Not Your Average Odyssey Battery + Rennline Mount Install - Pics

slow&rusty · 05-13-2007, 07:13 PM

I decided to do a little fun weekend project. I bought the Odyssey 680 battery and Rennline Mounts - about $200 for all. Then I proceeded to die grind the Rennline mounts down (they appear to have a coating on their brushed finish) and then I polished them to a mirror finish.

Polishing aluminum is long HARD and dirty work! WoW!

But the end results speak for themselves, you could shave in the polished finish. Nothing wrong with a little show and go!

I also painted the factory metal bracket at the same time.

The Interstate (truck looking) battery I pulled out of the car weighed a mighty 42lbs! The Odyssey 680 is 14.5lbs and another 1.5lbs for the Rennline Mounts.

This is how the Rennline mount (brushed finish) looks when you buy it:
You can see I have started removing the coating and die grinding and prepping the aluminum:

After polishing the dirt look on the metal, is actually an Oak tree in the background:

Notice Summit racing print reflection:

Mocked up:

Installed, sorry these pics are not very good, but it looks pretty good and you can actually get your 13mm open wrench in there now to access the terminals:

Regard - Yasin

JohnJL · 05-14-2007, 02:17 AM

Yasin,
Looks great. Powdercoat or otherwise cover it or it wil go dull/grey very soon

John

spence88mph · 05-14-2007, 03:42 AM

looks great and that's a big weight saving of 26lb/12kg.

Nape75'911T · 05-15-2007, 07:30 AM

That looks amazing!!!!! I have that battery sitting in a box in my garage....now I want to go install it!!

Great work.

Mark

slow&rusty · 05-17-2007, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Nape75'911T
That looks amazing!!!!! I have that battery sitting in a box in my garage....now I want to go install it!!

Great work.

Mark

Mark - Thanks!

Yasin

Jim Horton · 12-04-2007, 07:43 AM

Hello Yasin,

Now that you have the Odyssey 680 battery mounted in your car for a while, how are you feeling about going that route? Does the 680 provide enough cranking power, or in retrospect should you have gone with the larger 950 battery? I am considering the same conversion for a street/autocross car.

Anyone else with experience with this Rennline conversion that wants to chime in?

Thanks.

BoxxerSix · 12-04-2007, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Horton

Anyone else with experience with this Rennline conversion that wants to chime in?

Thanks.

While I can't say much about the Rennline conversion kit as I have little experience with that, I will say that my experience with Odyssey batteries has been very hit or miss lately. I don't know if quality control has dropped, or if it's just random crap luck on my end but I'd say 75% of the batteries I've worked with over the past couple years have crapped out. Split casings, dead cells, completely dead batteries(internally), etc, etc. My previous use with this company was great but recently it just seems to have gone downhill. I will say Odyssey's are horrible in a start/stop situation where there's less than 20minutes of run time to recharge.

I have since tried convincing my good customers to switch to a Li-ion-p(lithium ion phosphate)TEK battery, but the current cost(~$1000) far exceeds what most would want to spend on a battery. $1K for a battery is rediculous, I know, but you have to see these batteries in action(literally) and the size/shape offerings possible from the company. Lighter, smaller, MUCH faster charge rate, MUCH greater discharge capability, Much lower memory retention....etc.....than any Odyssey battery. They make one shape that's flat like a laptop, about 3/4" thick and 12" square, and another that's rolled up into a log 3" around and 12" long. Pretty neat.

Not for everyone for sure, but still nice to know about

For some reason their website isn't working:

http://www.tekbattery.com

But you can view a video of Matt Hotch running a test on his bike here :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs37xn-QpKY

I can vouch that these batteries are worth the money if you can stomach the cost....

DDDD · 12-04-2007, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Horton

Hello Yasin,

Now that you have the Odyssey 680 battery mounted in your car for a while, how are you feeling about going that route? Does the 680 provide enough cranking power, or in retrospect should you have gone with the larger 950 battery? I am considering the same conversion for a street/autocross car.

Anyone else with experience with this Rennline conversion that wants to chime in?

Thanks.

Yasin, I have some pretty similiar questions!

I would like to do this conversion in the next couple weeks, but I am wondering if my car will start after sitting two weeks, or after driving a short distance?

Also, do you have a stereo with a channel memory hooked up to your system? I am worried my radio will also drain the battery, even with a minor draw...

NathanUK · NathanUK's Garage

Interesting stuff Adam. I hope the price will come down as the years go by.

BoxxerSix · 12-04-2007, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NathanUK

Interesting stuff Adam. I hope the price will come down as the years go by.

I imagine it will eventually, like all electronic technology does as time progresses, and newer technology takes its place

The TEK batteries are really cool though and if you're looking to save weight in every possible area and/or have a tight packaging requirement their perfect. Just cost an arm and a leg right now.

Apparently these are the batteries, or battery technology, that was developed for the unmanned Predator military aircraft. Military more than likely found/developed something even better as that's usually how it goes with this stuff

afterburn 549 · 12-04-2007, 03:49 PM

the 680 will start you dwn to below freezing

930gt-40r · 930gt-40r's Garage

That looks bada$$! Does it have enough juice for the car? I can't imagine that there are enough electronics or load on our cars to facilitate the truck battery they come with. Maybe weight distribution?...

BoxxerSix · 12-04-2007, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 930gt-40r

That looks bada$$! Does it have enough juice for the car? I can't imagine that there are enough electronics or load on our cars to facilitate the truck battery they come with. Maybe weight distribution?...

Most definitely. We had one in the '92 Cup and it turned that 3.6 over with little trouble. It's just one of those batteries that you can't do short trips with it constantly or you'll kill it quick. It takes awhile to recharge and doesn't like to be deep cycled either.

NathanUK · NathanUK's Garage

When you say kill it, do you mean damage it or just drain it?

afterburn 549 · 12-05-2007, 11:51 AM

If you do real short runs .....couple miles ? you may find it is not recharging enough ... I, have never had a problem,,,but my car is simple pimple - a 1975 w.o. all the modern day hooplah.
The electric system is all stock except , a big brand new POS cable from batt to starter (maybe (00)? Anyway went up a few sizes from stock and same with ground...
If the car sits for 2 weeks or so and it is cold out.......then I have experienced a problem , but my charger brings it right back to life in minutes and off I go!!

BoxxerSix · 12-05-2007, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NathanUK

When you say kill it, do you mean damage it or just drain it?

Damage it. The rapid discharge/little recharge scenario seems to cause problems with these batteries(as would any) but usually results in a dead cell inside the battery and/or a swelled case over time.

Odyssey is a HUGE company for batteries in the "chopper" motorcycle industry and they're well known to crap out on those bikes where guys start/stop all the time riding from local place to place. Our's crapped out on the $200K Jet's chopper bike we built and we(customer) ended up forking over the funds for a custom built TEK and it's like night and day in comparison to the Odyssey.

afterburn 549 · 12-05-2007, 02:17 PM

boxxersix, you say there is a batt better then a ODY ? (680)

DDDD · 12-05-2007, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoxxerSix

Damage it. The rapid discharge/little recharge scenario seems to cause problems with these batteries(as would any) but usually results in a dead cell inside the battery and/or a swelled case over time.

Odyssey is a HUGE company for batteries in the "chopper" motorcycle industry and they're well known to crap out on those bikes where guys start/stop all the time riding from local place to place. Our's crapped out on the $200K Jet's chopper bike we built and we(customer) ended up forking over the funds for a custom built TEK and it's like night and day in comparison to the Odyssey.

How are you supposed to charge the Odyssey at home if it drains? You say it doesn't like to be deep cycled? What do you mean exactly?

I have a battery charger which charges at different speeds, like from trickle volt to quick charge. What do I set it at?

Thanks!

BoxxerSix · 12-05-2007, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DDDD

How are you supposed to charge the Odyssey at home if it drains? You say it doesn't like to be deep cycled? What do you mean exactly?

I have a battery charger which charges at different speeds, like from trickle volt to quick charge. What do I set it at?

Thanks!

Deep cycling a battery is the process of running the battery down very low on charge, then charging it back up to capacity. Deep cycling the Odyssey is ok from time to time as long as you follow the label on the battery for the initial charge(Every odyssey has a sticker that has that info on it

)

You can trickle or slow charge any Odyssey and it'll be ok. If you're charger has an adjustable amp setting, just set it low(like at 2amp/hr). The battery tenders/trickle chargers are fine to for winter storage and/or just basic upkeep of the battery as long as they are the automatic type that shut off once the battery is up to no more than 14.4volts.

What seems to be bad(from my experience) to the Odyssey batteries is this constant short run(~15 minute) start/shutdown cycles.

A scenario that would definitely kill an Odyssey....using one to crank a motor over while doing a complete engine compression test. that's something these batteries don't like too much. They just don't have the capacity to do that type of discharge for long periods.

Quote:

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

boxxersix, you say there is a batt better then a ODY ? (680)

Yes it's a VERY expensive lithium ion phosphate battery though, with dense foam cells vs lead that the company can custom tailer to your application. On average, the battery weighs less than 2/3rd that of what a similar size Odyssey weighs and has better characteristics in every aspect(except price). The company can form the battery cells into many various shapes to suit your packaging, and can double/triple/quad/etc stack the cells to produce any amperage you need. the battery is also NOT affected by temperature, and puts out the same amperage at very cold temps as it does at room temperature.

I'n a couple posts above I posted a link to the battery company, TEK Battery, although the website is currently frozen(links don't work). They're very new, I think there's less than a handful of employees.

www.tekbattery.com

BoxxerSix · 12-05-2007, 04:50 PM

Actually I just found out why the TEK Battery site is down:

They are not taking any more orders until they're current orders are filled and those customers are taken care of. They're that busy, despite the $800-1000 cost of these things!

I know the last time I worked up one for these it was close to 5 weeks before I got it here. Every battery is made to order.

If you want to get in on the wait list you need to contact Robert via email

Robert@TekBattery.com