Battery Relocation

[CRallo]

its been said that some cars already have it in the rear, but this is where the "warts and all" applies.

[jimbbski]

I would be on board for allowing battery relocation.

Mine is located in the LF corner of the engine compartment. The fuel distributor is located just behind it along with dozens of wires and fuel lines carring fuel at high pressure. Any good hit there could result in a fuel leak and sparks, which equals FIRE! I can't move the wires as I can't more the battery and I can't move the fuel system either. But if I could move the battery I would be able to relocate some of the wires and have the room to protect the fuel lines from harm.

I'm not going to push for it but I would welcome it if it ever happened.

While the battery, washer bottle, etc. rules are there because of the original intent of IT, IT has progressed far beyond that original intent. The ECU rules are one that I don't agree with and go beyond what IT started out as. But since it's already out there I see no reason the rules can't be pushed a bit further. In my case and I would think in many others, moving the battery would result in a safer race car.

Some have said that if we keep pushing the rule set we may end up as Production Lite.
I don't believe that will happen if some of the rules covering battery location, washer bottles were changed and worded correctly to be very specific to it's intent.

I'll get off my soap box now.

[seckerich]

You mean like "Washer bottles may be removed but all resulting openings must be covered" or similar?

Batteries may be relocated but must weigh X pounds min and be securely mounted. Would keep out the super light expensive batteries but allow the cheaper gel cells to be run. I would be happy if we could just run any battery in the stock location and get rid of the lead acid.

Love the off season.

[Russ Myers]

On super light, super expensive batteries, I woukd do better to lose at least 20# from the left front seat, and I would save money at the same time on reduced food purchases.

Russ

[titanium]

Love the off season.

What is this 'off season' you speak of?
Us 'STU/O' racers are getting ready for four nationals coming up 4 weeks from Friday.
And a few of those weekends are taken-up with the PRI show and some other holidays.

[lateapex911]

Simon, one of the reasons the request has been turned down is that while some don't think it's a performance advantage or a "significant" performance advantage, others do. And really, any time you remove 30 pounds from 18" in front of the front axle (where the 35 is actually more due to arm moments and such ), and put it where you WANT it, well yea, it's an advantage.

So, if you allow it, you've now added another step everyone MUST do, if they want to keep up with the Jones'.

Of course, the 'safety card' is instantly played when this hand is dealt. yet, in more years of being at the track and racing than I care to admit to, I can't remember ever having the "my battery was too close to my fuel distributor and when I crashed the sparks set off an explosion and fire and damaged my car" incident occur, nor have I ever heard of one.

heck, I grenade-d a pressure plate at 6000rpm in 4th gear and the resulting shrapnel hunks (some I found were a pound or two) left the pressure plate at significant speed. My starter motor was severed in half, and fell under the car, flopping around at 90MPH. The transmission bellhousing ceased to exist. The trans was only supported in the front by the pilot bearing.The oil lines were severed. The fuel lines were spraying, parts came through the firewall, and there was collateral damage to cars around me. The power in the car pulsed on and off depending on the starter and it's wire. Sparks and oil and gas. I shut the car off and coasted to a stop a quarter mile down the track. Last I checked I didn't explode.

[Matt93SE]

Off season? What's that? the 3 weeks between races in TX?

[xr4racer]

Jake, I have seen it twice once at Mid Ohio and once at Road America, both of them were VW's. I was in the race at drivers school at Road America, a Golf hit the old bridge and immediately caught on fire in the LF. The other at Mid Ohio while sitting on the Keyhole hill, Rabbit GTI harmlessly tank slapped entering chicane swung around impacted concrete and burst into flames. The fires were contained to the LF and hood.

matt

[Greg Amy]

its been said that some cars already have it in the rear...

You mean, like, oh I don't know, the Miata*...?

GA

* Is there ANYTHING those engineers didn't do "right" on that car...?

[seckerich]

Bastards, it's even a gel cell stock.

[spawpoet]

* Is there ANYTHING those engineers didn't do "right" on that car...?

Well, they never have managed to engineer the femininity out of it . And before anybody thinks I'm flinging poo, I drove a Miata for 6 years, and it was the best car for the money I've ever had. I'd be racing one if everybody else on the planet wasn't already doing that.

To answer your question seriously, the only real issue I ever knew about with Miata's was the 90'-91' crank snout issues. Otherwise they are little Japanese tanks.

[chuck baader]

Let's contemplate....LF wheel is the heaviest on the car...move battery from LF to RR and look at the scales My, why did all that weight come off the LF wheel...how can that happen??? Chuck

[DoubleXL240Z]

... so we harmlessly move the battery to the RR corner ( where the E30 I-6 has it stock ) and the car blows turn One at Sebring in the pouring rain and hits the tire wall, next car does the same, rear ending said BMW. Battery is pushed into fuel cell, sparks ensue= 60 tires toasted, 3 sections of retaining wall cracked or compromised from heat, 35 dead fire extinguishers, 2 cars flambeaud(sp), race day over for 2 or 3 run groups, lots of wet people standing in the rain!!
If I would have phrased that right it could of been the 12 days of batteries(instead of Chrismas)!!
If moving stuff and washer bottles are that big of an issue, build a prod or GT car. Either built for regional competition will cost no more than a decent IT car, and you can play to your hearts content!!

[chuck baader]

Thought about that considerably when building my cars. Checked junk yard, and of all the wrecks I saw (30+) with rear impact there were no fires, and very few had the battery loose from the mount. Note, BMW has a molded plastic piece that protects the positive terminal from metal contact in the event of a rear end collision. Note, in my severe impact at RA in July, battery did not come loose and went into my current car. Chuck

[Greg Amy]

Man, that must suck for all those cars that have the battery mounted on the extreme front corner, you know, close to the engine oils and fuel lines and stuff.

There oughta be a law!!!!

[Matt93SE]

* Is there ANYTHING those engineers didn't do "right" on that car...?

The differential in the 1.6 sucks donkey *****
Our LeMons Miata just ate one and it MIGHT be putting 100hp to the ground...

[D. Ellis-Brown]

I am in favor of allowing the removal, alteration, replacement of items that do not provide a performance advantage, I currently would not support this type of change under the current IT philosophy. I am not in favor of relocating the battery unless there was a safety issue. The re-location of the battery would change the performance of some cars, especially those of lower spec weights, by changing the the front to rear weight ratios. I have been very vocal in the past about the retention of "Non Value Added" stuff that just get in the way of maintaining a race car. But in keeping with any potential performance change, they need more discussion, and the will of the majority of the stakeholders to request the change. If the majority of IT racers want to relocate the battery, then the CRB & ITAC should not stand in the way and permit the change to be made.

Dabvid Ellis-Brown