Figured I share my battery relocation. Wanting preserve as much room in front compartment as I could, i wondered if anyone put their battery in the empty area under headlight/in bumper. Did a search here and low and behold, I found and old thread where FieroGuru had done just that. I based basic tray off his design and went from there.
Tray is 16ga steel, hold down 1/8 x 1.5 plate. Cut out sheet metal under headlight and fitted tray to be spot welded in the rear, and welded along edge up front as lip was thin. Hold down bolts to frame and J hook to tray itself. Small tab on bottom for nose support. Drilled out the old horn mount hole and welded an M10 nut that will serve as the grounding lug for the battery. Positive will have a 200a breaker right off the terminal
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--Adam-- ASE Certified Technician
[This message has been edited by GTFiero1 (edited 05-16-2020).]
Nice job. I did mine about a year ago using aluminum plate. Took pics but don't recall posting anything.
Spoon
------------------ "Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut
------------------ Astronomy says we will find a coded signal from outer space. Then we'll KNOW that life exists there, for coded signals aren't by chance.
Biology says there are coded genetic signals in every cell, but we KNOW that no intelligence created life.
I'm the original owner of a white ' 84 2M4 purchased Dec 10, 1983 from Pontiac. Always garaged, no rust, 4-wheel drifts are fun!
In 2012 When I built my LS4/F40 car I went a different path. I switched to a small dyna-batt battery and made a try that fit under the sheet metal. Less weight, no trimming of chassis sheet metal required.
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Originally posted by fieroguru: Then I worked on the battery mount. I fabbed up these brackets to hold the battery, but ended up unbending one of the bolted flanges.
The battery is now mounted under the passenger head light, but the only modification to the sheet metal in that area was to drill seven 1/4" holes and remove the protruding flange from the 1" diameter drain hole on the bottom side. In the first picture you can see that the battery easily clears the bottom of the 88 coupe fascia (notice the 2 bolt air ducting bracket on the other side of the battery).
The mounting bracket holds the battery firm in 3 directions and the batter hold down tab secures it in the 4th direction.
Interesting project. I've seen battery relocation into the front compartment under the spare but this is the first I've seen off center. A couple of questions for you: 1) What's the advantage in relocating the battery to the front of the car? Do you notice any handling or ride issues with the additional weight of the battery so close to the front wheel? 2) What gauge wire do you use for the increased length of the battery leads?
Can you give a little info on the BAT (battery) you have. Positives an Negatives,
I read on the site it has 15hrs of energy, what does this mean. Do I have to disconnect it when not in use, my fiero is rarely use, but if i fo out for a a weekend. Should I have it on a constant trickler when in the garage?
i did mine under the headlight and i love how Freya handles then, and that is in comparison to the battery in the spare tire!
There is absolutely no way that installing a regular sized battery at the corner of a car is going to improve handling compared to having it mounted low and centrally.
Can you give a little info on the BAT (battery) you have. Positives an Negatives,
I read on the site it has 15hrs of energy, what does this mean. Do I have to disconnect it when not in use, my fiero is rarely use, but if i fo out for a a weekend. Should I have it on a constant trickler when in the garage?
Thank you in advance : )
Dyna-batt is a relabeled/re-badged Motorcycle battery w/ high price really made by www.odysseybattery.com and Not made to start or run a car. While fieroguru and few others likes/loves them, many have problems for many reasons. Search archives here and internet.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
Can you give a little info on the BAT (battery) you have. Positives an Negatives,
I read on the site it has 15hrs of energy, what does this mean. Do I have to disconnect it when not in use, my fiero is rarely use, but if i fo out for a a weekend. Should I have it on a constant trickler when in the garage?
Thank you in advance : )
Dyna-batt is a relabeled/re-badged Motorcycle battery w/ high price really made by www.odysseybattery.com and Not made to start or run a car. While fieroguru and few others likes/loves them, many have problems for many reasons. Search archives here and internet.
Can you give a little info on the BAT (battery) you have. Positives an Negatives,
I read on the site it has 15hrs of energy, what does this mean. Do I have to disconnect it when not in use, my fiero is rarely use, but if i fo out for a a weekend. Should I have it on a constant trickler when in the garage?
Thank you in advance : )
I have ran the Dyna-Batt for 6+ years. It easily cranked over by LS4/F40 swap even when I left the car parked outside over winter for a month or two between starts. My car is a 3 season driver so while it would sit for a month or two in the winter, I never put it on a trickle charger, nor was there ever a need to.
These smaller batteries do not have the reserve capacity of a larger one, but as long as the car starts with the first 5 tries (if it doesn't, fix those issues) and your car doesn't have an electrical drain (like from a security system), it will start your car when needed. What it won't do is allow you to run accessories with the engine off as long as a full-size battery. So if you make it a habit of leaving your lights on when you park your car, or listening to the radio while the car is parked, that will result in a dead battery sooner.
If you store your car for months, or you have to run a trickle charger to keep a full-size battery charged between starts, you will likely have more issues with Dyna-Batt than I have.
As with any modification, go into it eyes wide open. Understand the benefits and compromises and pick your path. I am going to stick with the Dyna-Batt.
There is absolutely no way that installing a regular sized battery at the corner of a car is going to improve handling compared to having it mounted low and centrally.
Right. The entire point of putting the engine in the middle is to collect the car's major masses into as small a footprint as possible. Moving the battery forward works against the reason the car is mid engine in the first place. Moving the battery also adds a bunch of copper to the car, and copper is heavy.
I think straight down from the stock location is about the best place in a Fiero to mount the battery... That keeps it as close as feasible to the engine for short cable runs, as close as practical to the car's CG without mounting it in the passenger compartment and puts it as low as possible in the car. I haven't done one like this, but the mini-battery shown above is especially well suited for that.
[This message has been edited by Will (edited 05-27-2020).]
Interesting project. I've seen battery relocation into the front compartment under the spare but this is the first I've seen off center. A couple of questions for you: 1) What's the advantage in relocating the battery to the front of the car? Do you notice any handling or ride issues with the additional weight of the battery so close to the front wheel? 2) What gauge wire do you use for the increased length of the battery leads?
If I was actively autocrossing maybe I would keep it in spare tire compartment more centrally located. When this car is done it will see probably 90%+ normal/leisure driving (which is probably most fieros) to which the weight location will make no real difference.
I'll use 0 gauge cable (welding cable) to run to the back. Power only, as ground will be short right to that lug I welded to chassis. Using 200a breaker right off terminal for safety. Engine will have multiple ground straps to chassis.
Originally posted by GTFiero1: I'll use 0 gauge cable (welding cable) to run to the back. Power only, as ground will be short right to that lug I welded to chassis. Using 200a breaker right off terminal for safety. Engine will have multiple ground straps to chassis.
Using Car's frame as return ground from engine causes many problems. Far easier and worse if just 1 joint is dirty or loose.
Every joint adds resistance even when good sucking power creating lower volts to everything is bad. Example: See my Cave, Electric Motors But can be far worse...
Worse? How? Like Iffy ground(s) can try to make coolant system to be a ground wrecking everything. Even rubber hoses. Coolant is good at conducting electric but will eat anything doing so. Even anti-rust chems in coolant wears out very fast when you have ground problems. More so every time you start the engine as 1.5kw starter pulls ~ 120 amps just to run, inrush can be 200 to 300+ amps when first turn the key. Many have "upgraded" to 1.7kw starter that uses ~ 135 amps to run and higher inrush.
Using Car's frame as return ground from engine causes many problems. Far easier and worse if just 1 joint is dirty or loose.
Every joint adds resistance even when good sucking power creating lower volts to everything is bad. Example: See my Cave, Electric Motors But can be far worse...
Worse? How? Like Iffy ground(s) can try to make coolant system to be a ground wrecking everything. Even rubber hoses. Coolant is good at conducting electric but will eat anything doing so. Even anti-rust chems in coolant wears out very fast when you have ground problems. More so every time you start the engine as 1.5kw starter pulls ~ 120 amps just to run, inrush can be 200 to 300+ amps when first turn the key. Many have "upgraded" to 1.7kw starter that uses ~ 135 amps to run and higher inrush.
BMW ran the return current through the chassis on the E30's they built with the battery in the trunk. I need to check my E34 and W211 to see if they're done the same way.
[This message has been edited by Will (edited 05-29-2020).]
The small battery mentioned in this thread is probably 270 CCH capacity. That's less that 1/2 of the battery capacity that came with the car. You can probably get by starting an engine that turns over on the first try, but leaving the headlights on for a few minutes may be a different story. I guess that it works for some so more power to you!
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
