im going to relocate my battery. so at the last autox, i decided to see what was required to do this. i read the rulebook, and all it required was that the battery be secure and behind the rearmost seat and not in the passenger compartment.
so i asked a guy working the registration desk about mayber needing a battery box or something. he said no, just secure and in the trunk(hatch).
to be sure i asked the guy doing the tech inspections. he agreed w/ everything but the box part. he said it needed to be in a battery box.
so do i go and get a box, like a marine battery box, or do i not need one?? do you guys w/ relocated batteries have yours in a box??
i went to advanced auto, and saw how much a box was. its like 13 bux. my friend spent 40 or something on an “official marine battery box” made for boats of something. i think ill put it in a box. i was going to do it today, but an emergency baseball game came up, that i have to go to (free box seats).
The thing its sitting on is some kevlar honeycomb boeing floor panel. We had it laying around so I used it. I’m sure one could use some readily available plastic. I meant to paint the strap but I was in a hurry.
i dont kno about autox but to race at a NHRA sanctioned drag track u have to have the battery in a metal box or in a morroso plastic box, u also have to have a shutoff switch on the back of the car and it has to be labeled. just incase you’d ever want to drag your car sometime.
btw: i dont want to hear about how u or someone u know passed tech at a nhra track with some ghetto rigged battery, im glad u got past the incompitent tech inspector
It’s not that the box has to be metal, it’s that it must be sealed. That’s only for hatch backs though from what I understand. I couldn’t fit my battery cables through the gap when the trunk is closed, so I just put the cut off switch where the rear windshield wiper used to be. It looks much better than the black duct tape I had there.
[QUOTE=Stu]It’s not that the box has to be metal, it’s that it must be sealed. That’s only for hatch backs though from what I understand.[QUOTE]
yes it has to be sealed, and it has to be a certian width also (dont remeber off the top of my head) unless it’s the morrosso box. you can’t just throw a cheap plastic box in there with a rubber seal and expect to pass a compitant tech inspector. and about ‘only for hatchbacks’ WRONG, it’s for ANY car that doesnt have a rear metal firewall, including sedans because the only thing sperating the trunk and the passenger compartment is the rear seat, and that doesnt count as a firewall.
That’s why I said ‘from what I understand’ because obviously hatchbacks don’t have a rear firewall, but I wasn’t sure what actually counted as a fire wall in a sedan. Now I know what is required now that I think about it. Why does the box have to be a certain width?
the metal has to be a certain witdh, not the dimensions of the box (sorry to confuse)
oh and nick, i am stating the specs for NHRA (drag racing), im not sure what the rules are for scca racing.
I’ve never understood the metal box thing. What if the battery comes loose and slams up against the sides or something causing a short?
Anyway, I dont know about the scca rules either. Some of the folks I auto x with have the hawker battery mounted under their seats sans box(se-rs and nx2ks mostly).
NHRA: If the battery is ANYWHERE but in the stock location (If you move it somewhere under the hood and it looks stock I don’t think you’ll have a problem, but that’s just the rule) you MUST have a cut-off switch mounted on the REAR of your car. It must be accessable from the outside. The switch must do two things:
Prevent your car from starting when it is in the ‘off’ position.
Shut your car off after it is running when you flip it to the ‘off’ position.
As far as I know for SCCA races. The cut-off switch must be located where the driver can reach it, and it must be accessable from the outside of the driver’s side of the vehicle. I’m not sure, but that’s what I’ve been told.
Just so you know if anyone is confused, the Morosoe box is already NHRA legal, that’s why you can just buy it and throw it in.
Lastly, (This is NHRA again) the box must be mounted to the frame of the car, you know like you drill a hole through your trunk or whatever) and if you don’t use 3/8 studs (I think it’s 3/8s minimum) then the open ends of the J-hooks must be welded closed.
has anyone had problems running smaller lighter batteries?? like them losing charge or anything?? all i have extra is a cd player…ive been thinking about getting one.
