The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

This mod will be for the Firehawk. I'm gonna take out the back seats and custom make a spare tire and jack mount in place of them. I don't wanna lose the t-tops holders, and there's a sub in the little cubby-hole on the driver's side.

Thanks!

The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

ttt

<img src="gr_sad.gif" border="0">

Terry Burger

iTrader: (4)

It's a stupid mod unless you run mid 10s or something.

Dope

iTrader: (2)

Do you go to the track? I didn't see any times in your sig, so assuming you don't - get the BMR bracket that bolts to the passenger side of the rear hatch well. It puts the battery right where the spare tire would be, and offers a good hold-down for it too. Looks to be good quality, and decently lightweight too. http://bmrfabrication.com/misc.HTM

If you DO race, you'll need a sealed (and vented) box, which the BMR unit isn't. Good luck on that one, I'm still stuck at that point, since I want to relocate my battery, but I do race it as well. Don't think I've found a box yet that will fit in the bottom of the spare tire well either.

You will also need an external cutoff switch, to kill power from the battery in the event of a crash, if you race.

The cable will run easily down the passenger side of the car, through the firewall under the PCM, and back to the factory battery cable location. Use the biggest you can get, I got 0/1 gauge. You don't want to have charging issues.

You can attach the negative back there too. I used the hatch bracket (just rub away some of the paint for a good contact), and you can run the wire behind the carpeting so it won't be noticable.

I'd also wrap the whole length of the wire that is inside the car, with convoluted tubing or something similar. ESPECIALLY where it passes through the firewall. You don't want the wire to rub through at some point in the future, and short against the floorpan. Since it will be under your rug, this will start a nice fire quickly <img src="gr_stretch.gif" border="0">

I attached the 0/1 gauge wire to the factory positive cable, using an adapter from crutchfield. I then insulated it heavily to prevent it from shorting on anything. I did this so it was easily reversible, and involved no cutting of the factory parts (This turned out to be a good move, because I put the battery back after 2 days). The factory negative is fine, because it is grounded to the passenger side wheelwell area. You can just tuck the dangling piece away.


Now, why did I reverse mine? Couple of reasons:

1) I bought a Summit battery relocation box. What a POS. The hold down was the worst design ever, and it didn't secure the battery for ****. It never fit in any shape or form, and it's also apparently only for top-mount posts. It's not sealed either, which is another no-no for racing.

That brings up another point. Make sure the battery box you use (if you race) is made for side mount batteries. I've never seen one, I'm sure they're out there though.

2) I really didn't see any noticable improvement. I didn't go to the track to verify, but the car still spun wildly no matter what.

3) Stance. Something I failed to think of ahead of time, but when you remove a 40lb battery from the front of the car, and put it in the back, that's effectively an 80lb weight transfer. The effect? The front end was now higher than the rear. On a stock suspensioned car, this might actually look just right, as in stock form, the rear is higher than the front. Unfortunately, my SS is lowered, and the front is exactly the same height as the rear. After, there was at least a 1/2 to 3/4" difference. Maybe not too noticable to most, but it looked horrible to me.


Something else to think about: cost. Doesn't sound like much, but it adds up. A good metal box will probably cost ya ~$100. Good 0/1 gauge cable is super expensive too. I think the stuff I got was 6$ a foot. 20 feet (which JUST fits btw, another few inches shorter and it would have been too short), is $120. Add in random stuff like the adapters and shipping and you're looking at over $250. If you're ridin' a 10-11 sec car or something, then it may be worth it, but I can't even break into the 12s, so I definitely regretted spending the money...especially after putting it back to stock.

So, sound like it's worth it? The BMR route, if you don't race, is slightly cheaper and LOTS easier, but if you don't race, then why relocate the battery?

Just food for thought.

Dope

Dope

iTrader: (2)

Also, judging from your sig, you're probably just about as fast as me (low 13s), so I wouldn't say it's even remotely worth it. There's plenty to buy for 250-300$ that would make you much faster <img src="gr_stretch.gif" border="0">

Oh, and I just noticed, you spelled BUILD wrong in your sig, just a note <img src="gr_images/icons/wink.gif" border="0">

Dope

Dope

iTrader: (2)

As if I haven't already wrote enough in this thread, I thought I might add that your wife is crazy hot. Tell her I said so. Thankfully she looks to be a bit out of my age range, so you have nothing to fear *SNICKER* <img src="gr_tounge.gif" border="0">

Dope <img src="gr_stretch.gif" border="0"> <img src="gr_images/icons/wink.gif" border="0">

The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

[quote]Originally posted by Dope:
<strong>

2) I really didn't see any noticable improvement. I didn't go to the track to verify, but the car still spun wildly no matter what.

3) Stance. Something I failed to think of ahead of time, but when you remove a 40lb battery from the front of the car, and put it in the back, that's effectively an 80lb weight transfer. The effect? The front end was now higher than the rear. On a stock suspensioned car, this might actually look just right, as in stock form, the rear is higher than the front. Unfortunately, my SS is lowered, and the front is exactly the same height as the rear. After, there was at least a 1/2 to 3/4" difference. Maybe not too noticable to most, but it looked horrible to me.

Just food for thought.

Dope</strong><hr></blockquote>


Thanks for the detailed reply <img src="gr_stretch.gif" border="0">

Money's not a factor . . . but it sucks that this won't effect spinning much as this is my main concern <img src="gr_sad.gif" border="0">

Damian

iTrader: (89)

Tires are the remedy for spinning. Not throwing your battery in the trunk <img src="gr_images/icons/wink.gif" border="0"> .


josh

The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

[quote]Originally posted by Dope:
<strong>As if I haven't already wrote enough in this thread, I thought I might add that your wife is crazy hot. Tell her I said so. Thankfully she looks to be a bit out of my age range, so you have nothing to fear *SNICKER* <img src="gr_tounge.gif" border="0">

Dope <img src="gr_stretch.gif" border="0"> <img src="gr_images/icons/wink.gif" border="0"> </strong><hr></blockquote>

Thanks!

Hey . . . she's 22 <img src="graemlins/gr_devil.gif" border="0" alt="[devil]" />

The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

[quote]Originally posted by Dope:
<strong>

Oh, and I just noticed, you spelled BUILD wrong in your sig, just a note <img src="gr_images/icons/wink.gif" border="0">

Dope</strong><hr></blockquote>

Dang. I'm usually pretty meticulous about my grammar and punctuation too <img src="gr_emb.gif" border="0">

Thanks for the heads-up! <img src="graemlins/gr_cheers.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

[quote]Originally posted by Damian:
<strong>Tires are the remedy for spinning. Not throwing your battery in the trunk <img src="gr_images/icons/wink.gif" border="0"> .


josh</strong><hr></blockquote>

I'm on it <img src="gr_grin.gif" border="0">

Trying to get a set of custom 17 x 11" Firehawk wheels from American Racing (I was told this is the company that supplies SLP with the wheel) so I can wrap 315's in the back <img src="graemlins/gr_devil.gif" border="0" alt="[devil]" />

Dope

iTrader: (2)

[quote]Originally posted by The Dragon:
<strong>

Thanks!

Hey . . . she's 22 <img src="graemlins/gr_devil.gif" border="0" alt="[devil]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>

Damn. I'm 22 too, man is my age radar off.

As far as spinning goes - this is why I said it's not worth it. Your spare/jack weighs a bit over 30lbs I'd say, so replacing that stuff with the battery (35-40lbs I assume), is not really adding ANY weight to the rear. It's just taking off 35-40lbs from the front. This will only aid S L I G H T L Y with weight transfer. Unfortunately, on street tires, weight transfer (especially that small of a weight) is really nothing. You're not hooking hard enough to really rock the car back.

I recommend nitto DRs, or at least the sticky Yokos (intermediates or avs sports or whichever has the low treadwear rating). Those 315s are really, really expensive and the tire selection is horrid compared to a 275/285. You could probably run through 2 sets of Nitto DRs for the price of a set of 315s (which will definitely hook worse than a 275 Nitto).

Course, ya can't beat the look of 315 meats out back <img src="gr_stretch.gif" border="0"> And if money isn't really an issue at all, just get 315 nittos and hold on <img src="gr_images/icons/wink.gif" border="0">

Dope

Chris Spiess

I'm in the process of doing this, just need to run the cable from the rear up to the engine compartment. My original goal was to get as much weight out of the front as possible and add some over the right rear. I haven't had the spare or jack in there in almost a year so it really is added weight for me. For a battery box check out AFCO Racing and a can of spray paint. Even as a BMR dealer I couldn't justify the price difference for merely appearence reasons on something nobody will ever see. Use a sealed construction battery -ie optima, reactor, pro volt, etc. - and you should be okay as far as regs. go. Even if you don't race, use a sealed battery for safety - battery gases in the passenger compartment are a bad, bad thing.
Now that I am part way through this, I will go ahead and finish up, but I'm not sure I'd do it again, or at least I would do some other things first. My goals for the year are somewhat aggressive though, so evey little bit counts I guess.

The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

[quote]Originally posted by Dope:
<strong>

Course, ya can't beat the look of 315 meats out back <img src="gr_stretch.gif" border="0"> And if money isn't really an issue at all, just get 315 nittos and hold on <img src="gr_images/icons/wink.gif" border="0">

Dope</strong><hr></blockquote>

How much $ do the Nitto's run? 275 and 315's??

Dope

iTrader: (2)

275/40/17s are usually 150-160 a piece
315/35/17s are usually 190-200 a piece

Dope

Visceral

iTrader: (1)

I just noticed that Nitto is making the 315.35.17s in Drag Radial for 179$, in stock at www.discounttiredirect.com

Thank You, Please Drive Through <img src="gr_grin.gif" border="0">

\chris

Dope

iTrader: (2)

DAMN! They are actually 172$ at that site. That's a good deal! Now to find some 17x11s... <img src="gr_stretch.gif" border="0">

Dope

The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

[quote]Originally posted by Dope:
<strong>275/40/17s are usually 150-160 a piece
315/35/17s are usually 190-200 a piece

Dope</strong><hr></blockquote>

Dude, from the above reply about pricing on 315's, I was expecting you to tell me they run like 3 or $400.

That price ain't dinK <img src="gr_grin.gif" border="0">

Nitto here I come <img src="graemlins/gr_devil.gif" border="0" alt="[devil]" />

Dope

iTrader: (2)

Well, the reason I said they are expensive, is because they'll probably only last ya 10-15k miles. That's about half of a good regular tire. So in essence, you'll have to buy 2 for every 1 'regular' tire. That brings the price up to ~350 <img src="gr_stretch.gif" border="0">

I'll probably end up running 315 nittos in the summer and 275 RE730s in the wintertime, so it won't be TOO bad.

Dope

The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

[quote]Originally posted by Dope:
<strong>. . . Now to find some 17x11s... <img src="gr_stretch.gif" border="0">

Dope</strong><hr></blockquote>

Still waiting for a return e-mail on this from American Racing . . . <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[Burnout]" />