Battery options for EOC - long distance

[VegasDude]

Originally Posted by brucepick

Ouch. I'm going off topic here, but - - -
In my experience, the loss of momentum from keeping the engine in gear far, FAR outweighs the small gain you receive by keeping the accessories going. That is, assuming a standard transmission and also assuming you're not trying to control a case of runaway steep downhill coasting speed buildup.

If ya wanna cut fuel and gain the most from it, put it in neutral ASAP, kill the engine and let her roll until the speed drops to the lowest you or the law or the traffic will accept.

My point was if you need to slow down, you're better off using DFCO than EOC and the brakes. The extra time the alternator is turning helps maintain the battery voltage.

[dcb]

but if you brake early and firmly, just enough so that the obstruction has time to clear by the time you roll by (instead of racing to a stop or braking slowly) you can save the maximum amount of momentum, no?

[NeilBlanchard]

For me, lack of vacuum assist is a bigger problem than electrical power. My battery is original, so well over 5 years old and ~110K miles; with lots of stop/start at stop lights.

[dcb]

that can be fixed with leverage, larger vacuum reserve, trip to the gym. Lack of vacuum has never stopped me (guffaw)

[PaleMelanesian]

I grid-charge mine at night when it gets low. In summer, that's once or twice a week. In winter, with headlights, that's daily.

Could you move the air filter and put a second battery in that front corner? Much closer than in the trunk.

[Wonderboy]

Bruce,
I haven't been driving the civic much lately, but when I was focused on driving it only, I had no problem with the battery I had. You know well I coast often. Sometimes I get lazy and take the highway and don't do any engine off anything unless there is a substantial downhill (usually I'll accelerate to 65 on any kind of advantageous terrain, and hold the load such that my speed reduces very slowly to 55, rinse repeat). Not to get too far off topic here, but as someone with a similar vehicle and similar techniques, I'd just get a new battery and wait on doing anything additional. My tiny little battery has been serving my abusive habits well (even in winter) since I've owned the car, and the battery came with it. Although I've eliminated my power steering and A/C, I'm still probably a heavy accessory user (FM transmitter for ipod + maxed out head unit to amplify the wimpy signal, and sometimes a GPS on trips) I seldom start with the key. Another side note: I don't know how much abuse my clutch had encountered with previous owners, or if it has been replaced, but I think I'm starting to see signs of slippage. Hope it's not solely from my constant bump starting :/ Be careful of this Bruce! Good luck!

[brucepick]

Thanks to all for the helpful input.

Based on all factors considered, I decided to get a "Gold" grade standard type automotive starting battery for the regular location, not a marine and not installed in the trunk. Bought it today + installed. Advance Auto Parts opened a new store two towns over and announced 25% off batteries - so I got a $9x.0 "Gold" battery for $7x.00. Good deal. It has higher CA and CCA and reserve than the standard grade i've been running on, which is about 5-6 years old now.

Yesterday I took smaller roads home, which allowed lots of EOC. I worked it pretty hard BUT the traffic, now that school has started and most folks are back from vacation, worked against me. I got essentially the same mpg as I would on the highway (45-46) which gets me home a lot faster. Last week I got 50-52 mpg on that route, which is what tempted me towards heavy EOC use. But it's not helpful if traffic kills the potential gains. Bear in mind it's ~55 miles each way so speed counts for something at that distance.

Also, investigating the trunk revealed 3 potential locations, all of them rearward of the rear wheels. I decided that would be detrimental to handling. Best of the 3 would be in the center, up against the trunk latch area. Still, not a great location, and I'd worry about rust starting where I would drill mount holes for a battery tray, and battery flying forward in an accident, which could have disastrous consequences.

An Optima yellow top would be a really nice choice, but the price is about $100 more than what I paid, and I'd find it hard to justify that to my good wife who is our financial wizard.

[Wonderboy]

An Optima yellow top would be a really nice choice, but the price is about $100 more than what I paid, and I'd find it hard to justify that to my good wife who is our financial wizard.

If I were you I'd only have the bad wife in on this plan anyway.

[brucepick]

Originally Posted by Wonderboy

If I were you I'd only have the bad wife in on this plan anyway.

After nearly 27 years together, she's the good wife.

I heard a great story about a guy's first wife once. We were a bunch who didn't know each other, just gathered waiting for an estate sale to open.

"Well, my first wife, she used to... And she'd ... And the other thing, she would..." "And ya know what, I'm still married to her."

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by brucepick

Also, investigating the trunk revealed 3 potential locations, all of them rearward of the rear wheels. I decided that would be detrimental to handling.

I doubt you'll ever notice much if any difference in handling though.

I've removed almost 50 lbs from behind the rear axle
(spare tyre, jack, container of windshield washer fluid, some small junk).
It has made no notable difference regarding handling.