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Adventures in installing a lightweight battery, part 1
So I my battery has been dying for the past month or so. I've been trickle charging the battery overnight a couple of times a week, and last weekend my wife left the car with the stereo on and ended up with a dead battery. Since I'm just not normal (according to my wife), and I wanted a lighter weight battery, I ordered an Odyssey PC925 along with a set of automotive terminals from Amazon. I've used smaller Odyssey PC680 batteries in 4 cylinder cars in the past and had good luck with them, so I thought I would try the bigger version in the IS350. Between the battery and terminals it ended up being $160, not a-lot more than a regular battery. I'm sure this won't last 7 years, but that is a cost I am willing to pay for the reduced weight.
So, I weighed the new battery (23.6lbs on my bathroom scale) and then took the OEM beast out and weighed it (40.4lbs on the scale) for a savings of 16.8lbs. The size difference between the two is laughable. The depth of the battery (front to back) is virtually the same as the stock battery, the width and height are another story:
Due to the size difference the install was... interesting.
Looking lonely with all that space:
It might be hard to see, but there is almost 4" of space between the new battery and the hold down. Yup, the new battery is almost 4" shorter than OEM:
So I had to get a little creative with holding the battery down
So, smart readers will probably realize that this is part 1 because I wood (see what I did there?!) rather not leave my battery clamping duties to a piece of wood. Part two (or three depending on how long it takes) will include some sort of clever solution with some or all of the OEM battery tray being replaced with carbon fiber.
The car started right up with the new battery, the real test will come when I've spent a couple of winters with it. Now if I could just figure out how to get the windows to work again... I kidd!
Interesting, I used a Stinger battery which is made by Odyssey also for thr red color. You can try and put a piece of wood under it to raise it up enough. Good luck with your project.
Interesting, I used a Stinger battery which is made by Odyssey also for thr red color. You can try and put a piece of wood under it to raise it up enough. Good luck with your project.
Agreed, this looks like the easiest solution. Just cut the wood to size (base of battery dimensions) and keep stacking. If you want to get fancy paint the wood black.
This is interesting but the 16 pounds regular weight saving like this is very small.
The real weight saving should be done to "unsprung weight" on the suspension or the wheels. Reducing this kind of weight would significant reduce the rotational force required to rotate the wheels to move the car. I think some mention that saving 10 pounds on the unsprung weight is equivalent to saving 100 pounds on regular weight.
This is interesting but the 16 pounds regular weight saving like this is very small.
The real weight saving should be done to "unsprung weight" on the suspension or the wheels. Reducing this kind of weight would significant reduce the rotational force required to rotate the wheels to move the car. I think some mention that saving 10 pounds on the unsprung weight is equivalent to saving 100 pounds on regular weight.
What if I ejected my girlfriend out of the car? Seems easier than messing with my suspension and cheaper!
Hell yeah and put yourself on diet too Jokking lol
lol when I just checked this thread again she was hovering around and read what I wrote and smacked me upside the head. I just realized that she has some heavy *** hands.
lol when I just checked this thread again she was hovering around and read what I wrote and smacked me upside the head. I just realized that she has some heavy *** hands.
05-15-14, 08:19 PM
Adventures in installing a lightweight battery, part 1
and I wanted a lighter weight battery, I ordered an Odyssey PC925 along with a set of automotive terminals from Amazon. I've used smaller Odyssey PC680 batteries in 4 cylinder cars in the past and had good luck with them, so I thought I would try the bigger version in the IS350. Between the battery and terminals it ended up being $160, not a-lot more than a regular battery. I'm sure this won't last 7 years, but that is a cost I am willing to pay for the reduced weight.
Jokking lol
