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Last time for vehicle inspection my battery didn't pass because of the ol' faithful battery hold down was broke. So I quickly zip tied the battery down and ran in the event.
Needless to say, is this even legal? I used two pieces of wood to brace the battery. I could see it being a fire hazard being that well you use wood to make a fire. But hey at least it's tied down a lot tighter now. Legal or no go?
I would never do that. Not that my method is much better, but it definitely works and is very simple. I don't like the stock battery hold down so I got a piece of metal and bent it and drilled holes and bolted it to the headlight bracket and existing bolt for the stock hold down.
Just saw that mine is just like the one posted above just free lol
It looks half assed because it is half assed. The event is tomorrow, hopefully it'll pass tho. I like that metal piece that goes in the stock location and bolts to the headlight panel. My only problem being is that the head of the bolt is broken and I cannot for the life of me get it to come out. PB blaster with vice grips and not a budge, I'll try to get it loose tomorrow and hopefully get that metal bracket thing for my battery
WHAT kind of event is it, SCCA, NASA, or one of the drag racing sanctioning bodies??
I can tell you right now that SCCA and NASA will fail you with that rigged set up for ANY open road course use/racing, and maybe even for autocross events.
For drag racing, I guess it depends on the individual track, WHERE it is (liability/tort laws), and how draconian they are with their safety inspections, and e.t./speed of your car.
If it's the radiator side lower lip of the tray that's broken, then you can anchor that down perfectly with wood or hard rubber. Put that piece of wood (or hard plastic) several inches lower against the radiator support...down where a screw comes through the sheet metal. That battery won't go anywhere as long as the opposite side clamp still works ok. In fact, I'd bet this method is far more secure than the "flexible" stock lip that comes loose from time to time due to flex. The spacer bar won't ever come loose if it's just the right thickness. And it sits several inches lower than what you show in the 1st photo. Paint the top and sides of the wood black if you like or put a dark piece of foam over or around it. The gap at the top of the radiator support to battery is approx 1/8th inch...you can barely see what's sitting below. If you don't have the lower clamp anymore, they should be easy enough to find. Otherwise, an alt would be needed.
I did it once and it never, ever came loose. It makes more sense to anchor a battery at mid-height rather than only the bottom 1/2"-1." Even more stupid that the OEM made it all part of the coolant system and no support for the upper 85% of the battery casing. Unless the radiator support caves in (or the car is turned upside down), then the battery isn't going anywhere. And in that situation, the stock setup isn't going to do any better.
Last edited by Firebrian; Oct 26, 2015 at 10:18 PM.
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Zip tie battery - is this OK? 
