Battery relocation

Topic: Battery relocation (Read 5786 times) previous topic - next topic

Battery relocation

September 18, 2012, 12:20:46 AM

I take it this is for weight distribution. I just read an article that said that putting a battery in the right side of the trunk is like moving your engine 5"-10" back. IF that is true, why don't I see more people doing it?

Battery relocation

Reply #1 – September 18, 2012, 04:53:05 AM

Because it's a PITA to do it!

The article may have overstated the benefit if the reference was to V8 RWD cars. Moving ~40 lbs from the front to the back is an improvement for weight transfer, but it's unlikely the equivalent of an engine set back.

I've recently done it on the Thunderbird and did it years ago on the Mustang. There are couple schools of thought on how to wire it, but if you want to be NHRA legal, there is only one way.

Battery relocation

Reply #2 – September 18, 2012, 05:50:00 AM

A photo is worth a thousand words!!! Trunk mounts are cool and i love doing them. It is an easy MOD and it cleans up the engine compartment and it works for weight distribution!!

Battery relocation

Reply #3 – September 18, 2012, 07:26:12 AM

I recently got in an argument with a friend over trunk mounting, he says ground the battery solely to the body and make the engine ground from the body on the other end, I say I don't want to push starting amps through the sheet metal and I would expect radio noise from his single ground, so I would ground the battery at it's location, but also run a main ground up to the engine. Your pic doesn't show either, so which do you do? Also, looking at your pic, I want to know if 1 battery is inadequate in some way.

Battery relocation

Reply #4 – September 18, 2012, 11:59:22 AM

86T-bird,
If you ever see me on a NHRA track, I have only one thing to say to you...RUN! Hope your yesterday was a Good Day! I'm sure setting up a trunk mount battery by their rules can be a PITA. I could pretty much tape the cable to my roof, I won't, but I could.
Tom,
Nice picture! I have already ordered my standard length battery cables, they should be here today. I wish I had seen the article sooner. I also read that putting 40 lbs. over the rear axle will give you a little more launch traction.
TheFoeYouKnow,
From what I've read, you should only need two batteries for a vehicle if you are running a lot of accessories. I also bought a ground strap (engine to body) for my Cougar. Maybe someone will chime in on grounding issues. Thanks!

Battery relocation

Reply #5 – September 18, 2012, 05:37:44 PM

I have been mounting batterys in trunks for 40 years. And you most certainly can ground them to the body. I do it all the time. NOPE the battery's are in PARALLEL of course and the engine in this car is massive NA with 12.5-1 CR. So i did not want any issues with cranking. It can crank with one battery but the DUAL battery setup is just a talking point. Something of an eye catcher. And a talking point. One battery is all you need. Thanks for asking

Body to engine cable

Engine side

Trunk ground

Here is another one. Every car we build has a trunk mount. It is like my signature of sorts!!

And another one in my CAMARO

Battery relocation

Reply #6 – September 18, 2012, 06:36:07 PM

I think I have come to the conclusion that the cables I received today will work fine as part of my battery relocation. If I do it right, it will look like I'm running braided line all the way to the front. I will just connect it to #2 cable for my positive. The other braided cable is plenty long to mount to the chassis. The battery box I have is metal and can mount from the side or the bottom. All I need now is the #2 cable.

Battery relocation

Reply #7 – September 19, 2012, 01:35:16 AM

Tom,
A marine battery in your Camaro?

Battery relocation

Reply #8 – September 19, 2012, 05:34:29 AM

YES!!! IT has more cranking power.

Battery relocation

Reply #9 – September 19, 2012, 08:40:03 AM

The best way to do it is straight from powermaster they said run 1 awg from pos to starter relay, 1 awg ground to frame then 6awg ground to the back of head. this is what I did and I have the same voltage at the back of the alternator as I do at the battery, its nice having everything on and still have it over 14v

Battery relocation

Reply #10 – September 19, 2012, 08:42:16 AM

Quote from: TOM Renzo;398505

A photo is worth a thousand words!!! Trunk mounts are cool and i love doing them. It is an easy MOD and it cleans up the engine compartment and it works for weight distribution!!

those look sweet but the tards at the track wont let you run the the batterys open at the track unless you have a 1/8" bulkhead sealing you off from the trunk

Battery relocation

Reply #11 – September 19, 2012, 12:12:23 PM

With a one gauge wire. The entire car as the ground did you expect you would have a voltage DROP. I DON'T THINK SO ????

Battery relocation

Reply #12 – September 19, 2012, 12:15:20 PM

The BLUE top setup in the photo above has a 3/0 ground and a 2/0 battery feed to the starter. Engine ground to body is 1 gauge

Battery relocation

Reply #13 – September 19, 2012, 12:18:31 PM

Basically i dont go to the track much so i really dont care about tech inspection. At the shows with the trunk and hood open it does all the talking!!! Thanks 347

Battery relocation

Reply #14 – September 19, 2012, 02:05:45 PM

Quote from: TheFoeYouKnow;398506

I recently got in an argument with a friend over trunk mounting, he says ground the battery solely to the body and make the engine ground from the body on the other end, I say I don't want to push starting amps through the sheet metal and I would expect radio noise from his single ground, so I would ground the battery at it's location, but also run a main ground up to the engine. Your pic doesn't show either, so which do you do? Also, looking at your pic, I want to know if 1 battery is inadequate in some way.

I've thought about this too. I have the battery mounted towards the rear of the TBird (behind pass seat on old rear seat floorpan. It's a non-spillable Odyssey). I have the battery grounded at it's location, and a couple engine-to-chassis grounds. I have a little radio noise and have thought about adding another ground from the battery up to the engine.