Lightweight Battery Installation

Mazda233

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Mazda 2 Sport
I made this aluminum and carbon fiber battery mount for a Ballistic 3.5 lb. battery - net savings 25 lbs.
 

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wow nice work man! never heard of those batteries until right now, it looks like they are primarily for bikes/atv/other gas powered toys? Let us know how it holds up in your car. I was thinking about using an odyssey battery in my car to cut down a few lb's and because I have used them in other cars but they are not even close to the weights those ballistic batteries hit.... 3.5lbs good lord..... I use an Odyssey PC680 in my other car and I think that battery is like 15 lbs....
 
I was using this battery in my 2.o Mazda 3, worked fine but I do not drive the 3 in the winter, might not work as well at -5 degrees.
 
Yeah that's why I was leaning towards the odyssey you can get a PC680 for around $120 and its got more than enough juice for the M2 but then again its 15lbs not 4...

either way that tray turned out great, and if the battery was fine in a 3 you shouldnt have any issues in the 2.
 
Nice job! That's an impressive weight reduction. I'm waiting until the stocker gives up before going lightwieght.

I had great results with the PC680 in my WRX after being unsatisfied with a Braille. I'll likely go that route in the 2 as well, or something similar. Plenty of power for "normal" use, and will hold a charge if not used for awhile. Going with one of these super-light ones is tempting, but I'm sure there are some caveats that would annoy me.
 
I have a Braille in my current daily driver 11.5 lbs., 3 or 4 years old, never fails to start the car no matter how cold. Along with reducing weight I was trying to free up space for a future project and the lithium battery is very small. The lithium batteries are expensive but if you look at the cost per pound of weight savings they are pretty good. I was also able to move the battery back a bit.
 
Very pretty, and solid work. I've never thought about using flat stock & tubing like that.

It seems like a missed opportunity though, unless I'm just not seeing it in your pictures, to move the battery much lower in addition to farther back. Was there not as much room back there as I'm thinking?
 
The problem is length and routing of the pos. cables, Could be overcome with rerouting or fabricating an extension plate on the battery post. I am simply running out of time, as I noted elseware I have 2 major engine builds underway and I want to have the 2 ready for track duty by spring. I have a list of parts that I plan to fabricate to reduce weight as time permits.
 
Mine is probably overkill but I stole it out of my Mazda 3 just to get the project done. Looking at different lithium for the 3. I used a 1.25 lb lith. in my 250 honda all summer and it worked flawlessly. Great technology.
 
What went wrong with your Braille eyeballs? I used one for years with no issue. I think it was the 11 pound.

Whenever I got in and turned the key, I'd wonder if this is the time it won't start. It always cranked very slow and took a good number of cranks to get going (or seemed like it did). Cold weather, or a week of non-use would make it even worse (bought a crx and forester as well during that time, the wrx was slowly morphing into a garage queen). As bad as it seemed, it actually never did fail to start the car though.
 
Ah, sounds like you got a dud. I'm trying to decided which battery to get once mine dies. Too bad that's probably 3 years away.
 
I'm going to put a caterpillar battery in mine. That's what I have in my truck and the gf's '09 Maxima. After reading this post I'm slightly interested in a lightweight one though. How does it affect boosting people off? Will sitting with the radio on and the car off or leaving the interior light on all night drain the battery?
 
How does it affect boosting people off? Will sitting with the radio on and the car off or leaving the interior light on all night drain the battery?

I had no problems with the odyssey mentioned above, and was afraid to run anything without the motor running on the braille (though others seem to have had no problems).
 
I ran the Braille in a car without a radio. But it did have 3 rally lights and a set of fogs. I was able to jump start a friends car no sweat.
 
I have the 11.5 lbs braille in my Miata and I jumped a FB RX-7 to life with it. Then I again I had the Miata running at 3K to help it out. I am planning on getting a 11.5lbs braille for the 2 since it is just a autocrosser/DD, plus I want to get one of the infinity basslink subs for it. I never though about mounting it as far back as I can to help position the weight
 
I would prefer an 20 lbs battery in the trunk/boot instead of a lightweight that I should pay attention not to leave the radio ON for more than 2 minutes.
 
I would prefer an 20 lbs battery in the trunk/boot instead of a lightweight that I should pay attention not to leave the radio ON for more than 2 minutes.

for autocross, some classes don't allow battery relocation.

Andres
 
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