...are junk! if you live anywhere that has winter anyway. I was on my second (pc680) and had to jump it ohhh about everyday once it started getting cold again. And it finally wouldn't take any more of a charge. So I finally decided to quit being lazy and just put a full size battery in my trunk

BEST DECESION I'VE EVER MADE!!! with my Evo anyway...car now starts like its new and actually runs a bit better.

pretty simple to do, even though i did it in a parking lot in 30 degree weather and rain/snow mix! Took 2 of us about 3 1/2 hours (from start to clean up) to do it, only because we kept coming inside to warm up! Hard to work when you can't feel your fingers!

Used a 1 gauge Battery Relocation kit from Summit Racing. Came with all the nuts, bolts, grommits, connectors etc...that you need; a 16ft red 1 gauge wire with a battery terminal connector already on one side (same with the neg. wire). And a 1 gauge, 2ft black cable for ground. Also picked up a battery tray from autozone, i'll do a box later. Probably in the springtime when its a bit warmer out!

Ran the cable through the hole on the passenger side of the firewall. I have to get a new solution for my hallman mbc now but seeing how im tuned and don't ever change my boost i guess that doesn't matter much. Had to drill a couple of holes in the trunk to secure the tray, and then also for the battery tie downs. I just used a dremel for this.

Anyway, just wanted to share if anyone was interested. Theres a couple of "how to" threads on here that i found by searching, but if anyone has any questions feel free to ask!

 

i agree
they also have no reserve power at all
you cant even sit in your car and listen to the radio at normal volum for 15 mins before it dies.

 

mini batteries are pointless unless you have done alot of weight reduction and actually take your car to a race track frequently. 25 lbs won't make any difference on a 3000 lb. car. i have an optima red top relocated in my trunk, and its awesome.

 

I have the buschur mini battery kit. Its working fine and I had it for about one and a half years. I also travel so the car stops long periods of time, from two weeks to two months somtimes. All I had to do is jump it once drive around for a couple of minutes and it will work good again. Its about 30 digrees this time of year here and the only problem is that when its cold in the morning it cranks a little slow but works just fine for the rest of the day. Buschur only sells good parts

 

agreed

 

are you at Jabar??

anyway, the battery can only be charged back up so many times. jumping it over and over is going to kill it. Now when i get up in the morning I don't wonder whether or not my car is going to turn over, I KNOW it is. And it doesn't crank slowly either, which probably isn't all that great for other components of the car either.

And (like mentioned), I can sit in my car with "ACC" on and listen to the radio or whatever and it isn't going to die.

A lot of piece of mind for a little bit of work. And if you do it before trying a mini battery, its a lot cheaper than most of the mini battery kits out there. And you also save that much more space in the engine bay.

 

Mine works fine for the most part. It died once because I let the car sit for like a month and forgot to disconnect the battery.

After I used a battery tender it has stayed charged. I disconnect the negative lead now when I think the car is going to sit more than a couple days. Daily driving it should be no problem. It's not snowing or anything here but it does get down into the 30's and 40's and ices over and all that. But mine has worked fine since the recharge.

I think the main reason for these batteries is not so much for the weight savings, but to upgrade the path/diameter of the UICP. The weight savings is just a good byproduct.

 

thats the reason it was in the car to begin with. but no battery in there at all makes even more room! and, unless you are a DIY'er and fab up your own kit, its cheaper to move it to the trunk than buying a mini kit. A little more work, yes, but its not going to die, i don't need a battery tender etc etc...many PROS, haven't even really thought of any cons

 

Mini Batteries aren't the best mod you can do for your evo especially with the ease of relocating it in the back. Not to mention there are ways to reduce the weight in the back to balance it out (take out the spare, lighter moustache bar etc)...there you go weight saved in the front. Ive seen too many people stranded with evos with mini batteries and some other cars too.

James

 

Theres a reason why those batteries are designed for motorcycles, atvs, and nautical boats. Just pick up the damn xs-engineering pipe kit. It requires a new battery, but they use a miata unit.

 

Sorry for the newb question, but with relocating the battery to the trunk, you have longer wires. Is the longer current travel time noticable? Where do you run the wires and how do you get them from the passenger compartment to the trunk?

I will check the how-to forums, but if anyone has more info on this, that would be greeeeeeat...

 

ok, theres a hole in the firewall on the passenger side of the car. I ran the cable through there. I lifted the carpet along the same side of the car (obviously). The cable is thick (1 gauge) so you cant just put it at the edge, you have to put it a few inches deep. About the middle of the seat theres a a bump in the carpet (part of the frame?), thankfully, it has a pass through hole so i ran the cable through there. I then ran it through the seatbelt assembly at the B pillar and continued it to the back seat. I took out the back seat bench and ran it through the trunk from there. I can take some pics if you want.

As far as a noticable lag because of the longer cable, i would say no. Car fires up immediately and wayyyyy better than ever with a mini battery.

heres a nice lil write up

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...ery+relocation

i did what he did under the hood....i did not use a box for now though. The battery is just secured with a tray. Same thing basically, just the battery is not covered up.

 

I was up in the air about a mini battery but it seems it isnt worth the risk. Is there any advantage to using the 0 gauge wire kit?

 

if you're in a warm climate, you'd probably be ok...if it gets cold for extended periods of time though i wouldn't bother....the 1 gauge seems to work fine for me...the kits ive seen at Summit have 1 or 2 gauge...i don't think 0 would be all that necessary

 

Well...I've got a buddy who's had the mini battery for a couple years--no problems. I myself had no problem except when I let the car sit for a prolonged period of time.