new mod idea

[brent777]

here it go's my idea is having a marine battery in your car because with a car battery it takes a lot of its power to start a car and then the alternator charges the battery up. if you use a marine battery it wont lose as much power when you start your car and your alternator will not have to do as much work mpg!

[Tango Charlie]

The amount of power (energy expended over time, or work done over time) that is extracted from a battery will be the same, no matter the type of battery that is used.

That energy will need to be replaced to keep the battery charged, regardless of the type of battery that is used.

There may be an advantage if the marine battery is more efficient itself; i.e.-delivering and receiving energy with less internal losses. I'm no battery expert, so I can't speak to that.

You would have to do some ABA testing to prove any advantage. I doubt if you'd see any change that would show through the normal tank-to-tank variances. At best, it would be one of those "every little bit adds up" mods, IMHO.

[chrisgerman1983]

I also do not know much about batteries, but if a marine battery lasts longer then you could maybe get rid of your alternator and charge via trickle charger at home?

[UltArc]

Originally Posted by chrisgerman1983

I also do not know much about batteries, but if a marine battery lasts longer then you could maybe get rid of your alternator and charge via trickle charger at home?

Or rather than trickle, you could use a solar panel to charge it up. The nice prius uses it to run the AC so the car is cool when you get back in, it may work. I suppose a lot depends on when one drives, how they drive, parking garages at home/work.

Nice to see continued exploration on FE! Often I read over the site and begin to think we have found almost everything we can do.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by chrisgerman1983

I also do not know much about batteries, but if a marine battery lasts longer then you could maybe get rid of your alternator and charge via trickle charger at home?

That's what folks without alternators are doing.

[drmiller100]

there is a fair number of people doing this.

solar is pretty small, but it does charge all day while you are at work.

trickle charger for the evening.

Then hook the alternator so it only come on when the brake lights are on - deceleration.

several on this site doing this, but some of us question if it really makes much of a difference in your final MPG.

[brent777]

a car battery is make to lose its power quickly to turn the car motor over. a marine battery is made to go down little buy little.a car battery will use more percent of its power then a marine battery to do the same job so a marine battery is more efficient

[2000mc]

Did you understand tango Charlie's response?

If your car needs 200 amps for 3seconds to start, it will take it from whatever battery you install, if the battery cannot provide enough power to the starter your car won't start. If you can start your car with a similar size marine battery to your current battery, you might be better served by a smaller lighter automotive battery.

Remaining battery capacity wouldnt necessarily mean increased efficentcy, otherwise installing dual batteries would double your efficiency

[Daox]

What the others are saying is completely true. Simply switching to a deep cycle battery will do absolutely nothing for mileage. If you turn off the alternator and charger the battery via AC power you will see a gain.