Why is my battery in my trunk ?

[frankieg24]

So when I bought my cb7 the previous owner had but the battery in the back. I'm wondering why he would do this. Is there a reason or was he just making space under the hood?

[Ralphie]

So when I bought my cb7 the previous owner had but the battery in the back. I'm wondering why he would do this. Is there a reason or was he just making space under the hood?

Battery relocations are quite popular.

Usually it is to make room under the hood, but it also makes it easy to do custom audio setups and safer to jump stranded cars.

[frankieg24]

I was unsure but thanks for clearing that up!

[Mrs12gage]

also, battery relocation helps a lot if you take off power steering because of the weight on the wheel. my husband relocated his battery on his bb6 because he is making a forced induction cold air intake. makes sense.

[F20A CB7]

Ppl d for the reasons above. But a lot do it for looks. Makes it a cleaner look under hood.

[Sinbad]

It is also done for weight transfer. Putting the battery in the trunk removed some extra weight from the front where most of it already sits. Racers of all forms have been doing it for decades. Plus it is also safer in an accident.

[mugencivic4dr]

It is also done for weight transfer. Putting the battery in the trunk removed some extra weight from the front where most of it already sits. Racers of all forms have been doing it for decades. Plus it is also safer in an accident.

but the weight transfer only makes sense for RWD cars. more wait in the back = better traction.

[GhostAccord]

It is also done for weight transfer. Putting the battery in the trunk removed some extra weight from the front where most of it already sits. Racers of all forms have been doing it for decades. Plus it is also safer in an accident.

What happens in a rear impact accident? The battery has no barrier betwen it and the passenger compartment...aside from a cloth seat.... It is not a sealed compartment away from passengers. This is not as safe as it being out in the engine bay during an accident.

but the weight transfer only makes sense for RWD cars. more wait in the back = better traction.

You are correct. More weight in the back = better traction.... That traction also includes more traction in the rear for taking corners in a FWD car.

In order to make use of this weight transfer the car would have to be weighed at each tire individually. Then you place the battery in the location that balances the wheels to your required suspension/traction requirements. Just throwing the battery in the back corner of the trunk will not help with traction and has less to do with weight distribution and more for looks.

[gloryaccordy]

but the weight transfer only makes sense for RWD cars. more wait in the back = better traction.

For our power levels it's OK. Too much weight on the front, especially without the corresponding amount of rubber, is just a bad thing.

[steelbluesleepR]

any weight outside of the footprint of the tires is a bad thing, whether its in the front or the back, especially 30lbs+ of lead and water. the stock battery location is in just about as bad a place as possible for good weight distribution. if its relocated, it is best to have it at the very forward-most portion of the trunk, to get it within the wheelbase of the car.

[12gage]

any weight outside of the footprint of the tires is a bad thing, whether its in the front or the back, especially 30lbs+ of lead and water. the stock battery location is in just about as bad a place as possible for good weight distribution. if its relocated, it is best to have it at the very forward-most portion of the trunk, to get it within the wheelbase of the car.

This.

Ive done alot of battery to trunk relocation's and i have to say, yes, comments concerning weight on the front are true, BUT, in my experience the relocation takes a good bit of weight off the front end and has reduced under-steer for all the fwd cars Ive done considerably, not to mention the classic noob statement "i turned but it kept on going straight" problem that helps me convince someone to let me put their battery in the trunk and start doing weight reduction (which i love)

Apart from taking weight off the front, taking weight off the car period can raise your tire/suspension breaking (traction loss) point. Which is always good. My wife has loved the improvements on the cars Ive done this too to the point that she has requested a battery relocation on her new cb7 which we will be using as a family car.

As far as crashing safety, i agree with the guy who said its somewhat dangerous, but a lot of factors come into play. How well did you mount it? Is it right against the rear seat? Do you have a rear seat?...etc.. I did not have a rear seat in my gold cb so when i went to a friends house who was going to college for welding, he wanted practice so I had him make me a 4 point strut bar for the rear (explicit speed style but not nearly as good) and while i was at it, had him weld a bar between my two rear towers roll cage style, thus making a barrier, i purchased more straps like the ones holding the top of my battery box on, and wrapped them around the entire box and bar, and left it at that, it was efficient and worked very well.

(my rear end was SUPER STIFF after that, almost too stiff, but my trunk looked freaking awesome.) Ive been dogged on by people laughing and telling me im stupid for doing it on a fwd car, so i broke it down like this. (i live in rwd country SC)

1. I love a clean bay, Ive said it time and time again, i was young and cp mikes bay inspired my whole Clean/Tucking bay bug that's still eating at me 7 years later.

2.Weight reduction, if your that teenager, or poor man who has next to nothing as far as money, and are dying for a performance improvement, depending on how desperate you are, jerking all the carp out of the engine bay that isn't necessary and stripping your interior and trunk definitely improves your ass dyno. I loved the F22'S TQ only after i did this. (this point only applies if you say, get the awesome marine battery box from advance and go with a smaller battery or an optima for decreased weight.)

3.P/S delete (which coincides with weight reduction) is freaking fantastic as far as getting to know your car in a different way and i swear it handles better because of it. As my wife said up there, if you take p/s off, relocating that 50 pounds of battery system to the rear makes no p/s much more bearable/enjoyable.

There is a bit more but i think that's enough. Also thinking about making a battery relocation DIY for under 50 bucks.

Sorry to thread jack if i did but i hope that helps.

This is a little off topic but informs quite a bit, i cant remember where i got the link that first led me to this site but wow, incredibly informative. (Links are relevant to current posts)

Weight transfer: http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets24.html

Corner weights: http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets11.html

On fwd: http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets10.html

Sorry to go into it so much, like i said in another post, my doctors got me on adderall, im a machine

(deev if you read this check out the suspension section)

[Sinbad]

but the weight transfer only makes sense for RWD cars. more wait in the back = better traction.

That isn't necessarily true. In a road racing application it will help even out the bias of the heavy front end, albeit, only a small amount, even in front wheel drive cars. The average car battery weighs about 80 lbs, that will make a difference in a front end on any car, even a FWD.

As for the safety in the trunk aspect, any battery located outside of the engine compartment should be installed in a box, properly secured and vented outside. Especially in a hatchback or trunk that has a fold down seat or isn't completely sealed from the passenger compartment. That is a rule in any racing sanctioned organization for safety. Also, if a person mounts the battery in the trunk, it should be mounted correctly to keep themselves and any passengers safe, not only in an accident, but also from fumes/leaks.

[Sinbad]

You are correct. More weight in the back = better traction.... That traction also includes more traction in the rear for taking corners in a FWD car.

That isn't always true either. Most of the time yes, but it can also be detrimental if done incorrectly. If the rear has too much weight, then the suspension will not be able to react correctly as it will be compressed and won't move the way it is supposed to. Also, if the rear suspension isn't set up correctly, it won't matter what you do, traction will still be lost.

In a FWD car the best location in the trunk would be in the center so it wouldn't add the extra weight to one side or the other in a racing application. In a street car, it doesn't matter as much but may change the way the car rides depending on the suspension setup.

[tutsuo]

So when I bought my cb7 the previous owner had but the battery in the back. I'm wondering why he would do this. Is there a reason or was he just making space under the hood?

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAH

Dont know if joking or serious.

EDIT: omg people really ? preformance... a preformance gain from battery relocation is minimal at best, for our car the OEM battery is 13lbs (Source)with some simple math thats about 3-5 pounds per tire... the same as pooping before driving..... Its just more space under the hood.

[steelbluesleepR]

uh, no. have you ever lifted the battery out of your car?

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...0423&ppt=C0005

Height (In): 9 Inch
Length (In): 10-3/4 Inch
Reserve Capacity (Min): 110 Minute
Voltage (V): 12 Volt
Weight (Lbs): 35.50 Lbs.
Width (In): 6-3/4 Inch

that is the lightest OEM-style battery o'reilly offers for our car, the other ones are 41 lbs. And yes, it might be a minimal gain, but it is a gain. add up all the little minimal gains, and you get a serious performance advantage. bolt your passenger seat to your front bumper and see if that doesn't affect your handling. There are these things called inertia and momentum, they can be a real bitch if you have too much weight too far out from the center of gravity of a vehicle.