Well, it's battery time, got a few questions for those who've been there, done that with the lightweight units.

- Any suggestions for upgrading to a lightweight battery? I've seen that some folks went back to full size, is the lightweight too unreliable?

- Any brand to avoid? Odysee, Kinetic, Braille, etc..

- Suggested vendors?

- What minimum size/amperage can I get away with? I'm sure the factory 800CCA is overkill.

Any other pros/cons?

This car is still street driven, nice California climate.

Thanks.

I know some that have used lawn and garden batteries with success. The downside of small battery is any alternator issues leave you unable to start to run the car.

You can run 20 mintues with no alternator on good full size battery.

When my big block gets out of shape I'm going to put in a smaller battery and run a $20 harbor freight solar trickle charger - plugs into cigarette lighter.

Here's a good write up on where to buy an inexpensive dry cell battery as Hawker (IIRC now Enersys) sells the exact same battery cheaper than the rebranded dynabatt.

www.stealth316.com/2-dynabatt.htm

Small, light weight batteries are crazy expensive $200 or so. I can get you the size I have been running, It is an Odysee.

While a failed alternator creates a problem, that is a rare issue. A much lower cost is an ATV, motorcycle type battery for a much lower cost that the light weight "race" batteries. I am thinking about going that route for my next one. Dave Hauck has been using that type here lately.

If you want the exact model that I am using, let me know and I will go all the way out to the garage to look.

Big Dog

PS Get out to the track next month at Thunderhill. I want to see you again, and bring your son.

Jim

I thought about the alternator failure issue too. I think I'd try the gamble and go with the benefit of lighter weight at the track, but my kids still drive it around town so I don't know if I want to give up the dependability of a full size.

Thanks for the link Jaje. Lots of good info. It mentions in that article that the SLA batteries like the Odyssey are sensitive to heat and therefore not recommended for track use, I wonder if it would be helpful to duct fresh air to the battery compartment?

Don't worry about trekking out to the garage, Jim. Knowing it's an Odyssey helps. And I've been debating doing Thunderhill in Aug, but doc says no racing until
Sept. My son's going to school in San Diego now, so I'm trying to plan a track weekend in SoCal for both of us.

Lawn tractor battery from lowes is like $30 bucks weights 10-15 pounds less than a stock and no issues. My advice is to buy two. I did have an alternator issue at pueblo two years ago but a large battery would not have helped. The best part is it is only 3 pound heavier then my friends $200 lightweight battery.

Buy the lawn battery to the most cranking amps.