Battery relocation to under car in front of fuel tank

[Tony D]

I would nix any idea behind the axle. If you look what happens to Z's that get rear-ended...you will see why.

 

Behind the seats compartment area looks easer, and safer than anything in the crumple zone.

 

Fusible links the close to the firewall can be put inside the passenger's compartment footwell easier than a complete battery relocation.

[bradyzq]

Do you drive your Z on the street at all?

 

If so, beware of Braille batteries, and other tiny batteries. I know old Zcars don't ask much of batteries and charging systems, but I've seen nothing but problems with Brailles on cars that may see short drives. Maybe they were defective, or maybe they just have minimal reserves. Either way, do your research!

[BLOZ UP]

Yep. I'm thinking I'll squish a braille up under the fender, and have the fusible links right next to it. All in the battery tray area.

[seattlejester]

Tony's actually right about the behind the wheel well area, now that I think about it that area gets awfully squished. 

 

I was using a skbt20, on my L-motor. It was 90$, it's 7x6x3, runs my electric fans, hid headlights, fuel pump, wipers, and all that with my zx alternator and actually has really decent cranking power. The way I figured it I could just have a battery installed + a spare battery instead of buying a braille battery. That way if somehow the battery fully discharges or something unfortunate, I have a spare one in my behind the seat bin. Instead of trying to figure out how to reorganize my battery tray area, just swap and go.

[74_5.0L_Z]

I have been using an Odyssey PC680MJT mounted on the shelf area behind the passenger seat in my car since 2006.  During that time this battery has never let me down unless it was my fault.  These batteries work great as long as you use them correctly.  Here is the first big mistake that I made:

 

For the longest time I ran a one wire race alternator in combination with under-drive pulleys.  This caused me to undercharge at idle.  So, during autocross events where I would idle between runs the car would become discharged.  It was no big deal as I would charge the battery prior to any given race.  I ran the car this way for a couple of years, and during that time I completely discharged the battery probably a hundred times.  I have since changed the alternator pulley so that it charges properly at idle. 

 

Another mistake that people make with these batteries (Odyssey and Braille) is the use of the wrong type of battery charger.  These batteries require the use of specific battery chargers.  I have one of the 10 amp chargers listed on this page and it works great:

http://www.odysseybattery.com/chargers.html

 

I have put my battery through all manner of abuse over the last seven years.  The worst abuse came during a Sebring autocross weekend.  Approaching the line for my first run, my hydraulic throw out bearing failed so that I had no clutch.  I was determined to get my runs for the day, so I asked the race coordinators if I could leave the line using my starter to get moving.  They agreed and I made six back to back runs in which I started the car in second gear on the line using nothing but my odyssey battery.  Of course, after the sixth run the battery was completely dead.

 

 

Even with this abuse the battery still works great.