Before I'm able to run my new ASP Large intercooler, I decided that I would relocate my battery into the drivers seat storage bin. Luckily for me, GooRoo (www.93fd.com) had done a battery relocation project earlier in the year, and had incredible diagrams and parts lists for everything that would be needed. I consider myself incredibly fortunate in this regard!

On to the project...

I had decided just to post some pictures along the way, with brief descriptions of each step. Perhaps sometime in the future I will do an actual writeup of the tools and parts needed for such a job, but not today.

1) Damian had an dead 51r Yellow Top kicking around the shop, and I used it for testing purposes. After a trip to Ace hardware, all of the materials were gathered for the battery holder which would be bolted to the floor of the car.



2) The frame built next, with proper measurments and use of the drill press. There will neoprene washers between the cars chasis on both sides.



3) Thing are looking good sofar, and we have a good fit.



4) Bottom shot of the battery holder.



5) Here is what the holder looks like resting on the floor of the car.



6) A little more setup with the washers...



7) The circuit breakers (one 200 for battery, 50 for amp) were placed on the back wall



8) Next the bin needs to be cut to allow the battery to fit behind the seat.



9) The right tool for the job...



10) Sucess... make sure to sand down the bin so it's smooth to the touch!



11) Complete the wiring from the front of the car, and make all of your connections. Make sure to use a blue cable for the positive if it matches the exterior of your car.



12) Project completed, you may now enjoy your oversized intercooler and know that the last 12 hours of work will rarely ever be seen because it's hidden in the bin behind the seat of your car.



Total cost: Approx $225 for Battery, Cable, hardware
Total Time: Approx 10 hours spread out over 3-4 days.


More updates to come with future projects, trying to get the car running by April 1st!

-Rotary4tw

 

Nice write up , I'll start mine in about a month.

Thanks

 

Looks good! This is the Passenger Side bin, right? Put mine in the same place, for the same reason. Where did you run your cables? Fed mine thru the rearseat seatbelt bolt hole to the bottom of the car and routed the + next to the brake lines.
Next time I remove the interior, I'm putting mine thru the cabin and out to the engine bay. I don't like the idea of having a high amp line next to the brake lines.

 

Looks nice. It won't pass tech in some places depending on what kind of racing you do.

 

He (like me) fed it through a hole in the firewall by the clutch pedal. On the firewall itself he ran it through a rubber grommet and on either side through convoluted tubing. The routing in the cabin goes past the fusebox, down to the door sill, and then follows the harness there back to the seam between the bin area and the trunk area sheet metal. All affixed with tape and rubber coated stainless cable hold downs. If you want to get fancy, you can put it under the actual carpet and around the hatch popper there's a channel to run it through. Ends up being pretty slick there as well.

Ben, you need to post a pic with the bins reinstalled over the top with the lid open and shut to show how nice it is when completed.

 

Great writeup.

Although ill be relocating my battery from the driver bin to the trunk because im gonna install jdm rear seats.

 

You are right, although most regs I've seen differentiate between sealed and unsealed batteries, and sealed batteries are often allowed to be in the cabin. As I'm sure you are aware (but some others may not be) normal batteries give off gas as they charge/discharge, and it can collect in the cabin and cause problems if you don't put it in a box and vent that box to the outside.

My original plan was to put a sealed vented box in the same location, but once I found out about the sealed batteries and the rules regarding them I decided it wasn't worth the hassle to buy/make the box and get it in there.

It is worth noting that niether Damian or I have had any issue with our sealed lead-acid cabin mounted batteries passing HPDE tech.

If anyone has specific rules/regs they know about where this setup wouldn't pass tech it might be worth posting them here.

 

Sweet!!!! Got any pictures with the bins on???

 

Yep, lots of people do that as well. I like this setup better (for my car) because it moves the weight of the battery lower, more to the center of the car longitudinally, and in the proper place for balance given that it is opposite the driver.

 

I'm heading back out to the shop at GooRoo's in a little bit. I will be sure to add a picture or two with the bins back on. (Put them back on last night)

GooRoo is doing some really sweet stuff with my new water injection kit too, those pictures should hopefully be up in a day or two. It's unbelievable and will definitely get a write up.

Some states have Rx7store, Pettit or Pineapple Racing. Here in Minnesota we have GooRoo, his shop, and Damian.



-Rotary4tw

 

Well in my case, i have to move it to the back in order to fit the jdm seats. I refuse to keep bins back there anymore and since i cant move it back to the front due to the fmic piping, it goes 2 more feet backwards into the rear hatch.

I was thinking of just intalling the battery right behind the driver seat lol. And putting plastic cage over it. I doubt that i will have anyone sit in the back of the car, OR in fact 2 people sitting back there. Im doing the jdm seat conversion simply for looks.

 

Sure... all reasonable. Really the weight issue is small, but worth considering if you drive on the track or you don't care about putting in the JDM seats or cutting one of your bins up.

Hopefully noone over 5'6" drives the car if you are going to put it behind the seat. I'm 6'5" so that's not an option for me.

 

Yeah im not a big track guy nor will i ever be (i might try it out though cause it looks really fun) so im not worried about weight distribution.

And im 5'9 so in case someone has to sit in the back, they can sit in the passenger side rear.

I remember one time i was gonna drive my friend home and his friend wanted to ride too. Just so happens it was a cute girl who was only 5'2, pettite and i had to say no to both of them because both of them couldnt fit. Thats prob one of the main reasons why im adding the rear seat too

 

I can't seem to find his info on his site. care to link me please to where you got the info for the battery re-location?

 

Hey, ive done the same relocation, just so you guys know, it does make it nearly impossible to take out the battery through the bins hole. It can be done but its the most annoying wrestling you'll ever be in. With the optima and a good car you dont have to worry about it much. BUT... just so you know, try not to do it to were you'll need to take it back out. By the way i have the red top optima its nearly to exactly the same size.

 

I do not have a write up on the site. I just helped him do it in my garage.

 

Very true and worth mentioning. I would not try to replace through the bin door in my installation. I plan on just replacing it over the winter after 3-4 years whether it is dead or not so that I can get the bins out etc on my own time.

That is one of the reasons I got the yellow top battery, since discharging and recharging it (even from 100% dead) shouldn't be an issue and I won't have to replace it as much as a normal battery.

 

Please post some pics of the install for your ASP/M2 install. I have mine and have yet to install it...

 

YUP!!

The night before i went to the track, i wanted to drive the car a bit to make sure it was running right. The battery was almost dead as i attempted to start the car and was like o hell no, im not gonna get stranded 50 miles from home with a dead car if i made it there. The battery was 3 years old anyway so i decided what a perfect time to get a yellow top. I went to the autozone and got one. I thought yay, new battery.

I opened the rear bin and was like, damn this looks tight. Well my pos nascar select battery was a huge bitch trying to get out. I actually broke the bin flap because there was no way the battery was gonna come out with those hinges in the way. And of course me being stupid like i am, instead of trying to take off the bin door the right way, i pulled it off (going jdm rear seats anyway so i could care less about the ugly tan bins). Battery snugged out and i put the optima in. Optima is significantly smaller than the one i had in there. Now i have a broken bin door just laying on top of the bin lol.