Opinions on lightweight battery?
06-10-2011, 12:35 PM
#2
Man-Crush Warning
I've ran a pc680 up front in mine for about 5 years. No problems yet. But gonna be relocating the battery to the rear in a couple of weeks with a cutoff, I'll probably end up going with a larger battery from Braille to put in the battery box out back.
06-10-2011, 12:39 PM
#3
Thanks! The pc680 is what I was probably gonna go with. My car is 95% street car but not a family/dd car. I do run all accesories minus a/c cause I deleted it. I do use the stereo but only when driving and I know not to use anything when car is off. Do you see me having any issues?
06-10-2011, 12:50 PM
#4
Man-Crush Warning
Thanks! The pc680 is what I was probably gonna go with. My car is 95% street car but not a family/dd car. I do run all accesories minus a/c cause I deleted it. I do use the stereo but only when driving and I know not to use anything when car is off. Do you see me having any issues?
06-10-2011, 01:30 PM
#6
Man-Crush Warning
Almost every single import guy who has any interest in drag racing runs one, if you end up not liking it, throw it up on Craigslist or a local forum, it'll sell quick. Or..... Do one that is slightly larger for a rear mounted battery w/ cutoff. It all depends what you wanna do with the car. Option 3, but kinda silly, Use the battery only for street racing and drag racing, but I think swapping the battery in and out, using it, charging it randomly, etc, will negatively impact the battery as it would any other battery.
06-10-2011, 01:46 PM
#7
The problem I had with the battery I think was related to the fact that I was trying to crank a 13.5 to 1 402ci motor over. With a stockish motor, I don't think it will be a problem.
One thing I can tell you is to keepa trickle charger, or a battery tender on it so that it never goes dead... if it dies, it will never totally recover. Don't try to run the radio with the car off, or an electric water pump with the car off, both of those will kill the battery FAST.
I still wouldn't tell someone to put one in the car since it can, leave you stranded..... I think putting the full battery in the back helps with weight distribution some and has a benefit there, moreso then the weight loss in the front will do. And, no increase in the headache department.
One thing I can tell you is to keepa trickle charger, or a battery tender on it so that it never goes dead... if it dies, it will never totally recover. Don't try to run the radio with the car off, or an electric water pump with the car off, both of those will kill the battery FAST.
I still wouldn't tell someone to put one in the car since it can, leave you stranded..... I think putting the full battery in the back helps with weight distribution some and has a benefit there, moreso then the weight loss in the front will do. And, no increase in the headache department.
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06-10-2011, 03:48 PM
#8
The problem I had with the battery I think was related to the fact that I was trying to crank a 13.5 to 1 402ci motor over. With a stockish motor, I don't think it will be a problem.
One thing I can tell you is to keepa trickle charger, or a battery tender on it so that it never goes dead... if it dies, it will never totally recover. Don't try to run the radio with the car off, or an electric water pump with the car off, both of those will kill the battery FAST.
I still wouldn't tell someone to put one in the car since it can, leave you stranded..... I think putting the full battery in the back helps with weight distribution some and has a benefit there, moreso then the weight loss in the front will do. And, no increase in the headache department.
One thing I can tell you is to keepa trickle charger, or a battery tender on it so that it never goes dead... if it dies, it will never totally recover. Don't try to run the radio with the car off, or an electric water pump with the car off, both of those will kill the battery FAST.
I still wouldn't tell someone to put one in the car since it can, leave you stranded..... I think putting the full battery in the back helps with weight distribution some and has a benefit there, moreso then the weight loss in the front will do. And, no increase in the headache department.
06-10-2011, 04:08 PM
#9
If ya want to put a lighter battery in the front, I think to really have something that is 100% reliable, and will not give you any problems, it's going to weigh the same amount as what the stock one does.
You can, put a full size in the bottom of the T top well.. that moves some weight to the back of the car. The cable actually adds weight, and you have to have the shutoff switch back there as well, rerout the wire off the ALT back to the battery, so that all power goes thru the switch. Battery needs to be in a sealed box, like a moroso or taylor alum one, that's also vented outside, all easy stuff to do really. You can, at the same time put a small radiator overflow bottle, if you can get one that's got an inlet on the bottom, it will still return the fluid to the radiator. Run the rad. overflow hose to the back of the car... so if it ever overflows, it won't get on the tires. Not really something you have to worry about with a stockish car, but a safety thing none the less.
If you need a hand getting it all set up let me know. I've done a couple of these now. If you have access to a welder, it makes it really easy, you can weld a simple bracket to the frame rail in the back to hold the switch, then run the level thru the car. The wire to run up to the front, that's pretty simple too. Big ga welding cable works well for that, just have to have a crimper big enough to put the ends on. You really should, weld a ground stud to the back of the car to ground the battery on. I did it with my car on the roll bar plate, but a car without the rollbar in it yet, ya should just weld a stud to the chassis... easiest way to do it. Run the big ga wire up to the firewall, get a firewall bulkhead fitting, then go thru it that way, then a simple connection of the stock wires to a piece of the cable, that's attached at the firewall. Take the ALT wire, fuse it with a 200 amp fuse, and run that back to the battery. A 2 ga wire is plenty for that, 4 ga will be fine too. Again, another bulkhead fitting to go thru the firewall.
If you have the hvac out, it's easy to put the fittings in the delete plate. If you want to take the hvac out of the car, I would do all this at the same time, since the dash has to come out to get the hvac out, it will make it easy to get the wiring done with the dash out, and if you are removing the stereo, you can now have easy access to getting rid of all the stereo related wiring, as well as the hvac wiring at the same time.
You can, put a full size in the bottom of the T top well.. that moves some weight to the back of the car. The cable actually adds weight, and you have to have the shutoff switch back there as well, rerout the wire off the ALT back to the battery, so that all power goes thru the switch. Battery needs to be in a sealed box, like a moroso or taylor alum one, that's also vented outside, all easy stuff to do really. You can, at the same time put a small radiator overflow bottle, if you can get one that's got an inlet on the bottom, it will still return the fluid to the radiator. Run the rad. overflow hose to the back of the car... so if it ever overflows, it won't get on the tires. Not really something you have to worry about with a stockish car, but a safety thing none the less.
If you need a hand getting it all set up let me know. I've done a couple of these now. If you have access to a welder, it makes it really easy, you can weld a simple bracket to the frame rail in the back to hold the switch, then run the level thru the car. The wire to run up to the front, that's pretty simple too. Big ga welding cable works well for that, just have to have a crimper big enough to put the ends on. You really should, weld a ground stud to the back of the car to ground the battery on. I did it with my car on the roll bar plate, but a car without the rollbar in it yet, ya should just weld a stud to the chassis... easiest way to do it. Run the big ga wire up to the firewall, get a firewall bulkhead fitting, then go thru it that way, then a simple connection of the stock wires to a piece of the cable, that's attached at the firewall. Take the ALT wire, fuse it with a 200 amp fuse, and run that back to the battery. A 2 ga wire is plenty for that, 4 ga will be fine too. Again, another bulkhead fitting to go thru the firewall.
If you have the hvac out, it's easy to put the fittings in the delete plate. If you want to take the hvac out of the car, I would do all this at the same time, since the dash has to come out to get the hvac out, it will make it easy to get the wiring done with the dash out, and if you are removing the stereo, you can now have easy access to getting rid of all the stereo related wiring, as well as the hvac wiring at the same time.
06-10-2011, 08:07 PM
#10
I've run the pc680 in my car for 3-4 years now. I've run it 100% dead at least 15-20 times. I had a small draw that took me a while to find. Toss it on a trickle charger for an hour or 2 and it's good to go. I'm pretty sure a regular car battery wouldn't take that kind of abuse. Car is mainly street driven. I run an electric water pump, power windows, locks, radio, but no a/c, or no fog lights. ZERO issues other than the nagging draw which turned out to be my console lid that wasn't shutting all the way. I saved an honest 20-25lbs off of the nose of my car with it. Money well spent if you ask me.
06-10-2011, 09:43 PM
#11
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I ran the Braile when the car had a 347 in it. Did fine, but it would get ate up quick with a bottle warmer. When I put the 427 in the car I ran into issues. It would roll the motor slow 2-3 times and finally crank and this was hot off the charger. I didn't chance it and put a Optima Red top back in. I'll just live with that 18 extra pounds.
06-10-2011, 09:46 PM
#12
I had one in my race car for a year and half.Always kept it charged with an expensive charger specifically for a dry cell battery.Guess what ,after a year and a half it would not hold a full charge,and Odysee would not warranty it because i purchased from summit.
06-11-2011, 08:17 PM
#13
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local parts stores now sell them, they are over in the motorcycle area. my pc680 was dead after leaving something turned on over a week in the cooler months. ran down to the parts store and left with more cranking amps than I started with and all for 89.95 . The small battery is fine for driving around and stuff. Cold storage seems to be a problem with them. My car has pw pdl ewp all lights working. And a bottle warmer. So don't be scared about having a small battery in the front. They are cheap and plentiful so if it strands you make a cell phone to your significant other and have em pick you one up from the parts store :-)
06-11-2011, 08:32 PM
#14
local parts stores now sell them, they are over in the motorcycle area. my pc680 was dead after leaving something turned on over a week in the cooler months. ran down to the parts store and left with more cranking amps than I started with and all for 89.95 . The small battery is fine for driving around and stuff. Cold storage seems to be a problem with them. My car has pw pdl ewp all lights working. And a bottle warmer. So don't be scared about having a small battery in the front. They are cheap and plentiful so if it strands you make a cell phone to your significant other and have em pick you one up from the parts store :-)
It seems like your being sarcastic about the small battery being good at all? lol ummmm
06-11-2011, 08:39 PM
#15
If you run an ewp, it has to be on a switch...with my car in the on position and being 12:1 compression it would barely start...I went back to the interstate...There is plently of other places to drop weight...
06-12-2011, 11:09 PM
#20
Almost every single import guy who has any interest in drag racing runs one, if you end up not liking it, throw it up on Craigslist or a local forum, it'll sell quick. Or..... Do one that is slightly larger for a rear mounted battery w/ cutoff. It all depends what you wanna do with the car. Option 3, but kinda silly, Use the battery only for street racing and drag racing, but I think swapping the battery in and out, using it, charging it randomly, etc, will negatively impact the battery as it would any other battery.