Battery Relocation kit or DIY
08-19-2008, 05:32 PM
#1
Drifting
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Battery Relocation kit or DIY
I'm interested in moving my battery from the front engine area to the rear passenger compartment much like a Z06. What would it take, any kits, or any write ups on this yet? I'm also curious if this would really help in weight distribution, considering I will also purchase a very light weight battery. Braille 6-11.5-15pounder...
08-19-2008, 05:46 PM
#2
Instructor
Good move (no pun intended). This also gets it away from the heat of the engine bay. The Optima would be a good choice. Yes? No?
Don't forget when calculating the front/rear weight ratio by adding to the rear also subtract from the front. A 40lb battery will change the ratio by 80lbs.
Don't forget when calculating the front/rear weight ratio by adding to the rear also subtract from the front. A 40lb battery will change the ratio by 80lbs.
Last edited by DeeDubya; 08-19-2008 at 05:51 PM.
08-19-2008, 06:03 PM
#3
Race Director
I'm interested in moving my battery from the front engine area to the rear passenger compartment much like a Z06. What would it take, any kits, or any write ups on this yet? I'm also curious if this would really help in weight distribution, considering I will also purchase a very light weight battery. Braille 6-11.5-15pounder...
Purchased 32 feet of 1-ga. cable at Lowes ($75), 2 copper solder terminals, and 2 screw clamp terminals. No particular reason for either choice, though the soldered ones theoretically conduct better.
Purchased 1 Optima Blue Top (marine) rated at 750CCA with a 120mn reserve. Stock requirement is 84 sched. 590 CCA, but I would get as much CCA as possible, given the distance the power has to flow. Remember that DC current degrades rapidly with cable length.
The Optima drops right in the left storage compartment with a bit of room to spare, which is important for cables, and eventually, the trickle charger, which is mounted right alonside the battery in the side cove. The right side is to small and I did not want to relocate / carve up the box to make it work. What is cool is that both compartments are supported by a large strong steel bracket welded to the frame. Thank you GM.
The rest was mostly a matter of threading the 1-aught cable through the rocker panels, securing it carefully in the wheel well area, and putting protective sheathing on the Positive cable inareas where it is directly exposed to road debris. This cable went down the pass. side, q-panel, into the rocker panel (lots of space but a PITA to extract at the rear), behind the rear brake duct, up over the upper a-arm near the shock, and through the rear valence panel over to the compartment. Used Zip ties liberally.
Up front, punched 2 holes far apart in the glas battery base, and bolted both neg and pos. cables to the existing batter posts, with both assemblies bolted firmly in place. The idea, up front and in back, was to be able to return everything to stock with no sign of the mod, so nothing was butchered or cut (except for the three holes inside the rear compartment).
About the power: get all that you can. The Optima is heavier than I wanted (45lb) but compact and most importantly, powerful. Despite the use of 1-aught cables, the weak link remains the crappy stock cables between the OEM battery location and the starter etc., and the crappy Al battery terminals. This results in power losses. Add the remote location, the big motor's start requirements, and you will really want that 750CCA minimum. I would not risk anything less, unless you plan to carry jumpers with you everywhere you go and use them often.
Bonus is the battery will last > 1 year and the car is now truly 50/50, though a bit heavier on the DR. side.
08-20-2008, 12:08 AM
#6
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I just did this myself, no kit.
Purchased 32 feet of 1-ga. cable at Lowes ($75), 2 copper solder terminals, and 2 screw clamp terminals. No particular reason for either choice, though the soldered ones theoretically conduct better.
Purchased 1 Optima Blue Top (marine) rated at 750CCA with a 120mn reserve. Stock requirement is 84 sched. 590 CCA, but I would get as much CCA as possible, given the distance the power has to flow. Remember that DC current degrades rapidly with cable length.
The Optima drops right in the left storage compartment with a bit of room to spare, which is important for cables, and eventually, the trickle charger, which is mounted right alonside the battery in the side cove. The right side is to small and I did not want to relocate / carve up the box to make it work. What is cool is that both compartments are supported by a large strong steel bracket welded to the frame. Thank you GM.
The rest was mostly a matter of threading the 1-aught cable through the rocker panels, securing it carefully in the wheel well area, and putting protective sheathing on the Positive cable inareas where it is directly exposed to road debris. This cable went down the pass. side, q-panel, into the rocker panel (lots of space but a PITA to extract at the rear), behind the rear brake duct, up over the upper a-arm near the shock, and through the rear valence panel over to the compartment. Used Zip ties liberally.
Up front, punched 2 holes far apart in the glas battery base, and bolted both neg and pos. cables to the existing batter posts, with both assemblies bolted firmly in place. The idea, up front and in back, was to be able to return everything to stock with no sign of the mod, so nothing was butchered or cut (except for the three holes inside the rear compartment).
About the power: get all that you can. The Optima is heavier than I wanted (45lb) but compact and most importantly, powerful. Despite the use of 1-aught cables, the weak link remains the crappy stock cables between the OEM battery location and the starter etc., and the crappy Al battery terminals. This results in power losses. Add the remote location, the big motor's start requirements, and you will really want that 750CCA minimum. I would not risk anything less, unless you plan to carry jumpers with you everywhere you go and use them often.
Bonus is the battery will last > 1 year and the car is now truly 50/50, though a bit heavier on the DR. side.
Purchased 32 feet of 1-ga. cable at Lowes ($75), 2 copper solder terminals, and 2 screw clamp terminals. No particular reason for either choice, though the soldered ones theoretically conduct better.
Purchased 1 Optima Blue Top (marine) rated at 750CCA with a 120mn reserve. Stock requirement is 84 sched. 590 CCA, but I would get as much CCA as possible, given the distance the power has to flow. Remember that DC current degrades rapidly with cable length.
The Optima drops right in the left storage compartment with a bit of room to spare, which is important for cables, and eventually, the trickle charger, which is mounted right alonside the battery in the side cove. The right side is to small and I did not want to relocate / carve up the box to make it work. What is cool is that both compartments are supported by a large strong steel bracket welded to the frame. Thank you GM.
The rest was mostly a matter of threading the 1-aught cable through the rocker panels, securing it carefully in the wheel well area, and putting protective sheathing on the Positive cable inareas where it is directly exposed to road debris. This cable went down the pass. side, q-panel, into the rocker panel (lots of space but a PITA to extract at the rear), behind the rear brake duct, up over the upper a-arm near the shock, and through the rear valence panel over to the compartment. Used Zip ties liberally.
Up front, punched 2 holes far apart in the glas battery base, and bolted both neg and pos. cables to the existing batter posts, with both assemblies bolted firmly in place. The idea, up front and in back, was to be able to return everything to stock with no sign of the mod, so nothing was butchered or cut (except for the three holes inside the rear compartment).
About the power: get all that you can. The Optima is heavier than I wanted (45lb) but compact and most importantly, powerful. Despite the use of 1-aught cables, the weak link remains the crappy stock cables between the OEM battery location and the starter etc., and the crappy Al battery terminals. This results in power losses. Add the remote location, the big motor's start requirements, and you will really want that 750CCA minimum. I would not risk anything less, unless you plan to carry jumpers with you everywhere you go and use them often.
Bonus is the battery will last > 1 year and the car is now truly 50/50, though a bit heavier on the DR. side.
I would really appreciate some pictures of the wire routing since I am planning this mod. A few technical comments:I'm surprised to see you went with a marine battery... Optima doesn't list a blue top for the Corvette... Not an issue though; anything by Optima is top notch.
Not sure if Lowes 1Ga cable is rated for this kind of use.. I would want to make sure it is because in the event of a fire an insurance company could attempt to deny your claim on the basis of improper wiring. Any idea what the rating of the wire is?
The CCA of a battery is essentially a battery's internal resistance at 0F; the resistance of your typical battery is such that I would not expect the cable run to make a very significant contribution to the entire system. Actually, lets take a look at the math behind it:
Your blue top is rated at 750cca. It is a 12V battery.
I = V/R, so the resistance of the battery must be in the 0.016Ohm range at 0F.
The resistance of 1AWG wire is approx 0.0001265ohms/ft
A 30ft run of 1gauge wire will have a resistance of 0.0038ohms.
Thus adding 30ft of 1 gauge wire to the battery will lower its effective CCA to about 610A. OK, I guess the contribution is more significant than I expected
18% to be exact. 9% if the wire run is 15ft though. And that's 15ft over the stock wire run.Bear in mind though that those 750CCA the battery is rated for become well over 1000CA at normal ambien temperatures
Also bear in mind these calculations assume zero wire length for the factory setup and 30ft length for the trunk mounted batt; not too realistic.One more question: Did you ground the battery in the trunk or did you run a ground wire all the way to the front of the car?
Last edited by PowerLabs; 08-20-2008 at 12:11 AM.
08-20-2008, 02:18 AM
#7
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I just did this myself, no kit.
Purchased 32 feet of 1-ga. cable at Lowes ($75), 2 copper solder terminals, and 2 screw clamp terminals. No particular reason for either choice, though the soldered ones theoretically conduct better.
Purchased 1 Optima Blue Top (marine) rated at 750CCA with a 120mn reserve. Stock requirement is 84 sched. 590 CCA, but I would get as much CCA as possible, given the distance the power has to flow. Remember that DC current degrades rapidly with cable length.
The Optima drops right in the left storage compartment with a bit of room to spare, which is important for cables, and eventually, the trickle charger, which is mounted right alonside the battery in the side cove. The right side is to small and I did not want to relocate / carve up the box to make it work. What is cool is that both compartments are supported by a large strong steel bracket welded to the frame. Thank you GM.
The rest was mostly a matter of threading the 1-aught cable through the rocker panels, securing it carefully in the wheel well area, and putting protective sheathing on the Positive cable inareas where it is directly exposed to road debris. This cable went down the pass. side, q-panel, into the rocker panel (lots of space but a PITA to extract at the rear), behind the rear brake duct, up over the upper a-arm near the shock, and through the rear valence panel over to the compartment. Used Zip ties liberally.
Up front, punched 2 holes far apart in the glas battery base, and bolted both neg and pos. cables to the existing batter posts, with both assemblies bolted firmly in place. The idea, up front and in back, was to be able to return everything to stock with no sign of the mod, so nothing was butchered or cut (except for the three holes inside the rear compartment).
About the power: get all that you can. The Optima is heavier than I wanted (45lb) but compact and most importantly, powerful. Despite the use of 1-aught cables, the weak link remains the crappy stock cables between the OEM battery location and the starter etc., and the crappy Al battery terminals. This results in power losses. Add the remote location, the big motor's start requirements, and you will really want that 750CCA minimum. I would not risk anything less, unless you plan to carry jumpers with you everywhere you go and use them often.
Bonus is the battery will last > 1 year and the car is now truly 50/50, though a bit heavier on the DR. side.
Purchased 32 feet of 1-ga. cable at Lowes ($75), 2 copper solder terminals, and 2 screw clamp terminals. No particular reason for either choice, though the soldered ones theoretically conduct better.
Purchased 1 Optima Blue Top (marine) rated at 750CCA with a 120mn reserve. Stock requirement is 84 sched. 590 CCA, but I would get as much CCA as possible, given the distance the power has to flow. Remember that DC current degrades rapidly with cable length.
The Optima drops right in the left storage compartment with a bit of room to spare, which is important for cables, and eventually, the trickle charger, which is mounted right alonside the battery in the side cove. The right side is to small and I did not want to relocate / carve up the box to make it work. What is cool is that both compartments are supported by a large strong steel bracket welded to the frame. Thank you GM.
The rest was mostly a matter of threading the 1-aught cable through the rocker panels, securing it carefully in the wheel well area, and putting protective sheathing on the Positive cable inareas where it is directly exposed to road debris. This cable went down the pass. side, q-panel, into the rocker panel (lots of space but a PITA to extract at the rear), behind the rear brake duct, up over the upper a-arm near the shock, and through the rear valence panel over to the compartment. Used Zip ties liberally.
Up front, punched 2 holes far apart in the glas battery base, and bolted both neg and pos. cables to the existing batter posts, with both assemblies bolted firmly in place. The idea, up front and in back, was to be able to return everything to stock with no sign of the mod, so nothing was butchered or cut (except for the three holes inside the rear compartment).
About the power: get all that you can. The Optima is heavier than I wanted (45lb) but compact and most importantly, powerful. Despite the use of 1-aught cables, the weak link remains the crappy stock cables between the OEM battery location and the starter etc., and the crappy Al battery terminals. This results in power losses. Add the remote location, the big motor's start requirements, and you will really want that 750CCA minimum. I would not risk anything less, unless you plan to carry jumpers with you everywhere you go and use them often.
Bonus is the battery will last > 1 year and the car is now truly 50/50, though a bit heavier on the DR. side.
Thanks for the tip! I would like to see your setup, mind posting a pic or two?
BTW..your screen name, are you a previous FD (93-95 RX-7) owner?
08-20-2008, 03:41 AM
#8
Race Director
I would really appreciate some pictures of the wire routing since I am planning this mod. A few technical comments: I'm surprised to see you went with a marine battery... Optima doesn't list a blue top for the Corvette... Not an issue though; anything by Optima is top notch.
Not sure if Lowes 1Ga cable is rated for this kind of use.. I would want to make sure it is because in the event of a fire an insurance company could attempt to deny your claim on the basis of improper wiring. Any idea what the rating of the wire is?
The CCA of a battery is essentially a battery's internal resistance at 0F; the resistance of your typical battery is such that I would not expect the cable run to make a very significant contribution to the entire system. Actually, lets take a look at the math behind it:
Your blue top is rated at 750cca. It is a 12V battery.
I = V/R, so the resistance of the battery must be in the 0.016Ohm range at 0F.
The resistance of 1AWG wire is approx 0.0001265ohms/ft
A 30ft run of 1gauge wire will have a resistance of 0.0038ohms.
Thus adding 30ft of 1 gauge wire to the battery will lower its effective CCA to about 610A. OK, I guess the contribution is more significant than I expected 18% to be exact. 9% if the wire run is 15ft though. And that's 15ft over the stock wire run.
Bear in mind though that those 750CCA the battery is rated for become well over 1000CA at normal ambien temperatures Also bear in mind these calculations assume zero wire length for the factory setup and 30ft length for the trunk mounted batt; not too realistic.
One more question: Did you ground the battery in the trunk or did you run a ground wire all the way to the front of the car?
Not sure if Lowes 1Ga cable is rated for this kind of use.. I would want to make sure it is because in the event of a fire an insurance company could attempt to deny your claim on the basis of improper wiring. Any idea what the rating of the wire is?
The CCA of a battery is essentially a battery's internal resistance at 0F; the resistance of your typical battery is such that I would not expect the cable run to make a very significant contribution to the entire system. Actually, lets take a look at the math behind it:
Your blue top is rated at 750cca. It is a 12V battery.
I = V/R, so the resistance of the battery must be in the 0.016Ohm range at 0F.
The resistance of 1AWG wire is approx 0.0001265ohms/ft
A 30ft run of 1gauge wire will have a resistance of 0.0038ohms.
Thus adding 30ft of 1 gauge wire to the battery will lower its effective CCA to about 610A. OK, I guess the contribution is more significant than I expected
18% to be exact. 9% if the wire run is 15ft though. And that's 15ft over the stock wire run.Bear in mind though that those 750CCA the battery is rated for become well over 1000CA at normal ambien temperatures
Also bear in mind these calculations assume zero wire length for the factory setup and 30ft length for the trunk mounted batt; not too realistic.One more question: Did you ground the battery in the trunk or did you run a ground wire all the way to the front of the car?
Yes, I used a cable for Neg. as well. Thought of the chassis grounding route to save 5lb, but the Lingenfelter website only recommended this for racing applications, so I took the conservative route. I understand the actual flow occurs mainly on the Neg. side so I am considering a ground strap at the rear as well.
The Lowe's 1AWG wire is household UL-rated at 480V 120A 105C, which I quickly figured was equivalent to 12V 4800A. Since it goes near the gas tank, and not being sure of my conversion to current handling at 12V, I did check temp after repeated starts and it is cold as a fish at the battery.
Again, the car is hampered by the absolutely horrendous cable quality and connections between the OEM battery and the engine block. It is not even decent 2AWG, more like -3 or even -4.
The simple answer to my Optima choice is that it was the smallest battery that fit in the cubby, was available that day at Autozone, and had the terminals I wanted (wingnuts vs. auto terminals - which take up less space). It has otherwise similar specs to the Red Top (auto). It trades 50 CCA for better reserve, which I wanted, being sick of listening to the XM with the engine off, wondering how much juice I had left. I was frankly in a hurry to get this done, as my 3rd engine-mounted battery had just failed, so I had to make quick decisions with what was available.
The Braille batteries Tavarez points out were unknown to me, but the specs on the website look promising given the size. That said, I do not see any special technology here that Genesis / others do not already use, so I would be conservative and use the B3121 with it's 550 CCA at a minimum. Tavarez, please let us know how these batteries work out. It would be really cool if one of the slimmer units could be shoehorned into the right-side cubby without enlarging it.
PowerLabs, I have pics and will be happy to share them if someone can host them. Just PM me your email.
08-20-2008, 06:32 AM
#9
Race Director
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NCM Sinkhole Donor
Depending on the BlueTop that he got, the only difference is that the marine has a stud to go along with the SAE post. If the BlueTop has a dark gray/black bottom, it is the same as a RedTop, if it is light gray, it is the same as a YellowTop. The light gray bottoms or YellowTops work better because they are designed to take deep discharges.
08-20-2008, 08:15 AM
#10
Racer
Interesting mod, did this to most of my cars, but in this car I think it makes more sense to leave the location alone, and go with a lighter, better battery.
get an odyssey 9xx, and some better quality cables to the starter.
get an odyssey 9xx, and some better quality cables to the starter.
08-20-2008, 08:42 AM
#11
Pro
I'm finishing up some other mods and relocating my battery to the right side (passenger) storage compartment. My car is an 08 with the onstar box in there too.
I got an Optima D51R, which could be installed in the engine compartment as well. For trunk mounting a D51 or D51R will work. This battery weighs 26lbs (stock is 38lbs) and has 450 CCA (at 0F) and 66 minute reserve capicity. It's approx 9"long x 5"wide x 9" tall
You can check out the battery specs here (scroll the chart down)
http://www.optimabatteries.com/optim...ical_specs.php
I'm using marine grade -1 AWG wire and the length is only about 10ft, using the right rear compartment. The marine grade wire has a lot more strands (around 900 I think) which makes it easier to work with (not as stiff) around corners etc.
It's a work in progress but I'll post a couple pics tonight
I got an Optima D51R, which could be installed in the engine compartment as well. For trunk mounting a D51 or D51R will work. This battery weighs 26lbs (stock is 38lbs) and has 450 CCA (at 0F) and 66 minute reserve capicity. It's approx 9"long x 5"wide x 9" tall
You can check out the battery specs here (scroll the chart down)
http://www.optimabatteries.com/optim...ical_specs.php
I'm using marine grade -1 AWG wire and the length is only about 10ft, using the right rear compartment. The marine grade wire has a lot more strands (around 900 I think) which makes it easier to work with (not as stiff) around corners etc.
It's a work in progress but I'll post a couple pics tonight
08-20-2008, 12:20 PM
#12
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This is a fairly common racers mod. Did this to my SCCA toyota corolla in 1974. Seems to me you would want to relocate it to the passenger side rear to offset driver weight. Just my .02
08-20-2008, 01:15 PM
#13
Race Director
Another idea would be to purchase the OEM Z06 right compartment and shoehorn it in.
Last edited by TTRotary; 08-20-2008 at 01:38 PM.
08-20-2008, 01:36 PM
#15
Race Director
08-20-2008, 02:53 PM
#17
Team Owner
Im also kicking around the idea of doing a battery relocation. In the spring when I do a supercharger install it will help redistribute the weight more evenly. But the issue I have is, a pretty powerful sound system. I have a 450 watt amp and a 300 watt one. If the car is at idle and Im listening to it loud the headlights will dim a bit on bass hits. The battery is holding up thus far but does anyone know how it will be with a rear mounted battery.
08-20-2008, 04:27 PM
#19
Racer
I still think a lighter battery in front is the way to go, you add 10lbs with cable and have loss of power from the lenght. A light oddyssey in front Imho. O and a small trickle with quick disconnect. On the z06 the battery location is the oil tank I think.
08-21-2008, 03:05 PM
#20
Race Director
The main reason I did mine frankly is that heat is killing my batteries.
The fact is that even with coating, headers cook everything nearby including the battery electrolyte. I had the third and most recent dead battery tested (a 850CCA Exide Orbital Select) and the three cells forming the corner of the battery facing the engine were almost totally dead. The corner cell on the opposite end was 95%.
I could have constructed some sort of a ducted enclosure, but it was just easier to use the rear compartment since the battery just drops right in.
I'll be curious to see how Tavarez does with the Braille battery.
The fact is that even with coating, headers cook everything nearby including the battery electrolyte. I had the third and most recent dead battery tested (a 850CCA Exide Orbital Select) and the three cells forming the corner of the battery facing the engine were almost totally dead. The corner cell on the opposite end was 95%.
I could have constructed some sort of a ducted enclosure, but it was just easier to use the rear compartment since the battery just drops right in.
I'll be curious to see how Tavarez does with the Braille battery.