Smaller battery closer to the starter = weight savings?

[oil pan 4]

The best way to save lots of battery weight with out giving up lots of cranking power is to get a LiFePO4 battery.
I went from 100+lb in my diesel to about 20lb of batteries.
Only problem is they really don't work so well below freezing.

[jakobnev]

Supercaps:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3x_kYq3mHM

[Cobb]

In my experience its the grounding that needs beefing up in most cars, not the positive cable. I am sure you will find situations where the lead to power the starter is damaged, but you will find more benefit from upgrading or doubling up the lead from the alt as it has a very aggressive charge curve when you crank up and a heavier wire there makes a big difference.

More grounds help in many ways not just starting. THey help with the radio, throttle response, shifting of a computer controlled automatic, etc. I daisy chain a lot of grounds on my previous vehicles, however my Honda came already like that.

Now starters over time just draw mo and mo power as they age. I was watching Truck U the other day and they tested the starter of a diesel truck with dual batteries. It passed as a working starter, however when they checked the voltage of the 2 good batteries while cranking it dropped to like 9 volts and they said it needed replacing as it was drawing too much.

Now the Honda uses a on/off switch that turns the charging system depending on the voltage of the battery. With a hybrid Honda it uses a dc to dc converter from the pack so your charging system needs takes away from your assisting needs. I found a BIGGER battery to help with the IMA performance and even jumped to a deep cycle. Wow, the u1 deep cycle rocks in regards to IMA performance, charging going up hill, etc.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

To have a safe start-up capability, the smaller battery might be preceded by other measures to decrease the overall electricity consumption. Eventually, it might not pay for itself so soon, but each dollar that isn't sent to Middle East oil traders is worth.

[gone-ot]

...if nothing else, it will definitely affect the vehicles' center-of-gravity location (wink,wink).

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...if nothing else, it will definitely affect the vehicles' center-of-gravity location (wink,wink).

Once, I adviced a guy who needed extra rear weight in his 4BT-converted Nissan 240SX to get a dual-battery setup, which also led to easier cold starts

[mwebb]

Originally Posted by jakobnev

Supercaps:

i saw this too , i have it bookmarked and i was going to post it here

you got there first

this will save most of the weight of the battery
whatever the battery size
it may need a small battery to supplement , or not, i have not used this setup yet , but i do intend to try it

[PaleMelanesian]

Honda's ahead of the game on this one. (yay? ) My Fit has a 151R battery, rated at 330 CCA. It's smaller than the Miata battery. Some folks with Fits are "upgrading" to the Miata battery for more capacity. You can definitely take things too far and I think this is one case where they did.

Seriously, the thing is just an inch bigger than those lawn mower batteries.

[Cobb]

I bet those caps would help all hybrids get a boost in mpg. Glad I havent blown any money on lifepo4 cells.

[Sven7]

Surprised Frank hasn't mentioned this yet... talk about weight savings! Just make sure your health insurance is paid up.