Smaller aftermarket batteries / cold cranking amps

[Shaun41178(2)]

I have been looking at some dry cell batteries to replace the standard battery I am using. The current one is an autozone special I think, rated at around 550-600 CCA.

I have been looking at Odyssey batteries but I want one that is smaller then a factory replacement so that I can make room for other things in the factory battery location. I do NOT want to relocate the battery at this time.

My question is how low can I go and still have the car start? I was looking at Honda sized batteries. A Odyssey pc680 has 220 CCA but I am not sure if this is enough. I would hate to pay the $120 for one, and not have it work. It can put out 680 cranking amps for 5 seconds.

Since it hardly ever gets cold here, I figure this should work. CCA I think is measured at 0 degrees, which it never gets to here in florida and the odyssey has a cca of 220 cca. At 32 degrees its 370 cca. It does get down to 32 here sometimes, but very rarely.

one side bonus is the 680 weighs about 15 lbs which is what 25 lbs lighter then a stock battery I would say.

Rough comparison of a 680 next to a regular sized battery



Thoughts?

[Aaron]

Thoughts?

Park on a hill and delete the battery altogether.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Still need a battery to deal with alternator load fluctuations.

Borrow a clamp-on ammeter and see how many amps it takes to start your car in the worst case conditions you're likely to see. It's winter, so now's a good time.

The CCA rating is almost a rating of how long a battery can source current. You won't actually get to your CCA rating at 0 degrees unless you're trying to start a Cummins. However, the higher the CCA rating of the battery, the longer it can crank at a given load.

Do you know anyone who uses such a battery?

My friend Chris had an MR2 Spyder a few years back and installed a small battery in it in pursuit of lightness. It worked fine for him in Pensacola and Jacksonville, but he had an 8.8:1 1.8 litre four cylinder (and a turbo, but the starter obviously doesn't turn that).

[Shaun41178(2)]

I have been doing research on it and have found that the miata guys are using these, or some variant of it by a different company, also bmw e30 guys are using them and even remote mounting them in the trunks. I have read where they have gone out in freezing temps and the car still started.

Since it is so rare to be that cold in florida, and the fact that my battery will be much closer to the starter, I am pretty sure I should be ok. Only thing that had me worried was the fact I have 6 cylinders instead of the 4 like what these guys are using, plus my compression is going to be around 9.6-9.8:1

[The Dark Side of Will]

E30 guys have six cylinder engines. They're only 2.5 litres and 8.8 compression, but still sixes.

[Shaun41178(2)]

hmmm ok, well I think I will be ok then. The battery is $104 from Amazon so thats not too expensive. Plus I need a new battery anyways.

[AkursedX]

If you want to be baller, you could get a lithium battery. Porsche makes a nice lightweight battery as an option.

Voltphreaks also makes some nice options.

Or if you are adventurous, you could make your own lithium battery like this guy did.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Nice. I didn't know Lithium batteries were available in the automotive market yet.

We use them on spacecraft because of their light weight and high capacity.

However, also because of their high capacity, they are a *LOT* more dangerous than lead/acid batteries if they are "mistreated". Puncturing a cell can very easily start a fire or cause small explosion if you're having a really bad day.

[AkursedX]

Nice. I didn't know Lithium batteries were available in the automotive market yet.

That's because you're a Fiero-owner,

Just kidding. But yeah, there are a couple other Lithium-battery manufacturers out there for automobiles. I didn't know about these until I spent some time reading on the RX8 forum as weight-savings is almost a religion amongst some of those guys.

[Shaun41178(2)]

very cool links. Thanks for sharing. Voltphreaks is pretty cool tech. I am not that baller though. It seems many people say the odyssey only lasts for 2 years. That kind of sucks.

[Shaun41178(2)]

I am going to give the Odyssey a shot. I will take pics when it arrives and how I plan to have it sit.

[Series8217]

I'm using a Westco Miata battery front-mounted in my 3.4 DOHC V6 Fiero.

I bought it from here: http://www.gomiata.com/wessealbat.html

[Shaun41178(2)]

I looked at the Westcos too ironically enough. Well I guess if you have that mounted up front I should be ok with mine mounted in the rear still with less voltage drop to the starter. starting should be a non issue I think.

If the odyssey turns out to last 1-2 years I might have to look into trying a Westco, esp if reviews show it lasting longer than 2 years.

[Nashco]

Also worth mentioning/considering what starter you're using. I picked up one of the 60° gear reduction starters on a newer 3400 (?) for shits and giggles in a junkyard one day, mostly because of the weight reduction. I have no data to support my theory, but I am guessing that the gear reduction starter would make life a little easier on the battery during cranking.

I've got a pair of Prius NiMH batteries I used to crank over my stockish Honda D16. With a room temperature engine and battery, it cranked for about 30 seconds no problem. I never ran it with a charging system or anything, just curious how it did with cranking. That battery with compression bolts, housing, and cables was less than 10 pounds. I had it laying around in a pile of leftover batteries from my hybrid Fiero project, so it was free to me, your mileage may vary.

Bryce

[Shaun41178(2)]

Not sure if I mentioned it or not but yes, I am using the smaller gear reduction starter from a 3400.

[Shaun41178(2)]

Some comparo pics of the Odyssey next to a factory sized battery. Should be worth a savings of about 30lbs as the Odyssey weighs about 15.5 lbs.

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[jdv]

I know you already have a battery but this bracket might work for you.
http://www.performancedistributors.com/batteries.htm

[Shaun41178(2)]

great link. I am going to have the battery in the factory location, and the stock battery hold down will actually work with this battery so that is what I am going to use.

If one were to move the battery to the trunk or somewhere else, that would be a great bracket to pick up seeing as it is a nice clean setup.

[willie]

A lot of competition drivers use batteries like this


http://www.amazon.com/Braille-Battery-c ... B001JHFMEW

[Shaun41178(2)]

a little update of sorts. After getting the battery, it will also come with an asst of hardware like nuts and lock washers and bolts. The little bolts are 6mm. Well teh factory battery terminals won't work, and I didn't bother to spring for the screw in terminals at the time of purhcase as I didn't know if I would need them at the time.

I wanted to keep my stock battery cables intact as much as possible. I know cutting and putting on new ends would have been easier and cleaner, but I wanted to see if this could work or not.

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