"That's Captain Obvious to you."

 

Bookmarked! Thanks for detailed and expert information. 👍

 

I agree that the cables should not be run under the car on the floor boards, but what is wrong with running them in the tunnel area? In my mind that is a great place to run them, as long as they are secured well.

Thanks for all the other wisdom, it is appreciated and often overlooked. The right materials are not just a good idea, they are a must. Try explaining to your insurer when your car burns to the ground, that you used inferior components when you wired the car up.

 

Mostly due to cramped quarters, excessive heat and a whole lot of bother / effort required to route them through there. It would be best if the battery in located in say the rear passenger side cubby, then just route both cables forward along the outside of the passenger side of the interior compartment, down next to the rocker panel area, through the fire wall and directly out to where the battery was originally located. That would be the easiest and shortest route for the cables. As always YMMV.

 

I always wonder how much soace there is on top of the bumper inside the rear fascia to mount a battery vs in the trunk. Food for thought for some enterprising soul out there.

 

My battery is in the middle compartment, straight shot to the tunnel, also have heat insulation on my C6 tunnel cover, but yes, those are valid concerns. Thanks!

 

I have ceramic coated (both) long tube headers and X-pipe assembly as well as the DEI tunnel insulation kit and a thicker tunnel plate. The heat was still radiating up into the cabin from the tunnel, so I had to install a VetteNuts cabin thermal/sound insulation kit. I personally would not want to route any type of wiring though the tunnel area that could be routed somewhere else. The Lingenfelter kit mounts the battery in the center mini spare tub, their instruction show the cables being routed on the under side of the body, but along the passenger side. As I said before, I would keep the cables inside the passenger compartment.

 

That is actually the side of my Moroso battery box. I got the breakers, wire and eyelets from CE Auto Electric Supply

 

I do prefer routing them through the cabin but will need to drill holes to slip them through to the engine bay.

 

Or do a bulkhead connector.

 

Yes you can, or use a proper firewall pass through grommet. Something like one of these.

https://www.steelerubber.com/steele-...l-grommets?p=3
https://www.summitracing.com/search/...ewall-grommets
https://ceautoelectricsupply.com/pro...wall-grommets/
https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pr...uct=4336%2D001

Please see the photo of the C7 factory positive battery cable #23284795 below, which was one of these pass through grommets.

 

Bringing this one back as I felt the info shared by @JHrinsin was extremely beneficial.

I did decide to go and do this for the Z06 since I'll be going back into the rear end of the car for other work.

The FDF bracket looks solid. There are many other brackets intended for optima batteries. I like the idea of enclosing the tub or the battery when done so anything loose in the trunk doesn't dive into the pockets around it and disappear. If a case then moroso sells a plastic box but it may not fit the cubby. That leaves me the option to make a plastic or aluminum cover for the cubby at some point.

I noticed the dual 200a circuit breakers above which seemed a smart approach to disabling the car easily. I just don't know where I'd mount them to be effective to that purpose since access to the trunk requires electricity or a difficult climb past corbeau seats and eventually parts of a cage.

I do intend to route the cables along the interior of the car. The Z06 came with an amp and bass tube which remain wired and in place. I can replace the routing of that line to the engine bay with the battery cables. Then I can run power to the amp with a short line right off the battery in the trunk.

What is good to use up front to transition from the cable ends as eyelets to the starter and fuse box? I'm picturing a pair of 3/8" studs mounted somewhere maybe.

My only other concern is for the fiberglas tub / cubby I'll be using. It is firm but has anyone had issues with wear or cracking over time from the weight and stress? I feel like adding a support at the top of the bracket mount which will place the weight or part of the weight on top of the cubby hole.

 

I ran mine along the interior behind the plastic trunk panels along the rocker next to the seat. Then through a grommet in the firewall to the stud on the fuse box. The factory battery wire went to this stud as well for the starter.

 

Mike I would recommend that you use some sleeving or convoluted conduit covering on that cable to protect it from any abrasion and potential shorting issues.

 

It has some where it goes through grommets and has potential to rub (behind the plastic trim in the trunk and about 1.5ft of it is covered where it goes through the firewall). Under the seat the tabs that hold it are rubber coated and clamp tightly, so I am not worried about it rubbing through there.

 

I have seen some C5's and C6's with small motorcycle-type lithium (I suspect LiFePO4) batteries which are apparently sufficient to start the motor. They weigh less than all of that additional cable that would be needed to relocate the Pb battery to the rear.

 

I put the biggest battery I could fit in a spot where I needed the weight. Im not a fan of those lightweight batteries. Ive seen lots of track cars have issues starting or staying running with those little things.

 

Been there and done that. I have several dead PC680 and PC925 from older project "toys" and track cars on the shelf to prove (or maybe I finally sent them off to the recycler). Closest thing to a useable small battery I ever found was the 12V 31M Westco Miata AGM battery that I used in a FC RX7, but that would never work in a C5.

 

@Kubs I am in the process of running new cables through the interior right now, wondering if the pass thru you used is the one that has the large loom running through it located to the left of the AC accumulator or did you add new holes? Anyway you can get a better picture of how you ran the cable through the firewall? My old setup ran the cables thru the tunnel and directly to the starter + and engine block -.

 

I ended up drilling a new hole just next to the loom you mentioned. I used a grommet and some rtv to seal it.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures