Optima battery install, misc parts?
02-14-2005, 01:06 PM
#16
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Joe,
I was concerned about that and planned to coat/rap the bar but as it turned out It was very solid and very unlikely to move. It survived a 115 mph trip into the wall at Road America in 2003 and didn't budge. That's how I got my HWFM nickname and why my car now has a V2.0 decal on the side.
Good observation though.
Jim
I was concerned about that and planned to coat/rap the bar but as it turned out It was very solid and very unlikely to move. It survived a 115 mph trip into the wall at Road America in 2003 and didn't budge. That's how I got my HWFM nickname and why my car now has a V2.0 decal on the side.
Good observation though.
Jim
02-14-2005, 01:29 PM
#17
Drifting
Originally Posted by Joe2000C4Cab
ToolPants, do you think it's possible to change Steve's setup such that the battery is dead center in the car? Or, because it's like the OEM install, it's really no different? I have had my car precisely aligned - they even asked me my weight.... 
so I wouldn't want the new battery to screw things up for me.
so I wouldn't want the new battery to screw things up for me.
02-15-2005, 06:22 PM
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Steve, too funny... Guess I should start running again and try to lose some of that holiday weight? Will that take away 1/2 secon 0 - 60 for me? 
ToolPants,
Does ABS color matter? I was in Mt View over lunch today and found a clear piece of ABS plastic that was 3/8" thick 8" wide by 12 1/2" long. I had them cut it to be 6 7/8 wide. It was only $4 so I thought it worth the risk.
Thanks.
ToolPants,
Does ABS color matter? I was in Mt View over lunch today and found a clear piece of ABS plastic that was 3/8" thick 8" wide by 12 1/2" long. I had them cut it to be 6 7/8 wide. It was only $4 so I thought it worth the risk.
Thanks.
02-15-2005, 07:21 PM
#20
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Originally Posted by Joe2000C4Cab
[I believe this is my 100'th post? Woo hoo!]
As part of my car's last visit to my indy mechanic, in additon to the brakes/rotors, they noticed my battery is weak. I've noticed it for a while now too. They wanted something close to $250 to replace it. Okay, I'm not that incompetent so I told them I'd do that one on my own. I know Eli@P will charge me $100 to watch him replace it but I'm up for the DIY on this one.
Thanks!
As part of my car's last visit to my indy mechanic, in additon to the brakes/rotors, they noticed my battery is weak. I've noticed it for a while now too. They wanted something close to $250 to replace it. Okay, I'm not that incompetent so I told them I'd do that one on my own. I know Eli@P will charge me $100 to watch him replace it
but I'm up for the DIY on this one.Thanks!
-Eli
04-12-2005, 06:49 PM
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Epilogue: battery installed, mission complete.
ToolPants,
I'm sorry, I could never seem to sync my time issues (kids mostly) witha renntech day so I had to go it alone on this one. I'd be more than willing to show anyone in the SJ area what I've done in the spirt of "passing it along" if interested.
I used a combination of instructions from the San Diego region newsletter and some instructions from another post (I believe was the poster was Oggie in LI). A rennlist search on "optima battery" will show both.
Some useful hints from my experience:
1) Thanks Oggie for mentioning the vent tube. It didn't immediately dawn on me that I wouldn't need it anymore (duh). I marked it and tucked it away as suggested.
2) The tip of putting the adapter plate in the car first and placing the battery on it loose so that you can fiddle around with it so that the cables reach the terminals was *immensly* useful. I didn't want to replace any of the cables and there probably was only a coupld mils of tolerance on where I should drill the holes. The location of the holes that worked for me did not match anyone's instructions (that had measurements). I could not really center the battery and make the cable reach. If you want to do that, you might want to consider replacing one of the battery cables. My car will be re-aligned soon so no biggie for me.
3) I used a piece of scrap ABS from tapplastics that was a bit shorter than optimal so I did re-use the battery mouting bracket from the original setup. Although this works, I believe a better solution is to screw the bolt through your newly made adaptor plate and ditch the bracket. I've driven the car for a while and the battery is still rock solid in place so I'm not concerned.
Thanks again to everyone for their help!
ToolPants,
I'm sorry, I could never seem to sync my time issues (kids mostly) witha renntech day so I had to go it alone on this one. I'd be more than willing to show anyone in the SJ area what I've done in the spirt of "passing it along" if interested.
I used a combination of instructions from the San Diego region newsletter and some instructions from another post (I believe was the poster was Oggie in LI). A rennlist search on "optima battery" will show both.
Some useful hints from my experience:
1) Thanks Oggie for mentioning the vent tube. It didn't immediately dawn on me that I wouldn't need it anymore (duh). I marked it and tucked it away as suggested.
2) The tip of putting the adapter plate in the car first and placing the battery on it loose so that you can fiddle around with it so that the cables reach the terminals was *immensly* useful. I didn't want to replace any of the cables and there probably was only a coupld mils of tolerance on where I should drill the holes. The location of the holes that worked for me did not match anyone's instructions (that had measurements). I could not really center the battery and make the cable reach. If you want to do that, you might want to consider replacing one of the battery cables. My car will be re-aligned soon so no biggie for me.
3) I used a piece of scrap ABS from tapplastics that was a bit shorter than optimal so I did re-use the battery mouting bracket from the original setup. Although this works, I believe a better solution is to screw the bolt through your newly made adaptor plate and ditch the bracket. I've driven the car for a while and the battery is still rock solid in place so I'm not concerned.
Thanks again to everyone for their help!
