Battery relocation under the hood (Longish)

[blacksheep]

Hi gang

I have been thinking of ways to fit a full (or close to full size battery) in the engine bay. The battery I want to use is my optima red-top since I have one laying around here for a while now.A tray for it would measure about 10.5" x 7.5". its about 8" tall.

I really dont wanna relocate the battery to the trunk, muck with a kill switch, fire-plate(?) etc etc....

So, here is everything I have thought of along with Kevin's help as well...

1) Move it to stock airbox location. This may still interfere with the IC pipe. I would like to have a nice wide 2.5" 90 degree (similar to Harry and Pivvay).

2) Move it farther up as close to the firewall as possible. Issue with this is:

(a) The winshield washer bottle is in the way. But, Kevin suggested a long neck filler similar to Hondas and TELS(?) that would provide more space by putting the bottle at the bottom.

(b) Cruise control is in the way. If cruise is relocated, this would work awesome, I think. Similar to a TEL.

I want it to look as clean as possible as if it belonged in its new place. I dont wanna flip the battery sideways and stuff the intake in.

Can the cruise be reloacted to where charcoal canister resides?

I noticed that #3 doesnt have the cruise control unit on top? Harry - did you relocate or ditch cruise?

Other choice would be to find a smaller battery with the same capacity of an optima to support my stereo and gauges. It gets cold out here in the winters and so I need all the cranking I can get.
This is more expensive, but oh well. I am going to start looking now.

Lets discuss, maybe brainstorming can lead to better ideas!

Thanks!

 

This is good KC. Come up with something that will work for everyone and with a good IC setup and I'll make it. Or Harry can. Whatever people want. You can also stick the battery down where the charcoal canister used to sit perhaps?

 

[chucklesas]

Moving the battery to the airbox location can really only be done with the stock IC routing. I don't think I could fit in a custom IC piping setup in my car the way it is now.



The optima is a little deeper than the stock battery but it is also a little bit shorter than stock.
So maybe, if we moved the battery as close as possible to the shock tower (I couldn't because of hood clearance with stock battery, but could be done with optima) there might be enough room between the engine and the battery to get piping between. I'll have to go out and measure the gap.

 

[blacksheep]

Pivvay -Kevin and I talked about putting it down where the canister goes and it would be a PITA to disonnect, plus a lot farther from the fusebox and stock wiring and need some work.

We also considered in the fender well below the stock location. This will be a lot of fabrication/work. A hole will need cut out where the stock tray sits and a suspended tray of sorts to drop it into the fender well. The intake setup draws air from here, so this would block cold air coming to it.

Basic goal is to come up with an easy location using stock battery and allowing the routing of FMIC pipes in the most economical manner. A tall order indeed.

Charles - Thanks for the pics. I appreciate it.

Also, the optima can be laid down if necessary since it can be mounted in any manner.

I want to use the second pic as an example. I propose to move the battery farther back and rotate it 90 degrees. It would need cruise control re-located and windshield washer bottle moved. I think its feasible although it may have clearance issues with a strut tower bar, maybe?

 

Charles's battery is bad for good IC piping. Makes it REAL difficult to run IC piping once you have a different intake manifold and no way on the wide 90.

 

hey guys, ive seen the battery on other mitsus in front of the powersteering resevoir. maybe just make a clamp for the powersteering resevoir and thats it. hey i dont mean to change the topic but the car i saw this on also had what looked like ram air. can i ask what is ram air and where is it routed to?

 

quote:Originally posted by blacksheep:
I really dont wanna relocate the battery to the trunk, muck with a kill switch, fire-plate(?) etc etc.... What's a fire plate? And you don't need a kill switch to put it in the trunk, but a switchable circuit breaker is nice.

quote:Originally posted by blacksheep:
Can the cruise be reloacted to where charcoal canister resides? Maybe. Why not just ditch the charcoal canister and put a battery down there? There's plenty of room, and it's better weight distribution.

A friend did that on his Talon, and it's quite awesome. Just run some bigass wire up to the fuse box, and put a switchable circuit breaker there and you don't have to disconnect it.


quote:Originally posted by blacksheep:
Other choice would be to find a smaller battery with the same capacity of an optima to support my stereo and gauges. It gets cold out here in the winters and so I need all the cranking I can get. Get an Odyssey. They're better than Optimas anyway. And not very expensive either, if you know how to shop.

My last one had 8 gajillion amps and never gave me any headaches. I killed it a few times, being a dumbass and leaving the lights on, but it always recharged just fine. The car sat for almost a year, with the battery in it, and fired right up on the first try. It's now in a friend's car. I will never, ever buy any other kind of battery again.

 

[blacksheep]

Jon - From what I have read on here, if the car is taken to the track, it needs an external kill switch, battery and box bolted down well and what I call a "fireplate" (The trunk has to have a firewall welded so its isolated fully from the rest of the car)

I will have 6 gauges, 1 big amp, cd player, (boost controller and timer) all requiring juice. So, I am nervous about the odyssey...

Good idea with the battery down there. I bet it would be easier to weld a tray in with the engine out

Thanks for the insight!

 

[GVR-4]

With all those restrictions, I think the only way you're gonna get it to fit is if you mount it on is side where the stock intake usually is.

 

[blacksheep]

Anyone with the scott evans tray and regular battery: How much clearance is left with the hood? There are a few other odysseys with more cranking amps that are a bit taller and could fit...

 

so , what do u guys think of moving the coolant resevoir and the power steering resevoir and just putting the battery there?

 

[blacksheep]

henrok - I will go and look tomorrow. I am curious about clearance and the crowded area there...

 

There are boxes that comply with the NHRA rule 8:1, so you wouldn't need to weld in a firewall or whatever. I'm not sure on the external kill switch, I'll be checking on that soon as I'm going to an NHRA track this year and just ordered a Taylor aluminum box for the trunk.

 

From the NHRA Sport Compact rulebook...

8:1 Batteries
All batteries must be securely mounted. Batteries may not be relocated into the driver or passenger compartments. Rear firewall of .024-inch steel or .032-inch aluminum (including package tray)required when battery is relocated in trunk. In lieu of rear firewall, battery may be located in a sealed .024-inch steel, .032-inch aluminum, or NHRA-accepted poly box. If sealed box is used in
lieu of rear firewall, box may not be used to secure battery and must be vented outside of body. Relocated battery(s) must be fastened to frame or frame structure with a minimum of two
3/8-inch-diameter bolts. (“J” hooks prohibited or must have open end welded shut.) Metal battery hold-down straps mandatory. Strapping tape prohibited.

8:4 Master Cutoff
Mandatory when battery is relocated or on any vehicle running 9.99 or quicker. An electrical power cutoff switch (one only) must be installed on the rearmost part of each vehicle and be easily
accessible from outside the car body. This cutoff switch must be connected to the positive side of the electrical system and must stop all electrical functions, including magneto ignition. The off position must be clearly indicated with the word “OFF.” If switch is “push/pull” type, “push” must be the action for shutting off the electrical system, “pull” to turn it on. Any rods or cables used to activate the switch must be minimum 1/8-inch diameter. Plastic or keyed switches prohibited.

 

quote:Originally posted by blacksheep:
Jon - From what I have read on here, if the car is taken to the track, it needs an external kill switch, battery and box bolted down well and what I call a "fireplate" (The trunk has to have a firewall welded so its isolated fully from the rest of the car) Then don't take it to the track.

I'm only half joking here... it never ceases to amaze me how many people drag their GVR4s. Or any car, for that matter.

quote:Originally posted by blacksheep:
I will have 6 gauges, 1 big amp, cd player, (boost controller and timer) all requiring juice. So, I am nervous about the odyssey... I doubt the gauges will add a significant draw on the system, and the cd player probably won't draw any more than the stock stereo. I also can't see a turbo timer being a large load either. The controller, maybe, as it has a servo or solenoid or something that will probably be firing frequently, yet people run those all the time with no problem. Which brings us to your amp, something I know nothing about, as car audio stuff also perplexes me. Here's a link that shows the specs of the battery I was using. So, it's not as hot as the red top, true, but it's smaller, lighter, and cheaper and is still more powerful than a regular battery. Oh, and that's not the cheapest place to buy 'em either, but it came up first on Google.

http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=ODY-PC925MJT

quote:Originally posted by blacksheep:
Good idea with the battery down there. I bet it would be easier to weld a tray in with the engine out

Thanks for the insight! You could probably just weld it up outside the car and bolt it to whatever the charcoal canister bolts to. That's basically how my friend did it, and his engine was in the whole time. I don't think he removed anything but the charcoal canister. He did it from the bottom though, with the car on jackstands.

 

[blacksheep]

Jon - I have run the odyssey 925MJT in blacksheep (v 1.0) and greenbean (pics can be found on the board)

Yesterday, I found an odyssey which is bigger than the 925MJT and was hoping to see if it will fit.

ODY925MJT 6 5/8" (L) x 7 1/16"(W) x 5 13/16" (H)
ODY925MJT 7 13/16"(L) x 6 9/16"(W) x 7 9/16" (H)

Only issue, it is 2" taller than the 925MJT and I am afraid it may hit the hood in the airbox location. It still eliminates having a wide 90 degree bend in the UIC pipe to the TB.

SJG - Thanks for posting the rules. So, I would not need a firewall if I bought the box as recommended by the rules, I wonder if anyone makes one.

quote: Mandatory when battery is relocated or on any vehicle running 9.99 or quicker. Does the above apply for the 1/8 th mile or the quarter ?

Seriously...

Thanks to all those who posted!

 

[blacksheep]

Something my wife mentioned to me got me thinking. She reminded me I need to run wire back to the trunk for the amp and for the fuel pump rewire. She said wouldnt it make sense to run just the battery wire to the trunk ? Hmm...makes some sense esp with that taylor box and taylor switch...

 

[curtis]

The optima batteries don't fall in the same class as the run of the mill batteries from wal-mart etc. If your track officials aren't real ass holes all you need is an angle iron tray so the battery doesn't bounce all over the trunk. They don't require a firewall, sealed box or a vent.

 

I want to do the same thing, for the same reasons. I'll see what I can come up with. The car is apart and I have to make I/C piping for my EVO i/c, so this is a good time for me to try things out.

 

blacksheep, I belive it applies to EITHER 1/8 or 1/4 mile. Also, the common thing to do is to mount the switch behind the license plate, then take the plate off when at the track. This seems pretty sensible as there aren't any other ideal locations on the back of a Galant... Yeah, I was just in the garage for a half hour trying to figure out a good spot, there aren't any.

I think mine will go behind the plate.

Curtis, you're right about the Optima's, that may be what I end up running, but I intend to have a box/switch/vent/etc. just so I don't end up showing up on track day only to get sent home by some lame inspection person.