Thread: Remote battery mount

Pro's and Con's of this mod?

I've done it a few times in my cars but someone told me there is a substantial voltage drop to the engine and spark systems having the battery in the boot....

I really need the space upfront but I'm a bit worried about this now. Thinking of using a car audio capacitor in the engine bay to counteract this issue.

thoughts?

Never heard of having ignition problems with a trunk battery. But you can see a bit of voltage drop along the wire if connections aren't good, or if the cable is too long. It isn't much of an issue as long as your alternator wiring is kept short though. Once the engine is running, it will continue putting out 13-13.5V.

Only thing I would be concerned about is starting.

i've never had a problem with my relocation. i went overkill on the cable. (purchased an already made kit from an old forum member) 0 gauge wire and with a small battery still no problems, even in the winter!

I decided on 4ga wire for the starter, and another 6ga for the fuse box. I didn't wanna run huge wire through the car, as it seems unnecessary, but it does matter where and how you have it routed.

Longer wire needs thicker cable to prevent a voltage drop. But typically the starter doesn't require more than 120-140A to start, and a 4ga can handle that pretty easily. I could go larger if I really wanted, and it def doesn't hurt!

When you're driving, the alternator is providing all your power, plus more to charge the battery. WTF voltage drop? Only time voltage drop means anything is when cold cranking.

Remote mount that battery and never look back. There are no real cons (not without getting super nit-picky).

Edit: I see Coheed already made the alternator point.

Yeah, what Coheed and Ben said about the voltage drop.

I ran 2ga from the battery to the engine compartment, but that's because it's a rally car and I fully expect my alternator to die someday at a race (it being an SR20 after all), and I'd like to be able to get back to service to deal with it. Optima blue-top for deep-cycle power

Whatever you do, make sure you mount that sucker good. In a crash a 35lb batter can end up with an effective weight of several hundred pounds, so you want that thing mounted as well as possible.

Put an IKEA brace in as further protection against the possibility of the battery entering the cabin in a crash. Btw, I've been running an OEM-style battery from the trunk for over 5 years and I've never had an issue, including mid-winter starts in Michigan.

Are you running any stereo equipment other than oem? Meaning amps?

I had a self-powered sub, similar to what ShawnB has in his car, for several years. Nothing else, however.

Ok... I plan on moving my back to the rear again. Just looking for more information since I now have a small system.