:

P/N  B2015

15lbs/6.8kg
1067 Pulse Cranking Amps
20 Amp/Hr Reserve
6.8” x 3.4” x 6.1"


Right Side Positive

[lil goat]

One of my Drift buddies Tanner Foust  is sponsored by Braille, it is a tad smaller and more expensive that the Dyna Batt, I just love the name and logo, and certainly a lot lighter than the stock one at 15lbs, it's about $150

The Braille 3121 has a ton of power and is only 21 pounds and still pretty small

21lbs/9.5kg
1380 Pulse Cranking Amps
31 Amp/Hr Reserve
6.6” x 5.2” x 6.8"
Right Side Positive
MSRP 179.99

[Mac]

"This battery works great with one of our alternators!"

So to use on the street you need a special alternator?  Do all these dry cell light type need that? what that cost and will it work with our finicky ECU?

All these could be mounted under frame why use trunk at all? You could pick where you want this 14 pounds and keep it very LOW. nice way to drop 15 pounds and move 15 to the back. The V8 guys this will get it closer to stock corner wieght. You could make that braket yourself but for what 80$ save the trouble.

[snaponbob]

"This battery works great with one of our alternators!"

So to use on the street you need a special alternator?  Do all these dry cell light type need that? what that cost and will it work with our finicky ECU?

All these could be mounted under frame why use trunk at all? You could pick where you want this 14 pounds and keep it very LOW. nice way to drop 15 pounds and move 15 to the back. The V8 guys this will get it closer to stock corner wieght. You could make that braket yourself but for what 80$ save the trouble.

They just want to sell an alternator !!!!!!!!!!!!! As far as mounting under the car, that is asking for all sorts of challenges with road salts, foreign object damage, and all sorts of stuff. My plan will be in the right front corner of the trunk.