Cal Club Autocross Forums

Anybody have any experience with these? https://mishacycles.com/store/Shorai_Ba ... LFX14.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nope. But http://antigravitybatteries.com/ seem to work well.

Looks nice but why spend double the price?

Check out http://tinyurl.com/3uwgm44

Made In The USA

That's what we were using in Karen's Miata ... 6 lbs. Lasted 2.5 years, and probably only died because we really didn't use that Miata for the last 5 months and I only occassionally charged it.

I just ordered another one for the ITA Miata.

Thread on small batteries: http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=323624

Mako to wrote:Looks nice but why spend double the price?

While it won't make sense for everyone, in some cases it is worth it to spend twice the price for half the weight and a different performance (discharge) behavior.

Ah ... 3 lbs!

... good thing I didn't know about those batteries!

Toby Larsson wrote:Anybody have any experience with these? https://mishacycles.com/store/Shorai_Ba ... LFX14.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have no experience with THAT battery, but I know my Lithium Ions. Here's some interpretation of the sales jargon:

:::No more dead batteries. Holds charge for one year without maintenance
So will a lead acid. It's the car's draw that causes dead batteries, not so much the open circuit standing. LiIon is better at not self discharging, but for our purposes you probably wouldn't notice.

:::Ultra light. One fifth the weight of lead-acid batteries on average
I guess that depends on how big your lead acid battery is. Pound to use, yes the LiIon is literally a century ahead of a lead acid.

:::Twice to four times the service life of lead-acid batteries
Doubtful. LiIon has a much shorter shelf life. Compare your cell phone battery to your alarm system battery.

:::Drop-in replacement for your OEM battery
If they do it right, maybe. Charging system is not friendly to a raw LiIon battery, but it's assumed they've added circuitry to take care of that (weight!).

:::Military spec Carbon Fiber Composite Case
Ohh, fancy. I sayview plastic is plastic in this case.

:::Faster cranking for better starts
Again depends on what size lead acid you took out. The right LiIon chemistry (which is what I assumed they used) will crank VERY hard, but lead acid is no slouch. Most any other chemistry batteries (Nickel, etc) won't do the job, neither would traditional LiIons.

:::Super-fast recharge rate
Same story as immediately above. Usually high discharge rate and high charge rate go hand in hand.

:::SAFE - No explosive gasses during charge, no lead, no acid
Its rare to get significant amounts of nasty stuff vented from a lead acid. Almost as common is to vent Hydrofluoric acid from a LliIon, different, but just as nasty. So instead of melting your lungs, it melts your bones.

:::Environmentally friendly, just discharge and dispose
Lead Acids get recycled, LiIons not so much.

The two year warranty is surprising. I'm guessing there's either a million loop holes in their warranty, or it'll go away when half the batteries start coming back. Realistically, I see 2-3 years life with our kind of use.

Heat is bad for all batteries, but it's especially bad for LiIon. Cold charging is hard on LiIon as well, I recommend trying to not charge the battery much below freezing temp. If you haven't done so get the battery out of the engine bay. If you go this route, take it all the way and get aluminum battery/starter cables as well. Lb for lb, about 1/3 lighter than copper, which really adds up if your battery location is remote.

Jay W

We're in the process of becoming a Lith-ion battery dealer, I already provide light Odyssey batteries to AXers. I think Max has bought 4 so far.

Rick

Toby Larsson wrote:Anybody have any experience with these? https://mishacycles.com/store/Shorai_Ba ... LFX14.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Too heavy... More pricey but try this...

http://www.kronospark.com/index.php/pro ... g-battery/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've seen that dude in the video beat Gary Thomason, so this must be a kick-ass product.

I have no experience with either, but I've heard the MiKroh's do actually work as long as you don't let them discharge...

Jason Uyeda wrote:

Toby Larsson wrote:Anybody have any experience with these? https://mishacycles.com/store/Shorai_Ba ... LFX14.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Too heavy... More pricey but try this...

http://www.kronospark.com/index.php/pro ... g-battery/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've seen that dude in the video beat Gary Thomason, so this must be a kick-ass product.

I have no experience with either, but I've heard the MiKroh's do actually work as long as you don't let them discharge...

1.3lb, just wait til Schenker finds out, he was so proud of his 2.2lb battery

Jason Uyeda wrote: I have no experience with either, but I've heard the MiKroh's do actually work as long as you don't let them discharge...

All lead acid batteries will suffer badly if you let them discharge low. The only difference is that a battery with only, GASP, 12Wh capacity, there is no room for life-shortening by discharging the battery.

A battery with say 400Wh, now it can take some abuse and still start the car.

Here is some information by SF Region people that are using the Shorai packs.

http://www.baautox.com/forum/index.php? ... =0&rid=359" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For race track use, focus more on reliability and reserve capacity then light weight. It sucks to miss the race because your super trick Lithium battery's internal fail safe circuitry tripped when you pulled the charger off in your paddock. Been there, done that. Didn't figure it out until after the race got the green flag.