Lightweight Racing Battery

Jason Stine

Jason Stine

Administrator
Staff member
Looking for some advice on lightweight racing batteries; what to look for, what to stay away from, etc. Will the battery last for an entire hour long session/race without an alternator? Would I need to buy two batteries and swap them in/out for each session to make sure I have a fully charged one ready to go? I'm thinking about switching from a normal wet cell to one of these to shed some weight, but not sure if it is feasible without running an alternator (which I don't want to do).

Thanks in advance.
 
Check out what the formula guys have to say at apexspeed.com

Or talk to our buddies at Pegasus.
Bryan
 
Jason
I have in my EP BMW an Odyssey Batteries PC625, I do have an alternator in the car but, from the spec i found it might work for you. I have left it sit over winter for a month or more with out charging it and have had the car fire right up. I do have a way to hook up a charger for between session charging or starting with a jumper pack.

Pulse (5-second) Hot Cranking Amps (PHCA) 530
Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) 200
20Hr Nominal Capacity (Ah) 18
Reserve Capacity Minutes 27
Dimensions L x W x H (in) 6.7x3.9x6.89
Metric Dimensions L x W x H (mm) 170.2x99.1x175
Weight (lbs) 13.2
 
I just bought a NAPA battery 7581R for my HP Spridget. You can see the specs at www.napaonline.com. I am using this battery in my vintage race Spridget with no issues as far as forgetting to charge it between sessions and hot restarts. Mine weighed in at 24 pounds.
 
Are you talking about an AGM, like a smaller version of a Optima or lithium? If you go with agm do some reasearch. I found that the Braille agm batteries are made by Deka. Deka makes the same batteries for a number of suppliers. Braille simply puts on their label and charge you $75 to $80 over the same battery you can get from Batteries Plus in the Duracell brand. I paid $110 for my Duracell and it weights 16 lbs. Works very well in my HP Sprite. I usually put a small charger on it between sessions. Only experience with lithium is in our Porsches and we run altlernators so I can't say how they will work on a total loss system. Good Luck.
 
Since my car just lost 30 pounds (thanks Jason), I decided to take the MASSIVE (60+pounds) battery out of the new car and replace it with a lighter one. I asked about the odyssey models and was told that they require a different type of charger. I nixed that idea and went with a smaller battery. One that was designed for a power chair. It's rated at 26A/hr and it weighs just 15 pounds. I know I'll need to jump it when the motor is cold and charge it between sessions. But it's a deep cycle and can handle the abuse.....and did I mention is 15 pounds and $80. Woohoo! I don't have to go on the cale smoothy diet just yet. :x

Dayle
 
I understand Battery Tender in now making lithium batteries aþ reasonable price like less than $500. You might check it out.
 
I spoke to Pegasus about this yesterday. They recommend against using any lithium based batter in a total loss system, especially if an electromotive is being used.
 
Somewhat aside... I converted my car from total loss to an alternator system so I could remove the jungle of 16V battery and voltage converter stuff on the floor. Car is actually lighter and the wiring is simpler with an alternator. Yeah there's 10lb more on the front of the engine, but I lose a bigass battery and electronics off the floor of the car.

Thus I now have an XS Power 16V AGM battery (with 12V post too!), voltage converter thingy, and a 12/16V charger all taking up room on a shelf. If anybody is interested, I'm happy to find these a new home. This is definitely not a lightweight battery at about 40-60lb, but does do the whole 12v/16v thing properly.
 
I think you really should look into the Battery Tender Lithium Ion line. I will be installing one of their 360 amp/hr. batteries in my total lose HP Sprite. These batteries weight in at under 3lbs. That's a 15lb. loss for around $150.


Good Luck:
Kerry
 
Kerry Foote":2uhv75q6 said:
I think you really should look into the Battery Tender Lithium Ion line. I will be installing one of their 360 amp/hr. batteries in my total lose HP Sprite. These batteries weight in at under 3lbs. That's a 15lb. loss for around $150.


Good Luck:
Kerry
Click to expand...

Did you ask them about a total loss system? What about charging between sessions? The weight is certainly attractive and it comparatively economical.
 
Kerry Foote":fgneypoc said:
I think you really should look into the Battery Tender Lithium Ion line. I will be installing one of their 360 amp/hr. batteries in my total lose HP Sprite. These batteries weight in at under 3lbs. That's a 15lb. loss for around $150.


Good Luck:
Kerry
Click to expand...

Made me look!!!

That battery is 360 CCA, not 360 Amp Hours.

http://www.batterytender.com/Batteries/ ... ttery.html

Lead-Acid Replacement Range: 21-24(Ah)
Click to expand...

That's more like it.
 
Erick


I spoke to Pegasus about the lithium batteries and use in total loss. They said it is not advisable because of the way the discharge profile works out. Not a good deal. Find the lightest agm and go that route. Mine is 20lbs and goes well
 
Aaron - what ignition do you run? I went with an Odyssey battery but am still slightly concerned with low voltage misfires with the Electromotive.
 
I run a total loss system and used a super light-weight lithium battery until 2013 at Gingerman when the battery started going bad on track and quit about 100 yds from pit entrance. I replaced the battery with the lightest garden tractor battery I could find locally. I'm still using that battery ... cranks easy, holds charge 12-12.5v end of track session and recharges between sessions @ 2amp. I'm running an electromotive and a cool suit pump (not continuous). Although, the battery is still good, I will probably replace it because of numerous recharge cycles.
 
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