Glan Noye
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| posted on 21/5/04 at 08:47 PM |
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Battery position
I am thinking about fitting my battery behind my drivers seat at floor level.I think the weight would be better placed here.Any comments? Thanks.
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 21/5/04 at 08:56 PM |
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It would have to be a thin battery, or you would have to assume a very italian driving position to match your engine
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
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Glan Noye
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| posted on 21/5/04 at 09:03 PM |
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Perhaps I should have said just in front of the axle!
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Hellfire
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| posted on 21/5/04 at 09:13 PM |
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Would that be in front of or below the fuel tank  either way it's worth considering. 
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 21/5/04 at 09:19 PM |
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kaboom
mines in the centre of the bulkhead above the engine - ala morri minor.
last thing to get hit methinks
atb
steve
[Edited on 21/5/04 by stephen_gusterson]
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Glan Noye
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| posted on 21/5/04 at 10:45 PM |
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I remember drag racers putting extra weight over the right rear wheel as engine torque tends to put more load on left wheel during takeoff to reduce
wheelspin. Any thoughts on this theory? Glan
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Peteff
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| posted on 21/5/04 at 11:03 PM |
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I'll fill my pockets with change and see if it makes a difference. I don't think you're going to get much benefit from it in the
way of traction, but it will mean running a long battery cable. I think the drawbacks outweigh the advantages. Put it somewhere easier to get at and
save yourself some hassle in the future.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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MikeR
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| posted on 21/5/04 at 11:04 PM |
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What about at the end of the passenger footwell? So what if they loose 9" of foot space? Its low down, protected and where a lot of people seem
to put them.
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zetec
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| posted on 22/5/04 at 05:13 AM |
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I sunk mine in the panel just in front of the engine side of the bulkhead, and made up a tray about 2" for the battery to sit in. This secures
the battery and you don't notice the loss of space in the passenger footwell at all.
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Hellfire
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| posted on 22/5/04 at 09:32 AM |
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zetec - sounds like a great idea.
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JB
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| posted on 22/5/04 at 11:47 AM |
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Making the effort to mount any wieght as low as possible in a vehicle is effectivly free handling.
On a front engined car I try to get as much wieght off the front and move it to low around the axle. The compromise comes when you have extra wieght
of battery cable, is it worth it?
I think it is.
JB
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Peteff
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| posted on 22/5/04 at 03:00 PM |
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The compromise comes when you have extra wieght of battery cable, is it worth it?
Is it worth a slipped disc hoiking the battery out the bottom of the boot, I think not . I've just looked in mine and there's no room for
it there anyway, I'd have to make the trailing arms 6" longer or use a PP9.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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britishtrident
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| posted on 24/5/04 at 11:08 AM |
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With the Locost I would concentrate more in balance the weight right to left when only the driver is aboard the battery is just about the only
heavyish relocatable part availble as a counrer balance..
[Edited on 24/5/04 by britishtrident]
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derf
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| posted on 24/5/04 at 12:47 PM |
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I dont know about everyone else, but I own and use tractor batteries in all my vehicles, and I plan to use one in the locost too. The battery is 1/3
the size of a standard battery, weighs 13lbs (US) and has all the cranking power, but it doesnt last long withouy juice flowing to it. A radio that is
left on for an hour without the engine spinning will kill it, and If I ever leave a light on, I can expect to need a jump the next day.
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Hellfire
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| posted on 24/5/04 at 03:40 PM |
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quote:
Oringinally posted by derf
If I ever leave a light on, I can expect to need a jump the next day.
Don't we all...
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NS Dev
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| posted on 24/5/04 at 05:09 PM |
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everybody seems to have skipped by Mike R's idea, I would say the best place by a long way, at the very front of the passenger footwell, with a
nice footrest shaped cover, very neat, weight nearish the c of g of the car, think it's where mine will go. (I'll be using a dms gel
battery and it can pretty much be sealed away and forgotten about, also mounted on it's side so nice and low and out of the way.
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scutter
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| posted on 25/5/04 at 05:58 AM |
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Just a thought on this one, but can you a old mini battery tray dropped into the passenger side scuttle panel?
Would save fabricating a tray up.
All the best Dan.
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britishtrident
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| posted on 25/5/04 at 07:37 AM |
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I thought of buying a new Mini tray battery repair panel but when I proced found its a fairly expensive option, the battery tray on the Rover 820
from a scrappies is a better option it unbolts easily has a plastic liner it also has the advantge of gripping the battery at the base Ford
style.
One thing to consider when sizing the battery is the type of iginition and fuel system fitted, an injection system needs a fair whack of both
voltage & current also some ECUs such the Rover MEMS put a drain on the battery even with the ignition off.
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splitrivet
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| posted on 25/5/04 at 09:23 AM |
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As Steve pointed out a battery close to a fuel tank (probably home made) in a vehicle very low to the ground so more difficult to see from an
approaching truck with little rear end protection and probably difficult to get out of.
With the added factor of a lot more work to route the heavy gauge cabling.
No thanks.
Cheers,
Bob
[Edited on 25/5/04 by splitrivet]
I used to be a Werewolf but I'm alright nowwoooooooooooooo
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 25/5/04 at 09:47 AM |
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I dunno what the tester would think - perhaps nothing....
but if I was in an accident, id prefer not to have a box of acid leaking upside down over my passenger in the event of a biggie accident.....
atb
steve
quote:
Originally posted by NS Dev
everybody seems to have skipped by Mike R's idea, I would say the best place by a long way, at the very front of the passenger footwell, with a
nice footrest shaped cover, very neat, weight nearish the c of g of the car, think it's where mine will go. (I'll be using a dms gel
battery and it can pretty much be sealed away and forgotten about, also mounted on it's side so nice and low and out of the way.
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 25/5/04 at 09:48 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by stephen_gusterson
I dunno what the tester would think - perhaps nothing....
but if I was in an accident, id prefer not to have a box of acid leaking upside down over my passenger in the event of a biggie accident..... perhaps
its a lesser problem with a gel battery
atb
steve
quote:
Originally posted by NS Dev
everybody seems to have skipped by Mike R's idea, I would say the best place by a long way, at the very front of the passenger footwell, with a
nice footrest shaped cover, very neat, weight nearish the c of g of the car, think it's where mine will go. (I'll be using a dms gel
battery and it can pretty much be sealed away and forgotten about, also mounted on it's side so nice and low and out of the way.
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MikeR
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| posted on 25/5/04 at 11:39 AM |
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hmmm, i was imagining the battery being boxed in a little plus all the passenger has to do is move their legs backwards.
If the accident is that bad they can't move the legs - well a few drops of acid probably won't make a lot of difference from the sealed
battery.
Actually, if the accident is that bad that the car is upside down the acid is just going to drip toward the engine - away from the passengers feet
(roll bar put the passenger in the air with the nose pointing down).
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 25/5/04 at 01:27 PM |
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what if you crashed going up a hill?
atb
steve
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NS Dev
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| posted on 25/5/04 at 03:33 PM |
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with the dms battery it doesn't leak even if cracked open, so no real problem (yes I have seen one cracked open in a crash) plus no need to
fabricate a tray, just strap it on it's side to the floor. It's designed to go at all sorts of angles in the planes it was originally
conceived for so a car is not too demanding.
I know it's not low cost but it's a bit like buying snap-on tools, you only buy once, and it never goes wrong!
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