Mounting battery in trunk links?

[geo3@earthlink.net]

Brent Barts <brent102@hotmail.com> wrote:

>HI guys- can someone post a link to mounting the battery in the trunk?  I
>know there has been some arguments as to where the best place is to position
>it is and would like to read up on it.

I don't have any links... (YET).  But....

First of all, there are two schools of thought on battery relocation.

1) Relocate the battery as far back as possible on the passenger side.  This
will have the greatest impact on static load (front to rear balance).  Placing
it on the passenger side helps to offset the weight of the driver as well.
So, not only are you relocation a fairly sizeable weight from front to back,
but also from the driver's side to the passenger side (with a SE-R, NX, G, or
Sentra SE).

2) Location the battery closest to to the polar moment of inertia.  Said
another way, closest to the point about which the car wants to pivot.

Pros/cons....

Placing the battery closest to the polar moment of inertia will help the car
transition more quickly.  It will have far less impact on the static or even
dynamic balance of the car.  Said another way, it will help the car turn more
quickly and find it's terminal handling attitude (understeer/oversteer) more
quickly.

Placing the battery far back on the passenger side will cause the car to turn
in and reach its terminal handling attitude less quickly, but have a much
greater impact on understeer/oversteer (reducing understeer or increasing
oversteer).  It will also require you to use a bit more cable.

Dave Coleman of SCC relocated his battery to the passenger side at the
rearward most point he could.  The change in balance was noticeable, both in
doing the math and in actual driving.

Be sure to get a good battery box - preferably one that is sealed and vented
outside the car.  It should also have provision to securely hold the battery
down in the event the box was broken.

Are you relocating a conventional battery or a WestCo?

George Roffe