I am fiddling with the idea of relocating my battery and making a true CAI air insulated box in its place. For a couple of reasons, rust and corrosion from the previous owner neglect, cheap and easy to do, etc. Right now I have a few questions to decide if I want to continue with this.

What gauge is recommended for the power wire? I heard anything from 0 to 4, but some said that 4 is too small for winter weather...I live in Florida.

What ground should I use in the trunk?

Do I need to run a wire up to my alternator too? I read this in one spot, but never saw it mentioned again...

Thanks peeps.

 

... no one knows?

 

well I would use the 0 gauge if I were going all the way to the trunk.especially if I have a lot of audio equipment.it maybe a little over kill but I dont think so.
2nd there would be no reason to run a seperate wire all the way back to the trunk from the alternator,especially with bigger wire.just make sure to splice it in up at the engine compartment.
man as far as the ground ...hmmmm ,with these cars it might just be worth it to run one all the way back up to the engine compartment...with all the issues we have with gounds anyway.
hope this helps or at least sparks some ideas

 

you want to insulate, and put a box around the CAI piping is that it?

 

I have virtually no audio equipment...haha. Im running an old clarion double din and pioneer 6.25"s. I think its like 35W RMS per channel. As far as I know, the stock wiring is 4G, correct? Would I be ok going 2 or 1?

G4nismo, Ill explain a little further if I continue doing this, but basically I want to make an insulated box around just the cone filter.

 

oh i see. its kinda already been done before:
http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=281291

 

also interested. ive been looking into doing a battery relocation for awhile. for a different reason tho.

what kind of battery do you have? if you have one that you can pour water into, you need to make a sealed container for it so battery acid doesnt spill in your trunk. if you have a optima or other dry battery you dont have to worry about that.

I also would run a ground wire to the engine instead of grounding to the trunk.

 

So long as it is grounded to the chassis it shouldn't matter where you ground it, I wouldn't think. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

just pull the wire out of an electrical socket in your house, you will be fine.....

I love yous kyle

 

How about a small lightweight Odyssey battery (or the like) and your CAI idea? Cheaper, easier, less hassle, less weight etc etc.

 

G4nismo, thats similar to what I was planning, but mine wasnt just going to be a heat shield, I was thinking more along the lines of blocking off the part totally from the bay, and bringing in fresh air from an outside source.

BlackMaxed, I am probably going to be getting a new battery anyway once my car gets out of the shop. I doubt its going to hold a charge after what it's been through...I think advanced had a sale on optima red tops for $99, time to investigate.

Wizard, Well, I am going to have to do something about the rust beneath my battery tray. At the moment, only two of my botls holding the tray down actually attach to the chassis...the third is in a rusty hole. So my battery wobbles a bit.

I might get a small battery and move/rotate it slightly to include it in this 'box'.

 

More food for thought. You could easily weld a mini ledge onto the frame (pretty much right under the battery tray) and keep the small lightweight battery in the engine bay and give yourself oodles of room for your CAI box.

 

Ok. What would you suggest for a battery? I saw a small, I think 550 CCA battery at good year today(dont ask), it was as heavy as mine...but about 2/3 the size...

 

Considering you live in FL, and assuming you daily drive your max, you're a perfect candidate for a small lightweight battery.

You have lots of options
For example, you could use the Odyssey PC680 15lbs, but ~$120
Take apart one of those portable battery chargers and use it's battery. Under 10lbs. Cheap, around $45.

If you're worried about the CCA or CA on the Odyssey batteries (I wouldn't be....can eleborate more if you want), you'll have to spend more and the battery will get bigger and heavier.

 

Weight isn't too much of an issue for me as size is for my situation. And I cant afford $120, haha. Sorry.

And my max is driven at least once every 2-4 days, rarely it sits longer than that.

 

Have you priced quality 0-4 gauge wire yet? Running good 0-4 gauge wire to the trunk isn't exactly going to be cheap either....

On a side note, are you saying you can afford a $99 Optima red top (a fat pig of a battery mind you) but not a $120 lightweight battery?

 

The wire i was looking at was about $25 for 15 feet, IIRC.

Well my car is going into the shop today...hopefully it will come back fixed. Once I get the bill, I will know how much I can spend. The optima was still over what I wanted to spend, but its a nice battery and it was $25 off so...anyhow.

Would you suggest anything like some of the exide batterys? Since I didnt ask before, what kind of CA should I look for at a minimum?

 

Yep. Here's my previous battery with an old CAI. Remove the CAI and there's lots of room up there to build.

Click here to enlarge

 

^^^ Exactly! Looks great!

 

Bejay, you are running what looks like a genesis battery, correct?

 

Looks like it to me. Same specs as the Odyssey PC680.

 

wow, i forget how small those batteries are! how long do those usually last?

 

My Genesis lasted about 3-4 yrs with heavy vibrations. I now run the Odyssey PC680.

 

As long as you drive the car every day or every couple of days, and don't do anything stupid like leave a dome light on and kill it repeatedly, the battery will be reliable for years.

Mine is about 1.5 years old now.

 

I have my battery in the trunk and i ran 1/0 wire.

 

The thing with running 4 gauge, its more or less the distance your running the wire. Having all that current running through 2 feet of wire would be okay, but when your running it 15 feet, thats where the problem lies. I am in the same boat as you, and quite honestly, all im doing is getting a smaller battery. I could easiyl move the battery to the trunk, i already have 4 gauge wiring for my sub. But remember, your going to need a proper battery box to vent those fumes from your battery or you could make a big bang.

What i planned on doing is making a battery box and mounting the battery kinda underneath where the stock battery sits. Reason being is i beleive my intercooler piping will get in the way. Not sure yet, if not im fine, but i might have to do that.

 

Dude your car is amazing.


Back on topic: I think I am just going to find a smaller battery, rotate my battery box and bring it closer to the corner of the bay. Either that or I will get a genesis/odyssey battery and mount it under.

 

well im using the batt from my crx since i bought the car last year and i didnt have any problems with the dallas winter or summer... its about half the size of the batt that was in the max and slightly taller.

 

would a Odyssey PC680 be alright in a wisconsin winter, 0*F?

 

Thanks! Means a lot to me!


Anyhow, if that will work, that would probably be the best way. If you get a smaller battery, it saves you the cost of the 0-4 gauge wire, which can get pretty pricey, especially with copper prices the way they are. Even if you put the battery in your trunk, youd either need A). A proper venting battery box or B). An optima battery, which does not release fumes. There already is more then the cost of a Oddesy battery.

My freind had a good idea. Here we have these auto stores, they sell cheap stuff (Princess Auto). I wouldnt say its the same as Autozone or anything, this place has everything. He went there, picked up 25FT of 0-1 gauge Welding ground wire for 36$. Ran that to the back of his civic and has never had any problems. Even if you only need 3-4 feet, go pick up some jumper cables. 4 gauge wiring for a fraction of the cost!

On a positive note, the positive i can think of moving the battery to the box is somewhat aiding our awful weight distribution lol (65/35)

 

Yeah, the weight distribution factor is something else. It really would help a little bit...haha. I am probably going to get a battery before classes start Aug 25th so anything I do will be done/started before then. Ill let you guys know what I decide to do.

black_maxed95, I am not positive, but I would say probably not. Again, Im not sure but the cranking amps on the odyssey probably aren't high enough for your conditions.

 

If kept in a garage at nights yes, otherwise a little iffy.

 

Just wanted to add that if you use a floating ground, make sure your engine is very well grounded to begin with. ie add a nice grounding kit. Also, stereos tend to pick up a slight whining noise due to the floating ground. If you are into I.C.E., you might opt to run the ground cable all the way back to the front of the car to the engine block and the stock chassis ground.

 

http://web.archive.org/web/200310141...n/battery.html



i know this an iffy bump but i just found this and bringing it forward for others

 

Definitely worth the bump! Thanks! That helps...Ive now subscribed to this so I can find it when it fades away. Haha.