C5 battery relocation
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,105
Likes: 113
From: Lawrenceburg, KY
C5 battery relocation
I've read through several different write ups and I've done battery relocations before.
I want to relocate a lighter sealed battery to the passengers side rear storage compartment. I will use 1/0 gauge stereo power cables and will install a 200amp fuse at the battery for safety. I don't race the car so I'm not concerned with a kill switch (NHRA requirement). I'm doing this to make better use of weight and keep the battery in a cooler area.
My specific question is "do I need to do anything to reinforce the passengers side storage compartment?" I'd hate to have the fiberglass compartment crack and dump my battery out on the road.
I want to relocate a lighter sealed battery to the passengers side rear storage compartment. I will use 1/0 gauge stereo power cables and will install a 200amp fuse at the battery for safety. I don't race the car so I'm not concerned with a kill switch (NHRA requirement). I'm doing this to make better use of weight and keep the battery in a cooler area.
My specific question is "do I need to do anything to reinforce the passengers side storage compartment?" I'd hate to have the fiberglass compartment crack and dump my battery out on the road.
Last edited by ChrisLSx; Sep 24, 2017 at 01:25 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,496
Likes: 353
From: Little Rock Arkansas
The tub is pretty strong as it is an SMC product similar to the body panels and doors so no you do not need anything to structurally strengthen it. However, possible obviously, it needs to not rest directly on the shell. It needs to sit on a tray or inside a battery box.
Remember also that the charging function of batteries will produce an off-gas. When batteries are under the hood this typically isn't an issue but in the passenger rear compartment they need to be vented to the outside somehow (A tube through the compartment usually does the trick).
Considering there is not a lot of impact support in this area should it be hit from the side it's probably best to go with a battery box vented outside. Some vendors offer a product for it but I'd take a gander that this is probably something you could easily piece together yourself without dealing with the "Corvette" tax.
Remember also that the charging function of batteries will produce an off-gas. When batteries are under the hood this typically isn't an issue but in the passenger rear compartment they need to be vented to the outside somehow (A tube through the compartment usually does the trick).
Considering there is not a lot of impact support in this area should it be hit from the side it's probably best to go with a battery box vented outside. Some vendors offer a product for it but I'd take a gander that this is probably something you could easily piece together yourself without dealing with the "Corvette" tax.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
The tub is pretty strong as it is an SMC product similar to the body panels and doors so no you do not need anything to structurally strengthen it. However, possible obviously, it needs to not rest directly on the shell. It needs to sit on a tray or inside a battery box.
Remember also that the charging function of batteries will produce an off-gas. When batteries are under the hood this typically isn't an issue but in the passenger rear compartment they need to be vented to the outside somehow (A tube through the compartment usually does the trick).
Considering there is not a lot of impact support in this area should it be hit from the side it's probably best to go with a battery box vented outside. Some vendors offer a product for it but I'd take a gander that this is probably something you could easily piece together yourself without dealing with the "Corvette" tax.
Remember also that the charging function of batteries will produce an off-gas. When batteries are under the hood this typically isn't an issue but in the passenger rear compartment they need to be vented to the outside somehow (A tube through the compartment usually does the trick).
Considering there is not a lot of impact support in this area should it be hit from the side it's probably best to go with a battery box vented outside. Some vendors offer a product for it but I'd take a gander that this is probably something you could easily piece together yourself without dealing with the "Corvette" tax.
100% AGREE! If you don't vent the OFF GAS out of the car, it will eat the carpets and lid for that space. Its also flammable. Any battery MUST be solidly mounted!I had a friend that used Velcro to mount some speakers in the back window shelf of his NON CORVETTE car.
He had a frontal collision and the speakers almost killed him and his passenger. Imagine what an un-mounted battery can do if it gets loose.
MOUNT THAT BOX and strap in that battery.200 AMP FUSE. HMMMMMM, Your starter can draw that on a normal cold cranking day. God help you if its below 30 deg. I don't think 200 amps is high enough but, I could be wrong.
Are you going to run a POSITIVE and NEGATIVE battery cable or are you going to try and use the FRAME for the return path?
Bill
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,105
Likes: 113
From: Lawrenceburg, KY
100% AGREE! If you don't vent the OFF GAS out of the car, it will eat the carpets and lid for that space. Its also flammable. Any battery MUST be solidly mounted!I had a friend that used Velcro to mount some speakers in the back window shelf of his NON CORVETTE car.
He had a frontal collision and the speakers almost killed him and his passenger. Imagine what an un-mounted battery can do if it gets loose.
MOUNT THAT BOX and strap in that battery.200 AMP FUSE. HMMMMMM, Your starter can draw that on a normal cold cranking day. God help you if its below 30 deg. I don't think 200 amps is high enough but, I could be wrong.
Are you going to run a POSITIVE and NEGATIVE battery cable or are you going to try and use the FRAME for the return path?
Bill
I'm certainly going to "hard mount" the battery in a battery box. I plan to use an aluminum battery mount, mounted to the floor of the passenger's side storage well. I had planned to remove the carpet from the storage well.
200-250AMP seems to be the standard for trunk mounted battery setups I've seen. I guess on a really cold Alaskan winter morning it might pop a 250AMP fuse, but consider that a 4 gauge wire (the stock starter wire cable size) is only rated for ~160amps. Back in my younger days I was more "reckless" and didn't bother with a fuse on the battery cable, but I've gotten older and more cautious.
I plan to run the positive all the way from front to back (obviously
), but planned to use the frame as a ground path (GM does so why not). I'll find a spot in the rear on the frame, drill and install a rivet nut (so I get good contact), and then attach the negative cable there.
Last edited by ChrisLSx; Sep 25, 2017 at 02:01 PM.
