Battery in Smugglers box

rattlsnak · rattlsnak's Garage

Has anyone here done this? I see some people have converted the early two style to one battery, but at the track this weekend I saw some people that had it in the smugglers box. Anyone make a kit? or a D.I.Y.? Seems like the perfect place. (on the '72)

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

try this link

rattlsnak · rattlsnak's Garage

as usual, You Da MAN!!

cowtown · 08-25-2003, 02:53 PM

Good website. I'd be interested in hearing from people who have done this relocation. How much of a difference did it make in the turn-in and handling characteristics of the car?

don911 · don911's Garage

just when I thought I was about done with my car.....

mm86911 · mm86911's Garage

Marc - I also saw a couple of batteries in the cabin area (protected by a box/case on passenger's side) - not sure if it's legal though.

EdT82SC · 08-25-2003, 03:58 PM

Cool! Yet another project to add to my list.

Randy Webb · 08-25-2003, 04:52 PM

is it a good idea? the moment of inertia would decrease slightly, but the run to the lights and fuses is longer, and there is less wt. at the end to combat oversteer.

wevoid · wevoid's Garage

As the thread is current and we are close enough to product launch; I can release this image as a bit of a tease.

We have developed a battery kit specifically for the smugglers box.

A fiberglass molding carries a WestCo Miata 30Ah gel cell battery.
The kit comes with the molding, clamp and chassis installation hardware.

The re-routing of cable is straight forwards, installing the box requires drilling of only one hole in your bodyshell.

We converted our '72 for testing and saved 38lb over the stock twin battery installation. The battery in this kit is 1" lower than the stock battery boxes.

The kit will be launched and on display at the German Autofest on September 13th, prices and photos available late the week preceding.

Our goal was to offer an elegant kit for the DIY owners that shops would also be comfortable installing. the batteries, manufactured in CA are $85 including freight to your house/shop direct from WestCo.

Regards

Hayden

rattlsnak · rattlsnak's Garage

Can I order one now?? Seriously...

wevoid · wevoid's Garage

rattlsnak,

Certainly, PM me for a little extra detail and to make arrangements.

Regards

Hayden

Jandrews · 08-25-2003, 07:04 PM

Dang Weve, that is cool!!!

I'll be having one of those for sure.

Nice work.

JA

cowtown · 08-25-2003, 07:37 PM

Must...resist...urge to order! Seriously, I hope someone who has done this relocation will step in with their impressions of the handling differences.

jazzbass · 08-25-2003, 08:42 PM

Just looked at the different batteries, and the WestCo Miata battery (@ $85) looks pretty good. Comparing apples to apples, the Miata battery (31Ah/475CCA/25lbs/$76) is somewhere between the Odyssey (Elephant Racing) PC925 (27Ah/360CCA/26lbs/$159) and the PC1200 (40Ah/530CCA/38.2lbs/$195). I'm not sure is the last two would even fit. So the Maita battery sounds like a damn good deal.

So hear's my ignorant question - is this a good idea? I agree with the theory of loosing weight and moving weight inside the wheel base, but it might almost seem to negatively impact handling because of all the weight of the engine. Taking more weight from the front increases the cars rear bias, no?

The great article posted by Bill talked about how spinning around with a 5lb weight held close to your body is easier than spinning with it held 2 ft away (not that I want my car to spin easier, but you get the idea). This is true, but also imagine the same situation where the other arm is holding a 10lb sack of flour 2 ft away from your body. Now, spinning that 5lb sack 2ft away actually helps because its balancing out the weight distribution. Didn't the factory use to but lead weights in the bumpers to make the cars handle better? Does this make any sense? I think I'm babbling at this point.

Anyway - someone who knows this stuff please answer - is this really a good idea?

Randy Webb · 08-25-2003, 08:47 PM

"is this really a good idea?"

- see my post above. It will hurt some things and help others. The concepts you want will be in any physics text. You can then move on to read about vehicle dynamics in an engineering text. Altho the wevo item does look slick, I'm not convinced of the benefit, even for a race car. I'd want to see some numerical calculations first.

EdT82SC · 08-25-2003, 10:19 PM

Numerical calculations would be cool, but I'd be happy with a couple seat of the pants estimates of the effects. Since we seem to have a couple takers already I'm looking forward to hearing if they think the move makes a difference.

I took the A/C out of my car, and that is a big weight from the extreme right rear. Maybe it would be good to balance things out by removing some weight from the extreme left front.

Jack Olsen · 08-25-2003, 10:54 PM

My guess would be that there wouldn't be much of a demonstrable difference in handling (seat of the pants is something else, of course), but that it's convenient for racers to put it there -- partly because of the reduced potential of a minor collision damaging the battery, and partly because different fuel cells fit in different ways in the front.

But I'd like to here racers give their feedback on it, too.

thrown_hammer · 08-26-2003, 03:50 AM

I want one...

wevoid · wevoid's Garage

This was primarily a packaging exercise for us - as it is for anyone considering placing their battery in the smugglers box. This project was not initiated in a solo quest for improved vehicle dynamics.
The question and discussion about polar moments etc, could go on for a very long time....
I would be very surprised if any racer will chime in to say they restored their battery to the original location as a direct result of detecting a reduction in performance with it located within the wheelbase.

Apart from the simplification of the battery install, I really like the 38 lb weight reduction, as would most drivers with a small engine car.

Regards

Hayden

Randy Webb · 08-26-2003, 09:04 AM

I agree with Jack O's notion that it prob'ly won't alter the dynamics much, and that saving wt. is a great idea. As a street car driver, I need my CCA fix. Maybe someday a NiMH battery will provide both light wt. and capacity -- or a small fuel cell...