el es tu

here is the Shorai LFX36L3-BS12

looks like a baby compared to the stock one

its very small now but one day (if it eats all of its vegetables) it may grow into a big piece of **** just like the lead acid batteries

specs are 540 cold cranking amps and 5 lbs vs 36lbs

several forum members have tried this battery and after my delco recently died, I decided to upgrade. The mounts for the posts are threaded m6x1 which requires special sae to m6 terminal posts. I just decided to make adapters out of 1/8" aluminum and use regular 3/8" sae posts...




here is the battery hold down I used - 4.99 from autozone. It comes with j hooks or "bolts," but they are too long and after I tried to thread them further, the bolts were so thin that the wing nuts still didnt get a good grip, so I just went with the 8" bolt kit for 2.99. I ended up breaking off the 45degree hooks and bending the bolts at 90 degree angles so I wouldnt have to remove the entire battery tray just to get them into the holes I drilled.



installed in the c6


with hardware and the cost of the battery (found it on amazon for 285 shipped) it was around 297 bucks total

hope this helps some folks out!

GettReal

5 lbs?? thats awesome. I have the Optima yellow top and I just googled the weight and its listed as 43lbs so that would save me 38lbs

Its on the list

mgarfias

Does that thing have enough oomph to crank the car in the cold if its installed in the back? Hell, at 5lbs, I could run two and still save weight.

el es tu

I dont have experience with that since the battery is up front, but Jason from katech has been running one in the back of his z06 without issues.

The really nice thing about the battery's performance is that its supposed to discharge at a quarter of what a lead one would...

Werks

I think I was the guinea pig at Katech with this battery and I've been running it in my Z for 6-7 months now without any issues. I do keep it on the charger when not in use and have a priority start unit connected to it. So I guess I really do not need to keep it on the charger as that will automatically disconnect the battery if the voltage drops too low from parasitic drain but i like to play it safe as once you dump one of these lip batteries they are pretty much done.

In regards to cold starting I have only run into a problem once at my last track day. It was an unusually cool CA morning (there was actually frost on my tow vehicles windshield lol so probably high 30's low 40's) and after sitting outside overnight when I went into the trailer and hit the start button it just clicked. Thought for a second that this was going to be the shortest track day ever and then I realized how cold it was. So I popped the rear hatch, opened the battery compartment and sat my nice warm Starbucks coffee cup on top of the battery, covered it all with a towel and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Came back and started right up, battery has worked just fine since. So morally of the story, as long as it's around 50f I'd say you will not have any issues. If it is below that just warm up the battery for a few minutes before starting and you will be fine.

Canam

Not sure if you can get them there but a lot of guys up here run an Oddessey pC680. 14.7 pounds VS 39 pounds in my last race car. 540amps and I was totally surprised at how well it worked and how long it could crank if needed. Quality piece and not much more than a standard battery in cost.

0Randy@DRM

It's getting to the point where you guys need to start thinking like Midwest guys in the winter.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Battery-Heat...-/270335573541

Ever since I started running battery warmers in the winter, there has been no more frozen batteries. Yes it gets that cold around here where the battery will freeze.

Randy

el es tu

Still working well. Starts the car in 30 degree weather and no issues.

Just get this mount kit from autozone :
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...uestid=1602157


you may need to either buy shorter j hook bolts or modify the ones the kit comes with:
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...entifier=95983



Edit: heres the tender I keep it on (cant use a regular charger that has a desulfation mode):
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=756181_0_0_

geerookie

Might want to do a quick study on the effects of electricty on this mix of materials!

el es tu

Looked it up prior and the aluminum should conduct better than anything else... (but more importantly - I had a lot of it laying around the garage )

as far as corrosion goes, I havent had to deal with anything yet.

btw the ends of the battery are brass if that makes any difference.

is there something I should be looking for?

geerookie

Brass makes it worse than if it were lead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_corrosion

Scissors

The Shorai lithium iron phosphate batteries' benefit (besides weight) over lead-acid is that they can have a much higher CCA rating.

Their down sides are not dealing well with extreme cold, and they have a significantly lower energy capacity than a lead-acid.

Also, automotive (and motorcycle) charging systems don't kick out enough voltage to every fully recharge one.

Regarding very cold starts, these batteries heat up (a bit) when a current is drawn, so it helps to turn on your ignition, wait a few seconds for the battery to heat, and then start the car. Otherwise you might have an issue like above where it doesn't start at first, but starts just fine a bit later.

el es tu

Thanks for the info - for those that want to use brass - Braille makes brass SAE posts for the m6 threading. I think they were 25 to 30 bucks from summit.



EDIT - link to posts:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/brl-2012k

spazegun2213

Jebus! Know when its too cold, when your battery freezes! BRRRRRR