You may remember me from such posts as, Adventures in installing a lightweight battery, part 1

If you would like to continue to complain about how dumb of an idea this is, or how I ruined my car, or how I am going to be stranded come winter when the car won't start, etc. please feel free to post in the other thread since it is already full of that kind of crap. Maybe posting this in the performance forum will keep some of that out as well...

Anyway, when I last posted on this I had installed a lighter battery, and it was so small that I was left with this mess:



It has worked for the last year or so, but believe it or not I wasn't terribly happy with a block of wood holding my battery in. So part 2 of the adventure had me ditching the stock battery hold down and wood block and replacing it with a cleaner solution:



What on earth may you ask is that battery hold down? Just a carbon fiber jobbie I made:


It is a deceptively complex little beast, and as sad as it sounds this is version 2.0. The first was too big and wouldn't fit. (measure twice build once? ) This one isn't perfect, and is quite overbuilt, so I've already got some ideas for version 3.0. Maybe next summer...
It had to be that goofy triangle shape in order to fit over the stock hold down bolt on the firewall. If you look closely you can see that had this just been a flat piece the entire bolt at the firewall would have been above the hold down. Also note the spacer on the bolt at the firewall, the threads don't go down to the top of my hold down, and the diameter is necked down slightly under the threads so I can't cut threads any farther down. Part 2.5 in this adventure will be when I figure out something better for both of the bolts. The front bolt will be easy enough, I just have to buy a stock bolt, cut it down and have someone weld a bolt on to it. The rear is a bit more challenging. If anyone knows where I can find a short, 6mm battery hold down hook, let me know.

Part three of this adventure will be replacing the stock under tray. This hold down keeps the battery in place front to back, but it still could move side to side, so I'll build in something to hold it in that direction.

 

It's always nice to see people having fun with their cars, provided it isn't unsafe or anything (and this seems safe enough).

Some people will never understand that some mods are because you want to do them, not because the math makes sense. I mean look at all the radical camber and tucked wheels. That is strictly esthetics, not performance.

In your case there is a small performance improvement but it isn't about reducing weight by 16 lbs, it's about lowering center of gravity!

 

Looks crafty.

Wouldn't you be able to make a flat bracket if you used the firewall hole as a bolt hole?
Think of a staircase effect where you just form an L shape? You could also extend the L past the battery and bend it down along side the battery for an even more snug fit?

Though this complex design looks pretty nice with the carbon fiber thing going lol
Keep up the good work!

 

That might work, but there are a couple of challenges. There is very little room between the bracket and the firewall, holding a nut in the right place while threading a bolt through a bracket, the hole, and into the nut would be pretty difficult. If you could get a nut back there and a bolt threaded in, the bolt would have to be cut to length so you didn't dimple the firewall. It is also in the wrong direction, it needs to be a hold down.

Thanks for the thought and the idea, I have thought about something along those lines for a secondary bracket. I know I don't have a perfect solution for that connection yet.

 

Just get the Braille carbon fiber battery with their bracket mount and bolt it to the firewall. Even had room for my ZEX solenoid beside it.

 

^Why stop there? I'd love to put in a ~5lb ~$1,500 lithium ion battery and save some more weight, but for me Its about cost/benefit. Batteries are disposable, I've had good luck in the past with Odyssey; if my luck holds out this battery will only cost ~$20 more than a stock battery. Putting an extra $150, (or $1,000) into a disposable item for a few more pounds isn't something I was willing to do.