Battery Suggestions?

Since this thread is still alive...I'll post some followup.

My PC1200 has been faultless. Gone months without being on any sort of charger, yet would start the car without the slightest hesitation. I'd certainly use one again.
 

Jack Houpe

GT40s Supporter
For what its worth the dry cell rechargeable are wonderful, I had one in my plane and flew without a worry even with dual electric fuel pumps, it was half the weight but a normal characteristic of dry cell rechargeable is they will deliver amperage at 12.6 volts then without warning it drops off to nothing when totally discharged. A normal lead acid battery will give you warning there is something wrong (turn the key on and car turns over slow, lights go dim at night, voltmeter starts dropping below 12V) but a dry cell just goes completely dead so if you buy one then keep an eye on the volt meter when running an make sure its 13 or above. The problem with lithium iron batteries is they require a higher voltage to charge so your alternator needs to pump at least 14V to make this work. Drag guys love them, light weight and deliver amps but have to have a special charger to charge them up before the run. I like red top, lots of cold cranking amps and has normal battery charging and discharging factors.
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
Thanks Jack. I think I may investigate further and maybe try one. Once upon a time I had a diesel hotrod toy with a 700hp/1300tq Cummins. I removed the intake charge heater and based on some feedback I had heard I wondered if it would start with the two batteries it had. It did and I ended up eventually with a single red top that I never had a bit of trouble with. I am wondering with the GT40 having no accessories and in my case not being driven at night so needing no lighting, if I could get away with what would normally be considered less than adequate? Won't know until I try but switching out a 45lb battery for a 5lb unit would shave a decent chunk off the car. I'll be that guinea pig :)
 
Mike, did I understand that correctly..... no night driving? Any reason for that? I would imagine the car would look spectacular under "street" lights.
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
Well haha my tastes of driving are usually less noticeable at 6am than at 12pm and are a lot more fun :)
 
My reasoning for the ETX18L were along the lines of what Ron did with his car and the fitment of a PC680. I like the idea of hiding the MSD in with the battery and from my research it's one of the largest ones that fits. I've had several PC925's and like them. I still have two for my RX-7 but for the above reason it won't fit next to the MSD. As stated earlier Deka and Braille are the same internally. I don't think the Braille name is worth the extra $$$ IMO.

Also when my car's parked its on a battery tender. Time will tell.
 

Jack Houpe

GT40s Supporter
Give a shot Rich, if it works thats great if it doesn't they are very useful and stay charged for years.

I don't like to drive at night in my GT40 or my truck, we have plenty of deer around here and hitting one would be bad news in the 40. I lost one of my very good friends a month ago, he hit a cow on a foggy morning in his 3/4 ton truck. From the videos Mike has shown in Colorado I'm certain there are big creatures walking around that would destroy the 40. Just call me old.
 

Dave Hood

Lifetime Supporter
Yes, an Elk at 75 mph would not be good. Although I suspect that Mike may drive a bit faster than that.....
 

I currently run one of these in my Lotus. The only issue is an elise always draws current for the bogus alarm, so you need to keep the battery plugged in to its special charger or flip the kill switch. Once these shorai batteries run down they are toast, and on a lotus the alarm will kill any battery in 1 week.

On a Gt40 there should be no current draw when ignition is off?

I had thought of running two of these in parelell for my GT40, but if it will start with one then one is all you need. Great way to loose weight.

Great product.
 

Steve Wood (PANAVIA)

Lifetime Supporter
There are two ways to get the oddessy 925 with a metal case, and without. We have used several oddessy batteries in various sizes and have been 110% happy - if you don't want a dry cell you might want to make sure your bat-cave is vented really well.
 
Since this thread is still alive...I'll post some followup.

My PC1200 has been faultless. Gone months without being on any sort of charger, yet would start the car without the slightest hesitation. I'd certainly use one again.

hello Ron from Roseville. Might you still have your 40? I was just going to install a yellow top Optima and ran across this tread.
 
Ken,
After trying an Odyssey PC925, I changed to a Braille B2015. It still fits in the battery box WITH the MSD box and has more CCA than the Odyssey. I'm happy with it.
 
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