Weight reduction. Porsche giveth, and Porsche taketh away.....to try and compensate for the added weight the car gains when you add the rear wheel steering option. I have no idea how much weight the rear wheel steering mechanism adds to the car, but I’m sure it is not insignificant.

 

From “Battery University::

”Li ion can be fast charged from 5°C to 45°C (41 to 113°F). Below 5°C, the charge current should be reduced, and no charging is permitted at freezing temperatures because of the reduced diffusion rates on the anode. During charge, the internal cell resistance causes a slight temperature rise that compensates for some of the cold. The internal resistance of all batteries rises when cold, prolonging charge times noticeably.

Many battery users are unaware that consumer-grade lithium-ion batteries cannot be charged below 0°C (32°F). Although the pack appears to be charging normally, plating of metallic lithium can occur on the anode during a sub-freezing charge. This is permanent and cannot be removed with cycling. Batteries with lithium plating are more vulnerable to failure if exposed to vibration or other stressful conditions. Advanced chargers (Cadex) prevent charging Li-ion below freezing.”

Bottom line: Unless the Li battery is pre-heated ....at temperatures at, or below freezing, you aren’t going to be able to re-charge your Li battery.

 

As such, I am very surprised they would put Li batteries in Porsche’s , standard in Canada. Although global warming is happening...so maybe parts of Canada will soon become like Miami?

 

Pretty sure this issue is resolved now. Originally, back in 2010, Porsched sold Li batteries with a lead acid battery, one for summer and one for winter. Tesla uses Li batteries as do all the EV makers and outdoor charging in freezing weather would not be possible.. Here is an example of a new technology that allows charging down to -4F.

https://relionbattery.com/blog/lithi...y-cold-weather

 

Last time I was in Canada, -4F is nothing. The Tesla (and maybe other EV’s) have heating coils, I believe, to pre-heat the battery when it drops below 32F (or whatever the value is). The Porsche batteries do not. Most Porsche’s do NOT have Li batteries. Only a small segment do.

PS - I have a fairly large boat that I usually do not Winterize. I keep it in the water, year round. I keep a quartz heater in the engin compartment that maintains 38F in the winter for the batteries and engine compartment. It doesnt draw much current to maintain that temp in a sealed engine compartment. Similarly, cars like Tesla do the same....or at least I was told they do.

 

I guess no one in Canada should get RAS. Problem solved.

 

Maybe? Or just be aware of the issues.

Read a number of articles about Li, and they all say, as a drawback, that below about 32F, they can’t be charged. Perhaps there are new Li-based chemistries that have lowered this temp? Don’t know?

To be clear, it can drop well below that temp and the Li battery will still start your car. That’s not the issue. But if your battery is depleted, and it’s sitting outside at 0F (which happens in Canada, a lot), the battery will not be able to be re-charged until the temp is >32F...like moving the car inside your garage?

 

And no Turbo S for you!

New lithium-ion lightweight starter battery

Lighter, more powerful, faster: the 911 Turbo S is equipped as standard with a lithium iron phosphate battery (LiFePO4). The new battery offers higher voltage stability and lower internal resistance in comparison with a conventional lead battery. For the driver, this translates into shorter response times and an improved auto start/stop function. Even when the battery charge level is low, the higher performance of the new power store also enables much longer operation of energy-intensive and electric on-board vehicle systems, such as the sound system, with the combustion engine switched off. This means fuel-saving stop phases can be activated more frequently. The LiFePO4 battery has a service life of up to 2.5 times longer than lead-acid batteries and offers up to seven-times higher cycle stability. Thanks to the advanced battery technology and power density, 20 per cent less space is needed and the weight of the on-board battery is reduced by more than half, from 27 kg to 12.75 kg. These features made it possible to reduce the 95 Ah capacity of a conventional lead-acid battery to 60 Ah for the LiFePO4 battery.

 

First introduced in January 2010. From the article -

“The new lithium-ion battery will be available as of January 2010 for the 911 GT3, 911 GT 3 RS, and Boxster Spyder as an option delivered with the car, selling at a price in the German market of Euro 1,904 including 19 per cent value-added tax.The battery is delivered as a separate unit together with the car and may subsequently be fitted as an alternative to the regular, conventional starter battery.
The cars are delivered with both batteries, therefore they are ready for use throughout the whole year. Since, while the lightweight battery offers a very high standard of everyday driving qualities, its starting capacity is limited at temperatures below 0o C or 32o F due to its specific features.”

 

Some things on this...

They do have a newer lithium battery that is not the same as the old ones they tried which were a resounding failure. So they ditched the latest one they had up until 2018 and stopped offering it due to the high failure rate.

The newer one is an A123 Systems Battery, and as I posted in another thread, that it should be good, but there is a problem, or not, depending on how you look at it. The problem is this battery is similar to what McLaren's Lithium battery also does, which means it has a plug that directly plugs into the battery and it has a proprietary LIN communication system so that if you do not have this PORSCHE battery specifically then the car will throw flags. So that is not a problem for some but for those who want to be able to put in their own battery it might end up being that Porsche controls the battery, and what that mean is you can ONLY use a Porsche Battery and if they price it high like $1500 or $2k, then you might be in for a world of hurt just replacing the battery. The objective of the manufacturers as corporations is to make their products as much or a closed loop as they can, meaning only to be able to use their parts in their cars. I understand it, but don't really like it because it makes the warranty and any other issues controlled by pricing they can manipulate completely. Anyway that is a pet peeve of mine.

Oddly Porsche went on the same rant about how great Lithium was as did A123 Systems yet their past batteries were only getting like 2 years in the cars like the McLarens, when Lithium should be getting about 8 year and more. So we'll see how it goes. I know for sure they won't let that battery get 8 years of life... going to a Porsche dealer is a revenue generator and an 8 year battery would be out of the question for them. They are probably going to be building in the obsolescence since they will control the battery you can put in the Car, and we won't be able to do anything about it.

 

Antigravity is a great company. Love the info vids on your web site. Very informative.

 

Lots of doom and gloom here regarding Porsche’s lithium batteries and they just came out with their new one this year. Take all this with a grain of salt as AG only gets a sale if you don’t get a Porsche lithium battery. Aftermarket companies have reverse engineered several Porsche systems from the ECU to the PASM controller and doing the same with the lithium battery is not that difficult.

 

All Canadian cars (as well as vehicles in other "cold" locations) have LiFePO4 batteries.

 

Love to see a link to a Porsche statement that says, “all Canadian cars (as well as vehicles in other cold locations) have LiFePO4 batteries”. NOTE: 992 Porsche’s with “rear wheel steering” option, have the conventional lead-based battery replaced with the much lighter LiFePO4 battery....but that’s only to save weight.

Tips for LiFePO4 Battery Performance During Cold Weather

https://www.batterystuff.com/kb/arti...rformance.html

Cold weather doesn’t stop me from riding and it shouldn’t stop you either! In general LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron) motorcycle and ATV batteries are a moderate climate power source, but they can be used in some cold weather conditions with a little bit of knowledge. Let’s take a look at LiFePO4 powersport batteries and cold weather performance.

LiFePO4 batteries have an operating temperature down to about 0°F and we’ve heard of people using them at temperatures below this. We’ve even tested them ourselves right out of a freezer, and they worked, but that doesn’t mean they will always work! Most customers can start their vehicle on the first try when above 20°F if you keep in mind some cold weather starting tips.

Warming the LiFePO4 Battery Before Starting Your Vehicle

Once temperatures start to reach the mid-40s it is often helpful to warm the battery before starting. This doesn’t mean you need to wrap your battery in an electric blanket, or take a blow dryer out to heat up the battery! Instead we suggest running your headlights, running lights, or an accessory such as the radio for 30 seconds prior to starting your ATV.

 

Further - https://relionbattery.com/products/lithium/rb20-lt

“The RB20-LT is a 12V 20Ah lithium battery and is part of RELiON’s Low Temperature Series. This lithium iron phosphate battery is specially designed for cold weather performance. RELiON’s LT Series batteries can safely charge at temperatures down to -20°C (-4°F) using a standard charger. The system features proprietary technology which draws power from the charger itself, requiring no additional components.The entire process of heating and charging with the LT Series is completely seamless. Simply plug the battery in to the regular lithium charger and the internal heating and monitoring system takes care of the rest. Because it takes time to heat the cells, the charging process in below freezing temperatures could take a little longer.

Trust me when I say it gets a LOT, LOT colder than -4F in parts of Finland, Norway, Sweden’s Russia, etc