DIY: 5lb Shorai Battery Install

[new2subaru]

Originally Posted by Mr_Eyo

How'd you make the spacers? Me likey.

I made them out of some Ollite's we had at the shop. Pressed them together, cut them and milled them flat. A friend milled them. I learned.

A piece of round stock cut to length with a hole drilled in it would be much easier but it was free. Or you could likely buy some from Mcmaster Carr.

[Breadman]

Originally Posted by new2subaru

Here's what I ended up doing. I ordered these taller battery terminals. As you can see in the pic below they ended up shorter than the ones in the OP



https://www.amazon.ca/XS-Power-586-A.../dp/B004XH69MY


I ended making a 3/4" spacer and buying new bolts. The bolts are 6mm x 45mm and were only a couple of bucks. I'm happy with the end result. I wanted to avoid the "Z" brackets and have a single connection.

whats the cable in the middle of the battery?

[new2subaru]

Originally Posted by Breadman

whats the cable in the middle of the battery?

That's the Shorai Battery charger cable. I have it permanently hooked up in case I need to charge if it sits. I can charge it will the hood closed.

[Mr_Eyo]

I read this battery requires about 14.4v to c
harge. The alternator puts out about this much when the headlights are turned on. Is there a way to have the alternator output this higher voltage when the headlights are off?

[new2subaru]

Originally Posted by Mr_Eyo

I read this battery requires about 14.4v to c
harge. The alternator puts out about this much when the headlights are turned on. Is there a way to have the alternator output this higher voltage when the headlights are off?

IIRC the alternator was putting out 14.5V at idle, assuming my meter is accurate. Or, the alternator was kicking in because the battery needed charging.


One month since install and zero issues. I accidentally left it for about a week without hooking up the charger and it still started no probs even though when tested I was down to 13.25V. Anything below 13V is supposed to be a problem...I got lucky. Duh...I forget it's there.

I have no head unit in the car. I'm not sure what that would draw when the car is turned off.

[Tristor]

I've left my car for 8 days, came back, cranked no problem. I honestly think folks are overthinking it. I live in Texas and it regularly gets over 100 in my garage, so I seriously doubt anyone is going to encounter issues unless they just never drive the car. As long as its got a nominal voltage of around 12.8V or better it should crank, and your alternator should recharge the battery. To get back to peak nominal voltage takes about 20-30 minutes of driving.

[new2subaru]

Originally Posted by Tristor

I've left my car for 8 days, came back, cranked no problem. I honestly think folks are overthinking it. I live in Texas and it regularly gets over 100 in my garage, so I seriously doubt anyone is going to encounter issues unless they just never drive the car. As long as its got a nominal voltage of around 12.8V or better it should crank, and your alternator should recharge the battery. To get back to peak nominal voltage takes about 20-30 minutes of driving.

Based on the way it cranks I would agree with you. Going back to "I forget it's there"

[86TOYO2k17]

Originally Posted by Tristor

I've left my car for 8 days, came back, cranked no problem. I honestly think folks are overthinking it. I live in Texas and it regularly gets over 100 in my garage, so I seriously doubt anyone is going to encounter issues unless they just never drive the car. As long as its got a nominal voltage of around 12.8V or better it should crank, and your alternator should recharge the battery. To get back to peak nominal voltage takes about 20-30 minutes of driving.

The problem isn’t hot weather it’s more cold weather. But the people who have problems typically live in colder weather and most likely have something that has a constant draw on the battery even when car is off like alarm system, remote start, parking dash cameras etc.. or they have a 5 minute commute and never fully recharge the battery. Otherwise for the most part yes you can forget about it and use like normal battery. Only time I hook up to charger is if it’s sat for 5+days. If I know I’m not going to drive for 4+ days before hand I just unplug terminal, can sit for a year if it has zero draw. If I don’t know like this winter on day 4 when I was planning on driving it snowed so on day 5 i hooked up to a charger. Otherwise I just forget about it. Off a full charge I started car 5 times in a row little to no idle and 5th start up still cranked harder then OEM battery on full charge.

[JIM THEO]

That's what a Lithium Iron battery needs to stay healthy:
https://www.batterystuff.com/kb/arti...rformance.html

[gkubed]

Questions:
1. What's the deal with getting jumped? Obviously you want to avoid this in any situation, but will being in a situation where you need a jump significantly harm the battery in the long run? Would a "pop-start" be preferable in any way, or does it make a difference?
2. Those Brass SAE battery terminal sets have abysmal Amazon reviews. How are they holding up for everyone?
3. On https://shoraipower.com/lfx36l3-bs12-p130, there's a portion that says 6V - what's up with that?


Also, here's my notes, in case it benefits anyone also researching and digging though every thread. Sure wish I could hide it all in a spoiler tag.

Shorai products:
https://shoraipower.com/lfx21l6-bs12-p106 - LFX21L6-BS12, 21Ah, 315 CCA, 3.00 lbs, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0088JGV2Q ($177.85)
https://shoraipower.com/lfx24l3-bs12-p114 - LFX24L3-BS12, 24Ah, 340 CCA, 3.40 lbs, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HYK5ZMW ($200.54)
https://shoraipower.com/lfx27l3-bs12-p122 - LFX27L3-BS12, 27Ah, 405 CCA, 3.85 lbs, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FIUM0K ($213.50)
https://shoraipower.com/lfx36l3-bs12-p130 - LFX36L3-BS12, 36Ah, 540 CCA, 4.81 lbs, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FIUMOG ($245.27)
https://shoraipower.com/sho-bms01-p134 - SHO-BMS01, Shorai battery charger, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0056J2ZGC ($69.99)

Related products:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002ZR4UC - $15.99 Brass SAE Automotive Battery Terminal Set for Hawker Odyssey Batteries
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XH69MY - $9.99 - XS Power 586 Tall Brass Post Adaptor (M6 Thread) (ref: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...&postcount=123)

Informative lightweight battery threads:
DIY: 5lb Shorai Battery Install http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32544
Light Wight Battery Question - http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46107
Anthony's 3.6oz CF tray http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2113295
Mounting notes with PTuning mount https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3136103
DIY Shorai LFX36L3-BS12 Battery Cradle Cage Holder Mount Home Depot $20 - http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120937

[Breadman]

Originally Posted by gkubed

Questions:
1. What's the deal with getting jumped? Obviously you want to avoid this in any situation, but will being in a situation where you need a jump significantly harm the battery in the long run? Would a "pop-start" be preferable in any way, or does it make a difference?
2. Those Brass SAE battery terminal sets have abysmal Amazon reviews. How are they holding up for everyone?
3. On https://shoraipower.com/lfx36l3-bs12-p130, there's a portion that says 6V - what's up with that?


Also, here's my notes, in case it benefits anyone also researching and digging though every thread. Sure wish I could hide it all in a spoiler tag.

dont get those posts i got them and they werent sae. i went to a car place and got my posts there.

[86TOYO2k17]

Oddsey Battery 3217-0006 SAE Battery Terminal Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EB8Z60G..._fpugEbKRVQFA0

Used these over 2 years now, no issues, no rust, perfect fit.

[SuperTom]

Redid my setup to be in the trunk. I know people say don't do it! Too much Cable Weight! But I only used 2lbs of 4g to run it. My car has a lot of weight reduction in the rear so my goal has been to get more weight off the front to balance it out.


Ive been running it in the Winter now, it does crank slower but will start after a second (2-3 cranks, 20 Degrees). I drive it 3 times a week 100miles a day.


Made A cage out of aluminum bar from Home Depot and rivets, only added a 1.2lb!








Used the above mentioned Terminals up front with an old rubber exhaust hanger as my connection point. The terminals are a hair small, Pepboys sells terminal Shims to make it wider.







Would have preferred to put in behind the spare but there wasn't enough flat space, ( to keep center of gravity central). But it fit easy and easy to drill holes in this location. Used the spare tire mount as my ground point

[Irace86.2.0]

Just fyi, I have an 11lb Braille battery, but it requires a tender, or it fails to start the car or seems dead after a week. I only drive 5 miles to work or the gym then back home, so it doesn't get a whole lot of charging. I use a battery charger/tender if it sits for more than a day or two without being driven, or if I haven't driven it many miles after a few days. The Braille battery is AGM.

I have a Lithium-Iron Shorai battery on my Ducati. I don't recall the size, but it was about 60% of the volume of the stock lead-acid battery. I don't have a battery tender on that battery, and I have had it sit for 4-6 months without riding the bike, and it fires up every time with at most a hiccup compared to usual. The bike always gets ridden for hours when I take it out, so the batter gets a full charge.

In hindsight, I could have paid for a Shorai battery with the cost of the Braille plus the charger/tender, and I probably would be better off and saved a few more pounds.