I'm gathering all the peices to relocate my battery to the rear bins and could usesome advise.

1..... I've noticed in other threads that some people use 0 gauge wire while others are using 2 gauge. Is the larger wire over kill or just perdonal taste?

2.....About how long will my power wire need to betoreach the pass. bin?

3.....What gauge wire should I run to the starter? and will I need abreaker in that line?

4.....What did you guys do with the stock negative cable? Did you cut it after it grounds under the driver side fusebox?

5.....I can't see the pix in the FAQ write-up thread so could those who have done this post some pix of how the battery is secured in the bin? (need some fabrication ideas)

Thanx

BTW I will be using a westo miata battery

 

You should be able find a chart online that shows how much current per length each gauge of wire can handle. If you assume a max current of 120A (that's what the big fuse is in the main fuse box), and you know how long your wire is going to be from front to back, then you can determine what gauge you need. I used 0/1 gauge, but generally speaking I would expect 2 gauge to be fine.

Depends where you route it. Just pull out a tape measure and make a pretty good estimate. I think I bought 15ft and ended up only using 10-12ish.

I just used the stock wire for that. I didn't run a new one.

If you take apart the fuse box, you'll find that the ground cable is actually crimped to a connector that is then screwed into the fuse box. You can just unscrew it and remove the ground without cutting it.

I bought some 90 degree angle and some square tube pieces of aluminum from Home Depot. Using the 90 degree stuff, I made a little frame to hold the battery and bolted that into the bottom of the car. Then on the outside of my little frame, on 2 sides, I riveted in a piece of the square tube aluminum. Then on the outside of the square tube I drilled a hole on each side to hold the battery tie downs.

If that doesn't make sense I can try and take some pics.

- Andy

 

Don't forget to put a fuse or breaker inside the bin, as close to the battery as possible!!!

 

Thanx for the tips guys Palsor1: pix of your setup would be great

 

Lots of pictures here. 0 gauge wire is probably overkill - 2 or even 4 should be fine.

 

Here are a few pics of mine. I used 2 gauge & it starts the V8 without a care.




Here is the mount I used:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Custo...QQcmdZViewItem

 

Will these setups clear tech at the track if you are running a gel cell battery with no battery box and vent tube?

 

IIRC, if the battery is located in the rear you need a sealed box, breather hose, and shut-off switch.

 

Depends on the track, club, and venue. I have run my Optima in the pax rear bin for years without issue. These are however requirements for *race* cars. Track cars...not so much and do vary.

Is it true that the sealed gel cell batteries don't need a breather?

Crispy

 

Thats what i was wondering

 

And it has to be securely mounted to the frame with at least 3/8" bolts yada, yada, yada.

There's all types of stupid outdated special requirements if competing in drag racing. I didn't get hassled with my AGM Miata battery in the bin tied down with a rope and no battery cutoff when I went to the drag strip. I have since added an (E-bay) circuit breaker/switch and better securing but I haven't been back to the drag strip. I used 2 gauge welding cable for my "wire" and I would think 4 gauge would be enough. Using wire that has lots of strands will make routing much easier (more flexible) and is better quality too. I hear the AGM batteries can't vent enough to be a problem. It's probably true considering they can be shipped by regular UPS while "normal" car batteries can't.

 

Very true

Most of the tech guys here are dicks to the import scene, The high HP Supra's around here ruined it for us all.

 

not to tread jack but what size fuse or cb should be unsed a 120A?

 

The referenced FAQ write ups all mention breaker sizes. I have no idea what a 'cb' is. Citizen Band radio?

 

At least a 150 Amp circuit breaker should be fine. In case you missed the link above you really should read this excellent writeup...

http://www.stanford.edu/~sunid/battery/

My battery relocation is very similar except I used...

2 gauge welding wire with generic ring terminals (2 gold plated ring terminals were included with my circuit breaker).

A generic brand 12V 160 Amp circuit breaker.

My battery is reversed. The positive is on the driver side. I didn't add a fuse box.

I ran the negative cable to the bolt for the seat belt (no holes drilled through the frame). I also ran some extra grounds from there to other places.

I put some foam in the bottom of the bin and fiberglassed over it instead of building a tray. I drilled 2 small holes in the bin and ran a small rope from inside the bin through the bin, under the bottom of the bin and back inside the bin. I tied it at the top of the battery to secure it.

Here is a link to the cheap Ebay circuit breakers...

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...e=search&fgtp=

They look like they are all made by the same company with different labeling and options added.

 

Im sorry Im an electrician and thats how were abbreviate circuit breaker.

 

tell me how it goes. I am getting ready to do the same

 

btw, Summit has battery relocation kits that aren't too expensive and do the job just fine. i paid a little over $70 +s/h for a kit and it's more then plenty. it's a ton cheaper than the Stinger cable and connectors that were used in that write-up.

 

It's a ton cheaper because it includes almost no parts:



http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

This kit has about $30 worth of parts in a $70 kit. This box will not fit in FD bins without hacking them to bits. And there is no breaker. A breaker is essential for a safe install.

This kit will do the job just fine for the typical half-assed FD battery relocation projects.

 

I bought the Taylor Vertex battery relocation kit for about $40 from Summit Racing. [which included 16 feet of red 2 gauge wire, 3 feet of black negative 2 gauge (both with battery terminals already attached), a battery tray, battery hold downs, and tray mounting hardware] I knew the box was too big to fit from the above kit.

Details for my install here:
http://reganrotaryracing.tripod.com/batrelo.htm

FWIW
Crispy

 

this kit, the one that i got, costs $73. link



the equivalent Stinger parts in the write-up cost $115 from hifisoundconnection.com, which is a TERRIBLE company. i tried buying the Stinger parts from them, and will never bother with Hi-Fi again. i ended up getting the Summit kit because of the $40 difference. yes, that is a lot cheaper, especially for those of us that have to mind a budget.

and no, neither the "perfect relocation job" or the "typical half-assed projcect" price includes the breaker. that's an extra $70-75 regardless of whether you get Stinger parts or Summit parts.

btw, i really appreciated your relocation write-up. i have it printed and it's in my FD Projects How-To binder that i keep in my garage. keep up the good work.

 

Apologies if I suggested that your install was half-assed.

I spent 150-200 hours on this project so saving $40 was not a priority. You'd have to put a pretty low value on your time for $40 to matter on a project of that length. I even mention in the write up that generic components will do the job just as well as the Singer hardware.


I ordered from hifisoundconnection.com only once so I can't vouch for how good they are. This hardware can be found in many places though.

 

I did a battery relocation on my silver FD so I could fit the pettit coolcharge III in . Well, my stereo guy did the vast majority of the work. I'll snap some pictures next time I'm at the shop.

 

Thanx^ BTW did you get your battery? I should arrive sometime today.

 

I'm sure it came in. It was delivered to the shop. I won't be at the shop until this weekend.