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My 73 has been on a diet over the past two decades.....I read in past posts that you could lose as much as 25 pounds with a lightweight battery....Deka etx20L is a battery that a forum member was using.....When I looked it up it was basically a motorcycle battery....Don't think that will start my car ....I could be wrong, but......
Anyone know any affordable lightweight batteries ?
From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
For years I ran a smaller size battery I originally took out of my lawn tractor to see if it would work in my '69. It's a 300CCA/360CA 16# battery that the local Farm & Fleet store sells for about $35. Works great, but I also have a lighter weight PMGR starter on the engine, which is easier on current demand.
Due to running out of ideas on getting more weight out of my car, this summer I'm trying a lithium battery (5.5#) in the car. Cranks the engine over very well, but it also lightened my wallet a noticeable amount too.
Due to running out of ideas on getting more weight out of my car, this summer I'm trying a lithium battery (5.5#) in the car. Cranks the engine over very well, but it also lightened my wallet a noticeable amount too.
Porsche dealers sell a lithium battery that replaces the standard lead-acid battery. $1700. I sorta member reading that the lithium battery option for a new Porsche was $2500. Aside from the weight advantage, I think a lithium battery may be more desireable from a durability standpoint...I'm not that knowledgeable about lithium batts.
For years I ran a smaller size battery I originally took out of my lawn tractor to see if it would work in my '69. It's a 300CCA/360CA 16# battery that the local Farm & Fleet store sells for about $35. Works great, but I also have a lighter weight PMGR starter on the engine, which is easier on current demand.
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In my DD other car, for about 6 years now, I have run a $25 Walmart garden tractor 300cca battery. It weighs 15.5#.
It gets it cranking amps from very thin perforated plates, giving lots of surface area to the acid, but at the expense of longevity. I get 1 year life but once I got 2 years. in a weekend car that you disconnect the battery between rides I would think it would last a long time.
In that car the battery sits behind the rear axle and I didn't want a big pendulum back there .
I just weighed a jetski/motorcycle battery I have and it was 2# heavier to 17.5#.
Just weighed my C3 group 75 battery and was 35#
R
Last edited by Dynra Rockets; Aug 21, 2020 at 09:01 AM.
Porsche dealers sell a lithium battery that replaces the standard lead-acid battery. $1700. I sorta member reading that the lithium battery option for a new Porsche was $2500. Aside from the weight advantage, I think a lithium battery may be more desireable from a durability standpoint...I'm not that knowledgeable about lithium batts.
For $2,500 dollars I will put a stroker block in the car....Nutz.....Then again some high performance Porsches are 200 large or better...
Your Corvette was made to use a Flooded Lead Acid battery in it. Anything else is not going to work as well as a good old Standard FLA. The charging system will not properly charge any battery but a FLA as that is what it was designed for. Even a Optima battery will die a quick death if not charged properly with clean power from your alternator.
I bought a lightweight battery for my motorcycle and it lasted less than 2 years and it was three times the price of a FLA motorcycle battery. A lot of the newer technologies are not quite ready for Prime Time yet.
I have a battery pack for jumping cars that weighs next to nothing but I wouldn't want to use it as the primary battery in the Corvette. They are Lithium batteries and have very specific charging requirements.
Not trying to rain on anybodies parade... The idea of using a smaller FLA battery is fine as long as it works for you.
Yeah it was just a thought...Next up will removing the whole convertible assembly..I never drive with it up any way even in cold weather...Plus an aluminum radiator...Both should be good for around 60 pounds..
From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
Originally Posted by ctmccloskey
Your Corvette was made to use a Flooded Lead Acid battery in it. Anything else is not going to work as well as a good old Standard FLA. The charging system will not properly charge any battery but a FLA as that is what it was designed for. Even a Optima battery will die a quick death if not charged properly with clean power from your alternator.
I bought a lightweight battery for my motorcycle and it lasted less than 2 years and it was three times the price of a FLA motorcycle battery. A lot of the newer technologies are not quite ready for Prime Time yet.
I have a battery pack for jumping cars that weighs next to nothing but I wouldn't want to use it as the primary battery in the Corvette. They are Lithium batteries and have very specific charging requirements.
Not trying to rain on anybodies parade... The idea of using a smaller FLA battery is fine as long as it works for you.
The shipping weight of a 1968 Corvette convertible is listed as 3055 pounds. I'm quite a bit below 3000 pounds. From the original car:
Delete the 42 pound rear transverse spring with a 8 pound fiberglass spring.
Replace the four 16 pound Delco brake calipers with four 8 pound aluminum calipers.
Aluminum heads on the SB engine....40 pound savings?
Delete the spare tire and the carrier...50 pound savings?
Replaced the factory steel wheels with aluminum wheels...I think a bare steel wheel, without a tire, weighs about 25 pounds. I'd guess an aluminum wheel, without a tire, weights about 15 pounds.
Replaced Muncie 4 speed with a Tremac 5 speed. A little weight boost.
Not much weight for a car with a probably 415 flywheel HP ZZ4 engine.
68 came with an stock aluminum radiator and I've replaced it with an Be-Cool aluminum radiator...probably no weight savings.
Looks like my 68 weighs about 2860 pounds! Let's say 2900 pounds. Not much weight for a car with a probably 415 flywheel HP ZZ4 engine.
Tom, of Tom's Differentials, was planning on selling an aluminum version of the C3 cast iron differential. It was sized to accomodate a GM 12 bolt differential. I'd imagine the "brain" behind this development was "Kenny". Toms partner who engineered upgrades for a C3 IRS suspension that would allw it to survive 1000 HP at a drag strip. Kenny, a Japanese-American died unexpectedly at 55 of a heart attack. Tom soldiered on with the aluminum differential development and then decided to drop it....Tom said he lost close to $200,000 on trying to develope an aluminum C3 differential for Kenny's 1000 HP Corvette rear end suit. Tom now has passed away also. Sad.
Tom, of Tom's Differentials, was planning on selling an aluminum version of the C3 cast iron differential. .
Make sure to search for the giant weight loss thread that details lots of things that can be done to drop weight.
There is an aluminum diff cover you can buy for the stock rear. Saves about 12# for $400.
In addition to your list there is the swapping out the cast iron steering column mount for the later stamped steel unit for 5#, mini-starter for 7#, aluminum brake master cylinder for 5#, aluminum water pump for 5#, C4 spacesaver spare.... and dozens of other things
From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
Originally Posted by Dynra Rockets
In my DD other car, for about 6 years now, I have run a $25 Walmart garden tractor 300cca battery. It weighs 15.5#.
It gets it cranking amps from very thin perforated plates, giving lots of surface area to the acid, but at the expense of longevity. I get 1 year life but once I got 2 years. in a weekend car that you disconnect the battery between rides I would think it would last a long time.
In that car the battery sits behind the rear axle and I didn't want a big pendulum back there .
I just weighed a jetski/motorcycle battery I have and it was 2# heavier to 17.5#.
Just weighed my C3 group 75 battery and was 35#
R
(Bolded above) I was curious about that. Given the decent cranking ability of the 300CCA battery I was using in my '69, I was curious if I could lose another pound or two by going down a notch in CCA rating. A couple years ago I pulled one off the shelf at the Farm & Fleet store and weighed it, and it was the same weight as my higher CCA battery. The only way that made sense to me was that the #300 CCA battery had the same amount of lead in it, but just thinner sheets to get the higher CCA.
My 73 has been on a diet over the past two decades.....I read in past posts that you could lose as much as 25 pounds with a lightweight battery....Deka etx20L is a battery that a forum member was using.....When I looked it up it was basically a motorcycle battery....Don't think that will start my car ....I could be wrong, but......
Anyone know any affordable lightweight batteries ?
Make sure to have a fire extinguisher close by. A friend of mine who is an engineer, tells me the track record is not good for this new technology. Personally I like the Garden tractor battery idea.
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Lightweight car batteries for C3..
