Want to shave 10.7kg from your car cheap?

[POLARBEAR666]

http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69871

[POLARBEAR666]

[Golf Houso]

Nice work thinking outside the box there, I always had a feeling that "racing" batteries were just rebranded bike and ride on mower batteries.

[POLARBEAR666]

Thats the irony. The box on my battery has pictures of harley's and sports bikes and ATV's and sea-doo's.

When you think about it... some of those motors in those things are more hp than my car!!! no accessories to drive but the thing is just to start it mainly.

The Deka battery tested 719ccamps right in front of me... while an oddyssey 680 tested 390ccamps on same tester machine. This thing is a WICKED quality battery and was $100 cheaper than the oddyssey.

You see most people go "oh i cant use that I am a car". I go "well, a bike has a motor too, same voltage, same alternator recharge, same purpose".

I have since looked online and this battery is popular in some BMW forums!

[Golf Houso]

How much did it set you back, and where did you get it from?

[POLARBEAR666]

Battery World. $250. save yaself some handy weight.

I would wait a few days though to see how I go. I will report back if there are any issues.

[Jondarren]

Could this work on any VW? Not just the MK5?

Great thinking there.

[gregozedobe]

There are two quite different measurements for batteries:

1 CCA or cold cranking amps. This tells you how much current a battery can deliver for a short burst (eg starting a car)

2 Storage capacity, usually measured as a specified continuous current for a specified time period eg 24 amp/hrs at 2.4 amps for 10 hrs.

AGM batteries are very good for delivering very high current for a short time, and also for recharging quickly. I'm guessing your new battery is AGM (or Gel).

Also, just by looking at the size of your new battery I'm guessing it has much less storage capacity than the one it replaces (the old "no such thing as a free lunch" story).

That being the case, I suggest you check that your car doesn't have a signficant current drain when the engine is switched off (often aftermarket add-ons such as GPS or ICE, depending on how they are wired in) . This could draw down all the charge in the smaller battery if you don't use your car for several days (eg hols, trip away for work etc), leaving it too flat to start your car.

With a bigger battery this drain often isn't noticed unless the car is unused for a longer period (eg 3-4 weeks), as the extra storage capacity is sufficient to still start the engine.

Also as batteries age their effective capacity reduces significantly, so a battery that is OK (but only just) when new, may have insufficient capacity for the task by the time it is 2 years old.

[POLARBEAR666]

I will see how it goes. Starts and runs perfectly atm. I think that the factory battery is super overkill and was probably put in because of cold climates.

[velly_16v_cab]

my mate runs a jetski battery on his mk1 golf and mk2 jetta on track days.
the battery doesnt alway have the power to start the car (some times we bump start it)
but it is fun when she is running.
great for the track, cant see the point of on the road as you will be using all you electric toys.

[DUB 20V]

holy crap what turbo is that?

[POLARBEAR666]

Its a 1.4 TSI... It is a similar engine layout to this only my turbo has a bigger exhaust wheel.

[DUB 20V]

.......................

[Greg Roles]

Its a 1.4 TSI... It is a similar engine layout to this only my turbo has a bigger exhaust wheel.

I can't spot "outlaws" supercharger myself...

[POLARBEAR666]

Here is a neater solution that also strips 1.8kg out of the car by removing the battery tray completely.