I relocated my battery to my trunk, i wont be doing any NASA racing or anything, I will be at Gingerman Raceway in South Haven Michigan for some lapping events. I know NASA has guidelines that are super strict but I was wondering if any of these would be track safe:
1. Stock battery tray bolted into trunk, stock battery tiedown and a battery strap that woudl go under the battery tray and through the slits in the tip of my battery and over the top perpindicular to the tie down, the strap is made for this and holds 400lbs of stress.
2. Custom welded sheetmetal battery box 1/2" wider and longer than the battery itself.

What do you think? I ordered the kit from summit, the box they give you is way too big, however I did use the 4awg wire for the positive power and for the neg grounds.

 

No straps!

Big backing plates, and threaded rods+nuts on both sides of the battery!!! If you get in an impact, and its not secured, it becomes a projectile in the car when it breaks loose. Unless the battery is hanging off the front bumper like an accord/prelude I wouldnt even bother moving it, the weight of the cables to the trunk negates any savings you get from the light battery.

 

But on an accord I need all the weight distribution I can get, So a welded closed box bolted to the trunk bed would be ok? Obviously it would have a top that is anchored down as well.

 

is it vented? I thought one requirment was that the battery had to have air flow to and from it.

 

Yes it has two vents.

 

my hawker is secured behind my passengers seat with a combination of large "L" brackets, big hoseclamps, and a 2x4.


passed tech at gingerman april 10th.

should pass again may 24.

just secure it well, and if its the stocker, it has to have vents to the outside of the car, technically.


if it looks nice and secure, and you dont look like a punk, they wont care..

and if your looking to pass tech at the wmhm jake, i'll pass ya if it looks strong...because i think i'm doing tech again...along with several 075ers.

 

SHow pix...

I just put my BATT behind the pass seat w/ a box I got from Napa. One nylon strap over the top of the box and the brackets that hold it are plastic so I will be replacing those with metal brackets and more nylon.

 

Thanks Jabaay, I got a kit from summit, the box is plastic and flimsy and HUGE. I want to get a civic or integra battery and put in in an aluminum box or have my autobody instructor weld up a box out of sheetmetal, either way it will breathe and be secure. Ill put some pics up when im done and you can check them out adam, make sure everything looks ligit.

Thanks guys.

 

In a 30g impact - NOT a big crash - a 40 battery suddenly exerts 1200 pounds of load on whatever (dude, 2x4?) is holding it in. Please don't ignore RJ's point.

I'm a notorious old fart but I guess that the part I don't understand is, if a car isn't running a massively competitive class where the thousandths of seconds potentially gained by moving the battery really MATTER, why create a driveway-engineered solution that is all but certainly more dangerous than leaving a heavy plastic box full of acid under the hood, where it can't get you?

K

 

to expand on Kirk's Old Fart (TM) response, most of the DNS/DNFs and fires I've seen were the result of half assed engineering and fabrication on the part of the constructor (usually the owner & driver) of the car.

So... rather than asking "will this pass tech?" ask "whats gonna happen to me in a worst-case situation?". After all, it is YOUR *** that is on the line.

For info on how to do things the right way, see Carroll Smith's series of books. While they are geared toward purpose built race cars a lot of the info still applies to sedans.

 

my '89 bmw has the battery in the trunk and that battery has a vent tube that goes outside the trunk. it may be overengineered but it will not have hydrogen accumulating in the trunk.

 

yeah...secure is the important part...

have you thought about getting an optima or something? those dont need venting, as they are sealed.....kinda nice.

mount it tough, and it'll be fine.. i'm going to ditch the hawker for an optima (hawker is no-bueno for cold weather starts, and sometimes the boosted hatch doesnt start first try)

optimas own from my buddies experience with them. whatever tray or box you use, make sure its bolted (or even welded) down tight, and it'll be great.

my ghetto setup is strong as hell, thats why it passed tech.....but my battery also weighs like 10 pounds and would only be able to move 6 inches due to the ground strap if anything did happen......

 

I'll keep all this in mind, thanks.