Hey all,
I was looking around my trunk for mounting locations and I finally found one that:
A) allows the J bolts to go through without hitting the gas tank or fram
cool.gif doens't take up a weird angle/amount of space
C) allows access to the spare tire well without much hassle.

A is the most important, since the frame was in the way for most other orientations. I decided to put the battery right behind the right rear passenger. The J bolts go through and fit perfect around the frame.

But that's not why I'm typing this. I was looking for possible grounding locations and saw that the rear seat has a bolt in the center of the trunk, right where the seats split. Is this an okay grounding spot? I'm having trouble telling frame from body? I found two suitable frame bolts, but they were right next to the muffler, and I thought heat may be a problem. The other alternative is the strut tower, but again: frame or body?

Any advice? Thanks,
a

 

Both the Chassis and Frame are grounded, so either one will work. I used those rear seat bolts to ground my amps, so I know they work.

 

for all the stereo systems we have installed, the frame has always turned out to be the best ground, we ussualy drill a hole right through the frame in the trunk, sand the paint away for best connection, and bolt it there, and then put a little something over it to keep from rusting/corroding.
smile.gif

 

Well, with the help of Ropeman100 I got the install mostly complete today. The ground is going on the center bolt behind the split seats. I used a dremel to completely stip it down to bare metal, put the star washer and lead in, then reattached. My multimeter showed connectivity between the battery lead and the SR rear strut bar, so I know the connection is good.

Then we ran the positive cable. Under the rear seat, down under the carpet, through the parking brake console, under the driver's carpet (down where it bends up by the pedals) and out through an existing hole behind the ECU. There was already a grommet there! Then the cable follows the ECU leads: in the left front fender and in behind the battery.

It was getting late, so we didn't finish off the wiring, but it's 90% done. Hopefully I will get it finished tomorrow after work. Then I need to bum a digital camera and document the install.

Oh, and yes, sanding to bare metal was definitely key, there was a lot of non-conductive coating there in the trunk.

That's all for now. Later,
a

 

why in the heck would you want to mount your battery in the trunk of a front wheel drive car??? Thats crazy!!!!
In a rear wheel drive it makes sence because the drive wheels are in the back so you want more weight over the wheels for traction!

But in a front wheel drive you are defeating the purpose by adding weight to the back you eliminate traction from your front wheels!!

Now if your battery is on the same side of the car as your driver seat! Moving it to the other side of the engine comp would be a better idea!! or moving it close to the passenger seat to equal out the body weight of the driver!

RANDOM any thoughts on this!!!

 

It opens up a lot of room for a CAI, and anything else you may add later.

 

Plus, I have it right over the rear wheel, not all the way in the back. So yes, it does take weight off the front wheels, but it maintains a better distribution, and since it's directly over the rear wheels, it isn't "lifting" (i.e. a lever action) the front wheels up.

I did need the room for an intake and eventually turbo and intercooler piping. My battery was originally on the drivers side, now it is on the passenger side.

It's done now. Everything went well, except for the J bolt tie downs. They bend too easily and can't be trusted. First thing on Sunday, I"m going to go scavenging parts stores, marine supply, and home depot to try and find a suitable replacement.

I would have pics, but the camera someone loaned me didn't have a battery (plug in only). Oh well, hopefully by next week I'll get pics.

later,
a

 

I would suggest getting rid of that heavy ass battery and getting dry cell set up and save yourself weight and room! But your plan is better than nothing at all!

 

Accent1

A perfect 50 50 weight distributon is the goal for a perfect handling car.. Right now our cars are something like 60/40 (front/rear). By moving the battery to the passenger side rear, you might change that to 58/42.

It actually has a bigger effect that you realize. The battery being located SO far forward of the front axe, adds "torque" weight bias, more than just the weight of the battery itself.

So by moving it to the rear of the car...and keeping it closer to the rear axle, you can redistribute the existing weight of the car, and improve the handling of the car dramatically.

in a drag race, you want 3 elephants sitting on each side of the front axle, but Only for the lauch!

If you goal is a better handling car...moving the battery is a fairly easy and fairly cheap mod, that pays off more that just relocating 50 lbs...

you even out the "load" the car is under when cornering.

 

Well spoken young JEDI!!