Laertes

I checked the window sticker on my '11 RS, and it says the car has a "Lightweight battery" (listed as a $0 option); however, under the hatch up front is a lead acid battery. I thought I had read that in '10 the Li battery was an option but that the '11 cars came with them, though I may be mistaken. My question is: is the "lightweight battery" the same as the lithium battery? Should all '11 RSs have come with the Lithium battery, or is the "lightweight battery" not in fact the same as the lithium battery but is instead a lighter lead acid battery?

senna

Car was shipped with both.

Laertes

That's what I thought. Please don't take this the wrong way, but are you sure? Can anybody else corroborate this? I'm getting contradictory information from dealers and have been told it was the same expensive option as it was in '10. I'm pretty sure this is wrong, as the window sticker says the car had a lightweight battery (listed under the options as a $0 item). Logic says the lightweight battery must be the lithium, because it's listed as an option. If the "lightweight battery" meant a lighter lead-acid battery, I would think it would be listed as one of the features of the car, not singled out as an option.

Thanks.

NJ-GT

It was a $1700 option, the car shipped with the slightly lighter lead acid battery (the standard battery) and the Li-Ion in a box.

drl

I asked my dealer the same thing last year. "lightweight" is not the expensive Li option.

Carrera GT

Right. It's a common point of confusion. The GT3 and RS have a lead-acid battery (not even a sealed glass matt or "AGM" like an Optima or Braille) which is a tiny bit smaller in dimensions and weight.

The Li-Ion is a $2K option or a $3K spare part -- wildly expensive and dead sexy. There's no electrical system changes or software settings changes to swap from conventional lead boat anchor to the over-sized remote control toy battery. : )

Laertes

Got it. So the "lightweight battery" listed on the window sticker just means the lead acid is slightly lighter than most? It seems odd they would go to the effort of listing it as an option separately (albeit at $0) rather than just as one of the many standard bits. For example, why would they list the battery explicitly, and not also list "Titanium Exhaust Tips: $0"?

So, just to make sure I'm clear, there was no change in status between '10 and '11 for the Li battery-- it remained the same expensive option both years?

NJ-GT

My Fiat came with an Optima 34R bone stock, I later switched to a LithiumPros 9 lbs battery, but after 2 sudden discharges and some weird behavior with the Fiat factory battery tender, I went back to my Optima.

In the meantime, I had a Porsche Li-Ion battery in the Cayman that I was feeding with my 8 years old Deltran Battery Tender (the $50 thingy that is so good). Suddenly, decided to test the P-car Li-Ion in the Fiat, and it's been there for 3 months, no sudden discharges. A few weeks ago it was beeping, and I realized I forgot to plug the battery tender, battery is perfect, Fiat is lighter, I don't carry a battery tender to my track trips.

The Porsche optional Li-Ion battery is a must in my opinion, 30 lbs weight reduction for just $1700.

Carrera GT

AFAIK. I think the option price actually went down a little, maybe $100 give or take.

Right. The factory li-ion battery is relatively "cheap" lightness once all the mild steel and cosmetic trim is out.

Laertes

Found this link:

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-gt2-...weight+battery

I think it answers my question. Sounds like there might be different lead acid batteries and "lightweight" refers to one of the potential standard (i.e. lead acid) options, NOT the Li.

I shoulda known. When was the last time Porsche gave anything way for free?

LehmanZ06

My car is a 10' GT3.

I believe all 11's GT3's and RS' came with the $0 option "lightweight battery".

My original battery died and in 2012 the only battery that the dealer had to replace was the "lightweight battery"

Difference between "lightweight battery" $0 option, and regular battery....

Drum roll.........................1 lb

TrackDays247.com

Yes OEM is a slighly lighter battery.

I like the LI-Ion batteries - I have them in my on and offroad vehicles. A little sluggish (not much) when below freezing, but turning the headlights on for 5 seconds to warm up the battery (yep) makes a big difference.