BrianCunningham

Thinking of relocating the battery to the rear storage compartment.

Who's done it? Is it worth it?

What's the biggest battey you can fit back there?
Which sealed vented container did you use?

65Z01

I haven't done it and don't think it's "worth it" though it's a 50lb weight transfer. It would be a PITA, needs special enclosure and venting.

If you are pushing the envelope in road race or drag racing maybe you would benefit.

Dr. Doom

Not if you use the Optima battery- it is self-contained- no venting needed. All you would need to do is secure it. Been thinking about this myself. I think that when I need a new battery, I will do this.

Sideways

I've seen a daily driver/track car where the spare tire was removed and the
battery relocated into that area. It has the advantage of being furthur
towards the rear and it is outside of the vehicle. You might even be able
to shift it to the passenger side a little to offset some of the driver's
weight.

I've also seen an Accusump mounted back there (different car). Not
necessarily for weight savings but it can be hard to find a location for
these.

I suppose that you could use one of those TireSealer kits that the C5s use
instead of toting the spare in the trunk.

AKS Racing

Brian,
I ordered the Optima this evening. I am almost ready to restart the car and decided since I had so much plumbing to complete in this area, I might as well do the battery relocate at the same time. This will ultimately make room for a fresh air kit in the previous battery compartment. The new location of the battery will preclude quick access if something should happen, so therfore I will also incorporate a safety kill (battery disconnect) switch. If you look at the back of my car, the battery will not be able to be seen, since I have the full Greenwood tunnel system. I have not had a spare in this car in probably ten years. The rear gas tank support is drilled with 1/2" holes every 1.5" (maybe) and it was done in a great pattern that looked nice, so I never put the spare back in.

The only thing I will have to work on is the mounting location. I'm sure I will fab something trick out of aluminum to mount all of this. Time to break out all that aluminum and the tig.

Best of luck,
Aaron

scorp508

AKS,

How do you like the greenwood package at high speeds?

JasonL

I've heard of the same thing, but I think if you put it that far back, you've actually increased the rotational inertia of the car while turning. Not a big deal in drag racing, but I would rather just leave it in the stock location than put the battery that close to the end of the car.

MarkBychowski

Brian, Exotic Muscle sells kits to relocate the battery. I don't know anything about them (quality, price, etc), but it might be worth calling them. Their website is http://www.exoticmuscle.com Judging from other stuff I've bought from them, their quality tends to be pretty good.
I would think it would be worth looking into because it's really closer to a 100 pound weight transfer if you think about it; you're removing ~50lbs from the front wheels and putting ~50lbs on the rear wheels.