Just wanted to share some experience with a new brand of battery. I picked up a Battery Tender brand LiFe battery a few weeks ago and have run it two autocross weekends now and am very happy with it.

I bought the BTL14A240C based on feedback from Simmons and his experience with a little bit smaller Shorai battery.

Last weekend at the Match Tour with a co-driver, it never skipped a beat and the car was shut off every one of the 21 runs the car made, plus numerous more at the test n tune on Friday.

So far the best $100 spent on weight savings. The battery only weighs 1.8# and is pretty damn impressive.

240 CCA Lithium Engine Start Battery

I found it on Amazon for $99 shipped.

 

Cranking amps are low and the max temperature is low too. I'm not trying to discourage you, but it may be short lived in this application.

 

2 things:

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-racing-...attery-215618/


RX8Club.com - Search Forums


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I guess time will tell. It's $100.

 

Yes, it's new. I went through several $100 -$200 solutions before finally saying it wasn't worth it and getting a profession racing 1000AH battery that weighs 9 lbs. 4 years and zero issues later I still say it was worth every penny, though somebody recently showed me a link to one that is about half the cost of what I paid (and mine was a special 25% off deal) and still not the same capacity though probably well enough. Never heard of that battery brand before so theres no telling if it's any good or not.

My car was 80 lbs lighter than yours though, so your kind of splitting rchs while tempting fate. I'd suggest you strap 3 or 4 together and wire them in parallel. Or have a good, charged jump starter on stand-by. I fried several in the engine bay that were rated for 170*F and this one is only rated for 140*F. If you trunk mount it will need more juice for sure.



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What's wrong with this one?...other than the low temp and charging recommendations?

Battery Tender 26-35A LITHIUM IRON PHOSPHATE BATTERY (BTL35A480C)......it's 480 CCA

 

I didn't look at alternatives, but at least it's getting closer to the OE rating. In my experience Odyssey, Braille, etc. won't cut it in the typical RX8 engine bay temps.

 

I personally wouldn't 'cheap out' on a lifepo4 battery either. The expense doesn't necessarily come from the chemistry of the battery, but moreso how the charging system is designed. Thermal cutoff , over voltage cutoff, etc. melted heaps of lifepo4 batteries are a dime a dozen across car / moto forums.

Shorai, although popular across many of the two wheel groups, has an iffy reputation with fudging some of their numbers too. There used to be a youtube channel that ran tests on Shorai batteries in an attempt to get a Class action going that showed Shorai batteries smoking and dropping output under normal bench loads. I'll see if i can find it when i get home if interested.

 

I've been using a 15lb Braille battery for years with few problems. If I keep it on a battery tender when not in use they seem to last for years. But let it run down a lot and it goes bad fast. Because I'm not always the best about remembering to hook up the battery tender these tend to be at least bi annual replacement items for me. As far as I can tell it holds up to the underhood temps just fine.

 

^^your on the track with a larger radiator that runs cooler. The first battery I had was a Braille and it didn't last 6 months. Replaced it with an Oddysey and that one was about the same. It wasn't until then that I realized what the problem was. But even the Braille is rated 170*F, or it was. The topic battery has a 140*F max rating.

 

Anyone have experience with AntiGravity batteries? Considering running one in my race car.

 

Any feedback on Volt Phreaks batteries would be great as well.

 

several of us have one, been great if you can spend the dough

I have the biggest one; Endurance Series, VPR-S40. After a few years of d-cking around with the smaller, cheaper racing batteries I decided it made more sense to sacrifice several pounds and still have big battery capacity with no hassles; 10.5 lbs, 900 CCA, 59aH capacity, 76 minutes reserve capacity.

Needed the weight on the RR corner anyway, five years and still going strong.

didn't care for those in your link due to the small motorcycle size

 

No surprise to me ....

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-parts-s...atback-256740/

 

My battery is in the cabin