New Battery Options

[bigjae46]

Got it. You're basically running a Briggs & Stratton lawn mower battery for a dedicated track car

To offer up a counterpoint, I see every reason to reduce weight in any vehicle you care about driving dynamics, even if it's "just" a street car. I'm totally following your logic for street car needs vs wants, but man, I've taken about 200-250lbs out of my street-only M3 and it's made a huge difference in every possible way.

I did try a lawnmower battery. Did ok but needed a little more. I've stepped up to a 4 wheeler battery now.

Maybe I'm old but I really don't get much joy from driving fast on the street compared to driving on a racetrack. No offense, I highly doubt that 250lbs is going to make much of an actual difference unless the car is really being pushed. Especially when the car is over 3400lbs as driven. Butt dynos are notoriously inaccurate.

[Casa de Mesa]

I did try a lawnmower battery. Did ok but needed a little more. I've stepped up to a 4 wheeler battery now.

I hope you took my comment as the lighthearted joke that was intended. I did not mean to throw daggers. Regardless, you're running a pretty small battery!

Maybe I'm old but I really don't get much joy from driving fast on the street compared to driving on a racetrack.

Yeah, I hear the argument about driving fast on the street. Don't misunderstand, I'm not advocating for lunacy on public roads.

That said, I think the roads in NC, VA, TN, WV mountains are vastly more fun / technical / challenging than the roads I've seen in Houston. It makes building a fun street car more logical. The juice becomes worth the squeeze.

No offense, I highly doubt that 250lbs is going to make much of an actual difference unless the car is really being pushed. Especially when the car is over 3400lbs as driven. Butt dynos are notoriously inaccurate.

I can see we won't agree on this point, so I'll drop it.

And ha, everyone knows "no offense" is not-so-secret code for offense intended!

[Casa de Mesa]

No issues, but I don’t think I’ve put the car thru high electrical load conditions? Recently had the following running without any problems: Avin Avant 4, dash cam, headlights, defroster, heater running with speed at around halfway mark. Idk if my electric fan turned on at any point during this…it’s running off the wiring for the AUX fan.

AG will not recommend the ATX to most customers for CYA reasons/avoid the hassle of clueless people complaining. But if you’re smart about it and have reasonable expectations then they said it’s fine.

I've ran the ATX-20RS in my car and it had no problem cranking the engine 5-6 times in a row in 45 degree weather. Vehicle voltage drops about 1 volt more than with the ATX30 (10.5v vs 11.5) during cranking, but that's about it.

Sweet. Appreciate the feedback. I'm sold.

[George Hill]

Ditto, thanks for the reviews SQ13 and Ryan_R

[bigjae46]

I hope you took my comment as the lighthearted joke that was intended. I did not mean to throw daggers. Regardless, you're running a pretty small battery!



Yeah, I hear the argument about driving fast on the street. Don't misunderstand, I'm not advocating for lunacy on public roads.

That said, I think the roads in NC, VA, TN, WV mountains are vastly more fun / technical / challenging than the roads I've seen in Houston. It makes building a fun street car more logical. The juice becomes worth the squeeze.



I can see we won't agree on this point, so I'll drop it.

And ha, everyone knows "no offense" is not-so-secret code for offense intended!

Lol...I know and you're right. I definitely could have worded that better. No worries...I still love y'all! Never hurts to throw a couple of light punched around here

[Ryan_R]

Little more detail on my setup.
I don't have HVAC, any audio or rear interior lights. I still have the front map lights and power windows/doors. All exterior lights are LED, including headlights. I would image a factory car wouldn't have any issues unless you're running the HVAC, audio, lights, and running the windows up and down all the at the same time with the engine off (people do weird shit).
The only time I had my battery die was when I screwed up some settings and left my ECU powered up over night (400mA draw). The next day I had to use the little restart button and I was able to fire up the engine.
I ran the ATX-30RS for 2 years with a more stockish setup and it performed the exact same as the factory battery.

[bavarian3]

Ditto, thanks for the reviews SQ13 and Ryan_R

Casa de Mesa George Hill Also a happy ATX30 user, but I am in CA. I have some mounting details in this post

[9kracing]

While the ATX--30 can be used in a race car, and you might be able to get away with using it for a stripped down daily, it is not recommended for any sort of vehicle that sees constant use.

[Bimma360]

No offense, I highly doubt that 250lbs is going to make much of an actual difference unless the car is really being pushed.

[Casa de Mesa]

Bigjae is a good dude.

While I'm surprised of his passionate vitriol towards lightweight street batteries 😂 let's not let this devolve any further.

[George Hill]

While the ATX--30 can be used in a race car, and you might be able to get away with using it for a stripped down daily, it is not recommended for any sort of vehicle that sees constant use.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but what do you mean constant use? Do you mean heavy loads with the engine off?

[9kracing]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but what do you mean constant use? Do you mean heavy loads with the engine off?

I mean it's one thing to drop an ATX-30 into your 95 Honda civic that you drive once a month and leave on a tender, but IDK that I'd drop into any modern vehicle with a high drain.

People are going to do what they are going to do, but repeated use of the restart feature will degrade the battery over time.

[George Hill]

People are going to do what they are going to do, but repeated use of the restart feature will degrade the battery over time.

Hmm, I would think in those scenarios the restart feature wouldn't be needed because the battery is staying in use/charged?

I could see that being an issue with new(er) BMWs that run pumps and fans with the car off, but an E46 should only be pulling 0.040A when off (after 16 min) and it should be sub 0.200A within a couple minutes or less.

I would think a vehicle driven on "short trips" or high loads with the car off would be an issue vs frequency of use?

[bigjae46]

Bigjae is a good dude.

While I'm surprised of his passionate vitriol towards lightweight street batteries 😂 let's not let this devolve any further.

lol...I did not expect batteries to be so controversial. Now what kind of oil does everyone use?

[davidinnyc]

lol...I did not expect batteries to be so controversial. Now what kind of oil does everyone use?

motor oil