Battery question

[Storer]

Hi All

What is the reason for such a small battery (other than weight or is that the only reason)?

It strikes me that there is sufficient room for a larger battery but is the standard factory supplied battery sufficient? Is it still man enough for the LS engines with all their extra electronics?

My Cerbera is very sensitive to battery power (will not start even if it has just enough grunt to turn the motor over) and needs a near fully charged battery to run. I now use a Red Top Optima which is a big improvement over the standard type.

Would a similar battery be a useful improvement or a waste of money?

Paul

[GTRCLIVE]

Bigger battery for more of a road car definitely a good thing, but yes it's really all about weight with the std bat.... Optima for me every time, just makes more sense knowing that I drive my cars every opportunity I get.....

[Steve_D]

All the time the Factory were promoting and using SBC the current drain was OK with the small battery. LS engines will be pulling much more current with high pressure fuel pumps, coil packs, Lambda heaters etc. so I suspect they will have to campaign something bigger.
My latest Odyssey has failed in only a few months so I plan to fit an Optima in preparation for the EFI conversion (if I ever find the time to complete it).

Steve

[ROWDYRENAULT]

The 925 odessey will fit if you point the terminals forward and raise the batteray about an inch. I raised mine on a piece of hardwood painted black. The oddesey was installed in june of 07 and its going strong. I have an LS with all the users listed above. Lee

[DHGTR]

I'm now using the Optima yellow Top. It just fits snugly into the same area of the front compartment.

I turns the engine over quickly AAANNDD i left off charge for 3 weeks and it still worked, unlike my previous 2 pc625.


If you call Alan at Longton Batteries and mention Ultima and Pistonheads... the man he do cheap price.
Call 01772 731953 phone/Fax
or 07860 846456

im only a happy customer, nothing to do with company.

Dave

[Gulf LS3]

yep

on a recent LS converstion we saw 95 amps drain with all the electrical systems running!!!

as Steve says a big battery is a must, the LS crate engines come with a 125amp alternator

[jschwartz]

I've been using the same yellow top Optima #51 since 2003, over 50,000 miles

[outotheblue]

What has the load from the EFi, O2 sensoers etc got to do with the battery? The alternator supplies the current for these and charges the battery. The battery is only there to start the motor, unless there are parasitic devices like alarms fitted, which will easily cause any dry cell battery problems if the state of charge isn't maintained.

[Steve_D]

outotheblue said:

What has the load from the EFi, O2 sensors etc got to do with the battery?........

The battery is having to run all of these and more whilst trying to turn over 6-7 litres of engine. The alternator only comes into play when all is up and running.

Many ECUs and also MSD ignition have a low volt cutout so if the battery is low it may still turn the engine over but in doing so it will pull the voltage down below the cut-off so you have no ECU or ignition.

Steve

[spatz]

in case of most LS ECU, the pumps are building up pressure and then are switched off, still the ECU will have a significant thirst for the fuel injectors and spark plugs when starting the engine. The yellow Optima is working perfect in my setup and I really had issues with the Odyssee. In my opinion do not waste your time with that battery.

[Storer]

What a worthwhile post.

Thanks for all the input. There is very little that is more embarrassing than a nice car that refuses to re-start at the filling station

So the Optima yellow top is a popular upgrade and does the job. I can now fabricate the support brackets to fit the battery I will use in the knowledge it will not need to be enlarged.

Paul

[Storer]

Steve_D said:

All the time the Factory were promoting and using SBC the current drain was OK with the small battery. LS engines will be pulling much more current with high pressure fuel pumps, coil packs, Lambda heaters etc. so I suspect they will have to campaign something bigger.
My latest Odyssey has failed in only a few months so I plan to fit an Optima in preparation for the EFI conversion (if I ever find the time to complete it).

Steve

Steve

It sounds as though your new business venture is busy if you don't have time to work on your own car. Congratulations. This can only be a good thing in these testing times.

Paul

[Storer]

DHGTR said:

I'm now using the Optima yellow Top. It just fits snugly into the same area of the front compartment.

I turns the engine over quickly AAANNDD i left off charge for 3 weeks and it still worked, unlike my previous 2 pc625.


If you call Alan at Longton Batteries and mention Ultima and Pistonheads... the man he do cheap price.
Call 01772 731953 phone/Fax
or 07860 846456

im only a happy customer, nothing to do with company.

Dave

Dave

Thanks for the contact details. I will give him a try. I have found ebay quite good too in the past.

Paul

[DHGTR]

Storer said:

DHGTR said:

I'm now using the Optima yellow Top. It just fits snugly into the same area of the front compartment.

I turns the engine over quickly AAANNDD i left off charge for 3 weeks and it still worked, unlike my previous 2 pc625.


If you call Alan at Longton Batteries and mention Ultima and Pistonheads... the man he do cheap price.
Call 01772 731953 phone/Fax
or 07860 846456

im only a happy customer, nothing to do with company.

Dave

Dave

Thanks for the contact details. I will give him a try. I have found ebay quite good too in the past.

Paul

I should add you need the reverse terminal yellow top. So as you look at the battery with the terminals closest to you, the positive is to the right.

[Storer]

DHGTR said:

Storer said:

DHGTR said:

I'm now using the Optima yellow Top. It just fits snugly into the same area of the front compartment.

I turns the engine over quickly AAANNDD i left off charge for 3 weeks and it still worked, unlike my previous 2 pc625.


If you call Alan at Longton Batteries and mention Ultima and Pistonheads... the man he do cheap price.
Call 01772 731953 phone/Fax
or 07860 846456

im only a happy customer, nothing to do with company.

Dave

Dave

Thanks for the contact details. I will give him a try. I have found ebay quite good too in the past.

Paul

I should add you need the reverse terminal yellow top. So as you look at the battery with the terminals closest to you, the positive is to the right.

Thanks for the reminder.

Paul

Edited by Storer on Tuesday 6th April 13:04

[Steve_D]

Storer said:

........It sounds as though your new business venture is busy if you don't have time to work on your own car. Congratulations. This can only be a good thing in these testing times.
Paul

Paul, thanks for your thoughts.

Hardly have time to sleep let alone work on my own cars.
Great fun though. Currently have five customers cars in work plus the new Super Cat project we recently bought from Tiger Racing.

Looking to take on one or two people as the admin side of things is making it difficult to put paying hours in. Anyone interested?

Anyone local is more than welcome to come and drool over some of the cars here.

Steve

[Storer]

Steve

If I was nearer I would lend a hand.

It might be easier to get trained office personnel than decent workshop staff. Quality and speed of work is what will keep customers coming back. You need an efficient office but it's not what sells your business.

Just my thoughts FWTW.


Paul

[Rich.f]

What are the reasons for not using the Red top please??

[spatz]

it is not fitting in the car, the yellow top does and is a very good choice !

[paulbuckley]

Can someone post the exact product code of the Optima Yellow top please?... and dimensions if possible.

Thanks
Paul