Has anyone ever relocated the battery to the engine compartment? I see that there is a box for it, but the battery is in the trunk.

Wouldn't it make more sense to have that heavy battery over the front wheels?

 

electrically it dosnt really matter. The battery dosnt weigh enough to help keep the wheels on the ground.There is no direct reason why to move it.

 

Its actually somewhat better to have it in the trunk, you can't boil the water in the battery from excessive engine heat.

And where is this battery box in the engine bay??

 

That's what I'm thinking! There are fuses in the box he is thinking of!

 

it's in the trunk mainly because of lack of space... where would you fit it in the engine bay??

 

Are you talking about the junction box that has the jumper terminals on it underneath the hood?
Your battery won't go there.
Show us pics of where your talking about.

 

If its not the fuse box, there is a place to put it,, on the passenger side there is a open spot the battery could fit...there is nothing there, under the hood. Its not because of lack of space..atleast on the 2.0

 

Thats were the 2.4 and 2.2 air box mounts to

 

Isn't putting the battery in the trunk what most people consider a mod anyway? I wouldn't move it BACK to the engine bay, but I'm sure if someone really wanted to they could do it.

 

I like having the battery in the trunk. It was alot cheaper to buy two foot power wires for my subwoofer amp instead of 15 foot wires.

 

My bad...


I never looked at that box. I just saw the terminals, and figured it was where the battery goes in the 2.2 or 2.4


now I know...


Thanks guys

 

You want to keep it in the trunk. If you turbo or run meth inj you need the room. Plus it helps balance the car front to rear. If you move it to the front thats a 80lb swing.

 

Actually, the further you could move it towards the front the better - at least off the rear bumper. A 40 lb battery located behind the rear axle exerts not only a rear wards inertia force upon acceleration (due to it's mass), but actually a downward component as well - due to its weight (the force of gravity) coupled with the leveraging effect of it being mounted behind the rear axle. Just moving it in front of the axle will help somewhat.

If you really want to get serious, buy a odyssey or dynabatt high-tech battery. An Odyssey pc680 weighs 15.5 lbs (and is big enough to start and run your Cobalt fine). An Odyssey pc925 weighs 26 lbs and is large enough for some stereo reserve capacity too. Either could be mounted under the rear seat. I've actually measured it, and there is plenty of room on either side. The Odyssey is a dry cell, so it doesn't gas, can't leak, and can be mounted in any position. This mid-car battery placement would also shorten the cable run to the front, saving weight and allowing more current flow for high current devices - like my 120amp e-rams. It's been said that 100 lbs in weight savings = .1sec in the 1/4mile this 25lb weight savings, coupled with superior battery placement (traction gains) should improve your 1/4 by about .03sec.

It seems that no one is interested in performance gains unless they can shave 1/4 second or add 10hp. When engineers design a car, they try to save every single ounce they can off of each component. They know that the cululative effect of all these ounces make a measurable difference in performance, mileage, braking - and ultimately retail sales because of these gains. They know that every hp and every lb counts.

By the way if you think .03sec is not very much, if I could save .03 off my 1/4 mile time (by this simple mod) it would make me the quickest 2.4l auto on the board so far. It's the difference between in first place and being the first loser.

 

I never got around to weighing it, but I bought this Buddy Club racing spec battery for my Sentra, its about 1/4 the size and 1/2 the weight of a normal battery.

 

Right on, Steve. Not only is the battery in the rear to balance it, it's also on the passenger side to help counter the added weight of the driver.

 

counter weight of the driver.

personally it could benefit you in times of need.

Say your parked in a parking lot and have a dead battery, your surrounded except for the rear. Well it just so happens your battery is in the trunk! BAM! No more dead battery. (if you get a jump of course)

And yes I know you technically shouldn't jump start a battery directly but its rare that it explodes

 

You are forgetting about what weight distrobution is really for, handeling. In simple terms the closer to 50/50, the better the car will handle.

 

Yes, you are correct if you are talking about around a road race course and not a drag strip. It all depends on what type of handling performance you are primarily interested in.

There is another concept in road racing called mass centralization. This refers to the very center of the car being the heaviest (most massive) ie. where the engine, tranny, driver and the bulk of chassis mass is located.

Think of the car like a merry-go-round or a gyroscope, pivoting around it's center axis. The less mass located around the peripherals ie. bumpers, wheels, roofline, etc, the less inertia the car will exert on the controls, and the more easily it can change directions. Moving the battery to the center of the car helps in this regard. So would replacing your steel inner bumpers with aluminum replacements, replacing hood and trunk with c/f items, removing the sun roof, replacing glass with lexan, etc. Not only does this save weight, but it contributes to a car with less peripheral mass. This will make the car handle much better on the road or a road course (where the car is used most.)

 

That empty space on the passenger side of the engine bay is where your secondary surge tank goes with the stage 3.