Was considering relocating my Optima RedTop battery to the passenger side trunk of the car and wanted to put out a PSA if anyone has done this. My simple way of thinking is that it seems all that needs to be done is extending the +/- cables and routing them safely and nicely to thw trunk area and thensecuring the battery to stay in place. What am i overlooking?

 

I'm curious. What is it that you are wanting to gain?


Jeff K

 

Just working on redistributing some front end weight.

 

I relocated my Batt to the trunk 3 years ago ,, but on the pas side you have too many electronics to install it there My ground is in the rear so you only need one cable to go into the trunk. I removes the batt tray from the front and welded in in place in the trunl, i installed a # 27 batt with 900 cold cranking amps..checked the batt two days ago it is still in great shape 11.9 under load , I also added a bus-bar under the hood to re due all the wires needed. jim

 

Batteries in the trunk last longer due to the cooler temperatures.
It must be vented to the exterior using a vent kit of some form.

 

Another thing to consider is the long positive cable from the trunk to the engine compartment.
This cable should be a size or 2 larger than the OEM cable to prevent voltage drop.
You also have to be very careful in routing it to ensure there will be no vibration wear through the insulation resulting in a possible short to ground. ( lots of insulated cable clamps along the way )

 

Its my understanding that gel batteries dont need to be vented the way wet cell batteries do.

 

True these batteries do not need to be vented as they are 100% sealed but I believe they are lead acid batteries not gel.
Unless you want them to run cooler I doubt they are worth moving because of the front/rear weight ratio.

 

Changing to a lead free battery would be much simpler and keep the value of the car higher. I think some are only 12#.

 

Do you have any more info on lead free batteries?

 

How does a lightweight battery keep the cars value higher? When it comes to battery power these lightweight batteries lack Oomph when the temps go down and do not last long. But with the car weighing less they are easier to push home.
Just for a laugh, this is what someone said after they had added a Braille battery.
"Going from the 45 lb. factory batt. in my 12 Camaro was a great idea, which I should have done right off the bat. Lighter car= more nimble, faster acceleration, less wear and tear on suspension and brakes, gas milage, there's no bad part to making a car lighter."
If you want to make your car worth more, leave some quarters in the coin rack in the ash tray.

 

What the heck, I'll chime in. I can probably cut 30-50 pounds from the car with no visibly changes, maybe more. And it won't affect value at all, and will help performance, and my enjoyment of the car.
Simple, I need to lose weight! I'm probably already down as much as a battery would save, that is like free money!

 

I heard that. I could probably cut 80 pounds from mine and both I and the car would be much happier.