Lightweight Lithium Ion batteries for road classics

My thought in that area is, don’t fix it unless it’s broke. The stock radiator and battery are pretty reliable and robust and reliable. Having a spare tire is nice.

 

Trust me, if it’s better, I’m open to it. I just don’t think it’s necessary. When I was at Porsche in Weissach, I asked a Porsche race engineer a question about the 962. I asked why the bodies were made out of fiberglass and the monocoque chassis was made out of a combo of chromoly and aluminum. His answer was that it was easier and cheaper to repair after a weekend of racing. I know there are lots of better materials and technologies but in some cases, it’s just good to keep it simple, especially where there’s not a known problem. My interstate lead acid battery has been reliable for over 8 years old and my Dino has never overheated in the hot hot SoCal traffic.

 

What would concern me is that a lithium battery would be in severe service in a car subject to vibrations, jolts, and possible case cracking. Those phone and computer lithium battery fires we hear about on the news are said to be caused when humid air enters a cracked battery case, and those are devices live in a cushy world. See what the manufacturer says about durability and risk of fire. Just be aware and careful.

 

you may need to change the way its charged as well.............just reading the side notes!

 

I like the idea a lot. Will look into it.
It is about time that we get some benefits of modern battery technology for vintage cars. Just lifting that heavy lump of lead and acid over the fender of the Dino is unnerving. It also makes you wonder why we keep driving around with such a heavy ballast in the car.

Excessive weight was the Achilles heel of the Dino, and the sole reason it was never competitive on the race track, in my opinion. Every pound of weight reduction is beneficial. My spare wheel and jack is out of the car for that reason. A stored telephone number to a flatbed towing company does not weigh anything.

I did not realize that an aluminum radiator would save that much. You are giving me more to think about now...

 

My thoughts:
When I used the Dino on a race track, the main challenge to be fast was understeering.
This is because of having the most weight in the back and less in the front.
For this reason more weight to the front gives a better balance as race Dinos will have their fuel tanks relocated in the spare wheel area.
For this a lighter battery……
Second is the risk of firing the car when the lithium ion batterie get a short cut.
It is almost impossible to stopp and the known from mobile sin a plane etc.
My son is electrician and he really destroyed my first interest only on just having a li Io starter kit in my daily driver.

 

Hello All,

New guy here and aspiring Ferrari owner. Was looking through some posts on here and came upon this. I have a good amount of experience with using lithium-ion batteries in my cars and motorcycles. I've tried a few batteries and now stick with 2 brands because of how well they work for me. I have not had any problems with my batteries catching fire or anything and I love the difference in cranking performance that I hear because of the higher capacity and voltage of the lithium-ion battery. FYI, usually those batteries that are seen on fire on YouTube and in cell phone are the more volatile Lithium Cobalt Oxide battery. Most automotive battery manufacturers do not use this cell; They use Lithium Iron Phosphate. It's much more stable.

 

You didn't mention the brands you've stuck with for your cars...

 

In addition to what RonG said/asked (we'd all like you to name the brands you trust), the discussions above talk about the need for a special charger, which made me wonder if these are really plug-and-play with the OEM alternator in the Dino, or do you need some sort of converter in between the OEM alternator and the Lithium (Iron Phosphate) battery?

 

Don't do it. Google thermal runaway. When a car burns due to a battery issue it is always a lithium battery. Racers fall for the lithium light weight. I have seen about 6 cars burn down. Sometimes they burn in the trailer!

 

OK, but if that happened to me, I'd sue the f'ing crap out of Summit Racing, Braille, or whoever the manufacturer and/or distributor is/was, so, any lawsuits out there on these specific batteries?

 

Braille and Antigravity.

 

Good educational info on lithium Ion batteries (scroll down and have a look at the post by Antigravity):

https://rennlist.com/forums/991-turbo/1053769-braille-lightweight-battery-install-2.html

 

I have an antigravity RS-20 (now called RS-30) in my F355. Can sit for about a month with no charger, after that trips the low voltage switch.

 

It seems too much ttouble (and risk) gof too little gain. The Rennlist discussion is enlightening.