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Lightweight Batteries - which do you use and how reliable are they?
Looking into replacing my stock battery with a light weight unit. C5z, track car only, spends most of its time sitting between events, always on a battery tender. What do you have and how has the reliability been?
Here's a link to the Deka I've used the last five years. Fairly reliable and inexpensive. I usually replace it after 2 to 3 seasons. I would recommend a trickle charger as it sits. These don't seem to do well if the car is idle for weeks on end. Picked the last one up in 2013 for around 100.00 delivered.
I've been running a Shorai for the last two years. It a lithium iron phosphate battery with 540 cold cranking amps and weights less than 5 lbs. I keep it connected to the small Battery Tender when not in use. It gets a little draggy in cold weather. I've run it flat twice by leaving the door and/or console open and it recovered fine with charging.
Here's a link to the Deka I've used the last five years. Fairly reliable and inexpensive. I usually replace it after 2 to 3 seasons. I would recommend a trickle charger as it sits. These don't seem to do well if the car is idle for weeks on end. Picked the last one up in 2013 for around 100.00 delivered.
About four years with mine and very reliable. Two weeks is as long as it can sit in my C6 without a trickle charger. Been keeping it in the trailer with a solar panel and seems to work well.
I just bought one for my bike, no lifespan info yet, but it did save more weight than the more than $2,000 worth of carbon fiber I put on it 15 years ago.
Some might chuckle, but I'm using a standard garden tractor battery in my '69 and '84. The batteries are 15#, 300CCA/365CA, and $29.95. The '69 has minimal current drain, and I rarely worry about keeping a trickle/solar charger on it. Got four years out of the last battery. The '84 has some current drain, so I alternate between keeping the solar charger on it, or just disconnecting it entirely with a cable disconnect switch.
Batcap 800 is a really great small battery that would start a high compression 400small block... With proper wiring.
A batcap 400 will start a stock v8.. With 0g wire to starter. It's like 2pounds and is like 3"x4"x6". Don't let the names fool you they are battery's not capacitors but have discharge curves like they are somewhere in between. You can even build one using hawker bc cells I believe. Each cell is like $30 (x6) we ran them in our audio systems as a backup. But did some demos of what they could do...
I've been running the Battery Tender BTL35A480C with no issues. I only had to jump it when I left the hatch open (which turns on interior lights) during a work assignment. Otherwise, the car starts right up.
I also have the Battery Tender BTL35A480C, it cranks over my 10.5 compression motor with ease, even after sitting for 3 weeks when i got back from vacation. Its 3.75 pounds.
I accidentally completely drained it and jumped it when a door light stayed on overnight at COTA. Some batteries I hear cant be fully discharged without damage but it didn't seem to phase it.
Last edited by TurbineSurgine; 06-19-2015 at 01:57 AM.
Using a Deka ET18XL (about $79 on eBay) on my C5Z race car. I have to use the kill switch to make sure nothing drains the battery as I have half of the electrical pulled out of the car and the PCM doesn't always go in sleep mode. The battery can take about 5/6 starts (without recharging/driving) before you start to have too low voltage for the ABS module to start properly in which case you'll get the service abs/traction handling message on the dash. I also have stuff plugged on the 12V outlet (1 Android tablet, 1 GPS, a 5" screen and a rearview camera) that I usually try to turn off when I start the car to limit the draw. You just have more careful with lightweight batteries but they work.
Also you will need to modify the battery tray to accommodate the different form factor. I completely removed my battery support tray and used a big metal hose clamp around the battery through the existing hole in the chassis support to secure the battery in place.
I've been running the Battery Tender BTL35A480C with no issues. I only had to jump it when I left the hatch open (which turns on interior lights) during a work assignment. Otherwise, the car starts right up.
Originally Posted by TurbineSurgine
I also have the Battery Tender BTL35A480C, it cranks over my 10.5 compression motor with ease, even after sitting for 3 weeks when i got back from vacation. Its 3.75 pounds.
I accidentally completely drained it and jumped it when a door light stayed on overnight at COTA. Some batteries I hear cant be fully discharged without damage but it didn't seem to phase it.
Wow, that is really light. What are you using for battery terminals since the factory wiring is setup for a standard side post.
Wow, that is really light. What are you using for battery terminals since the factory wiring is setup for a standard side post.
I just clipped off the factory terminals and crimped on new ends, the kind you would use for power cable to a stereo amp or fuse block. I also made a fiberglass case to hold it down.
Here is a pic of my Deka battery install (the good thing about an AGM battery is that it won't leak acid on the PCM module below).
The battery tray and bolts removal also save some more weight and help bring the weight even lower.
Note the extra red wire is for the kill switch.
The battery seems to be in a decent spot to help even the weight side to side, driver bias. How does going lighter effect the cross weight of the car?
If this is the only mod you are doing, the 15lbs change is going to be insignificant unless the driver weighs 50lbs. The amount of gas in your gas tank is going to affect your cross weight more than the battery.
I ended up going with the battery tender unit, it is a bit more expensive but I have talked to a good number of people who are pleased with it. You really can't beat the 30lb weight reduction for the money (after removing all extra equipment for free first of course).
06-06-2015, 10:57 PM
Lightweight Batteries - which do you use and how reliable are they?
About four years with mine and very reliable. Two weeks is as long as it can sit in my C6 without a trickle charger. Been keeping it in the trailer with a solar panel and seems to work well.
