DrewGS4

Has anyone ever relocated there battery to the trunk for better weight balance.

I know there are kits out there to do this but was wondering if any of them were designed for the GS.

I always feel the GS is a bit top heavy. This is not a problem normally but in the case of my GS I see it as a problem. I have the supra spare in the rear but would really like to put the battery in the back. Both the benz and bmw have it this way.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i forgot the distribution, something like 60/40?

and i think the battery could make some difference. a battery is like what, 80lb? it's one heavy thing, shifting that to the back is a big 160lb swing easy. a lot of performance car do that. heck, on the rmm is430, they put the battery in the back i think (or the tte one?)

but i think it's a lot of work. drew, if you wanna do it, maybe you can just get one of those racing battery which is like 20lb? if you don't run on your batter most of the time (when the car is running, everything is off the alternator anyway), it's a good setup

chuckb

actually, on our cars the battery is on the passenger side on the firewall which is closer to the middle of the car than in most cars. It is also on the opposite side of driver to even things out more. I don't think it is as big an improvement as a car that has the battery sitting in the very front but it can't hurt to move it to back.

and Henry-if your battery weighs 80lbs, that thing could power a golf cart.

mikal

Here's what you'll need to do.


Battery box w/ tie down
sealed battery (optima type)
You can run a 0 gauge or 4 gauge to the back from your alternator
0 gauge ground wire grounded to trunk.
4 gauge ground wire from battery to the engine bay with a distribution block to mount factory ground locations
Extend the 8 gauge (please double check the size) fuse box power wire to the back trunk
Make sure you have a circuit breaker on the front enginebay incase you have to shut off power or to prevent a short.

Hope I didnt miss anything.

rgarjr

iTrader: (1)

I dont think it would make any difference if you move it to the back, since the battery doesn't have much weight.

Leets

That is true... on the second gen GS I wouldn't recommend relocating the battery. The stock location is actually an excellent placement for it because it is directly behind the front wheels, which places the weight nearer the center of the vehicle. If you moved the battery to the trunk it would be behind the rear wheels which would place the weight outside of the car's center of gravity. In any car you want as much weight as possible to be near the center. Moving the battery in the GS would hinder more than help.

LS4fun

The additional weight of the wiring and hardware necessary to do this conversion would most likely result in a loss of performance...which is what i'm assuming you're trying to achieve here.

BUSTN

Most people that do the battery relocation is for weight transfer in their race cars.The battery is mounted on the passenger rear to help plant the rear wheel when launching.NHRA also requires that a battery shut off switch be mounted as far rear as possible to shut it down in any emergency.I am in the process of doing this to my toyota starlet and it's not hard at all.Good luck if you want to do it.Look at summit or jegs for some nice batteries and kits.

BazookaJoe

iTrader: (1)

I used to drive an SC400 and was looking to relocate the battery to the trunk. That made sense at the time. However, I switched to a GS300 when my SC400 was totalled. I promptly noticed the improved location of the battery (as some have already mentioned).

Currently, I cannot justify (at least in my mind) relocating the battery to the rear. Unless you're replacing the sound system with a mega amp system! There is also the coolness factor --priceless (of course).

I would recommend replacing battery instead. The stock battery weighs about 40 ~ 45lbs. A drycell would weigh as low as 14lbs (depending on size / reserve capacity). That's a good chuck of weight for the money. It also frees up space under the hood; drycell batteries are radically smaller than regular automotive batteries.

Hawker / Odyssey makes military grade drycell batteries -- the best in the business IMHO.
Good luck!

rominl

iTrader: (4)

umm, how heavy is it then? somehow i got that impression !_!

chuckb

probably like 40lbs

DrewGS4

I have decided against relocating the battery to the trunk. To much effort involved with very little gain. I think a better idea is to get a lightweight racing battery as many of you already suggested. I do not think this would be a good idea if your GS is your daily driver which in my case is being used as such.
I will stick to my optima battery which has proven to be one awesome battery.

DrewGS4

I have decided against relocating the battery to the trunk. To much effort involved with very little gain. I think a better idea is to get a lightweight racing battery as many of you already suggested. I do not think this would be a good idea if your GS is your daily driver which in my case is being used as such.
I will stick to my optima battery which has proven to be one awesome battery.

Tammy

Safety First... The battery fumes must be considered if a standard wet cell is moved to the trunk. Battery fumes are hazzardous to the health, not to say, explosive. The trunk must be sealed from the interior and vented to the outside. Current drop will be substantial across the length of the large diameter wire to the starter solenoid from the trunk, regardless of which type of battery is used. This wire(cable) is not fused and in an accident might create a fire.... Good ideas anyway !!!

sam430

iTrader: (10)

Has anyone done this? I know the battery is located behind the front passenger tires, but it still provide signigicant weight to the front shocks. Adding weight by relocating is not so bad considering how heavy the front feels.

Losing 200 lbs in the front would be excellent if possible...or even distributing some weight to the back would be beneficial (even if it's behind the rear tires).

I think JeffTsai is doing it for his 300, hopefully we get an impression.