Shorai Lightweight Battery and #Lighterisbetter CNC Machined Tray - 6.75 pound setup
 

We are pleased to announce that we have finalized the design of our FRS and BRZ #Lighterisbetter battery tray for the Shorai LFX36L3-BS12 lightweight battery, and we are releasing the package as a group buy with introductory pricing for FT86Club! This group buy ends January 31st.

How to order:
The MSRP is $399.00
Please purchase the package directly off of our website: www.lighterisbetter.com
Use coupon code 86CLUBPRICE at the checkout for $40 off the MSRP package price.

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Our prototype in Moto Miwa's Club4AG FRS. The final versions are hard anodized black.
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Light but strong:
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What you get:
Shorai LFX36L3-BS12 Lithium Iron Battery ($349 MSRP)
#Lighterisbetter CNC Machined Battery Tray ($139 MSRP)
Battery terminals ($11 MSRP)
Installation hardware

Here are the details:
-Direct bolt on, no modification necessary.
-CNC machined 6061 aluminum.
-6.75 pound installed weight.
-22.75 pound weight reduction from OEM battery.
-540 CCAs will start up supercharged cars.
-Car can sit up to 14 days without starting.
-Battery tender friendly.
-Lithium iron battery technology is extremely safe.
-Hard anodized black finish.
-Terminals included.
-Tray is machined in-house by us in California.
-Drop tested at ~22 mph.
-Easy 30 minute installation.

If you're a person that knows that lighter is better when it comes to cars, our battery package is perfect for you. You understand that reducing a car's weight improves all aspects of a car's performance. By reducing the weight in your car, it's like upgrading your engine, brakes, and suspension all at the same time because your car's acceleration, braking, and cornering are all improved from weight reduction. This simple modification allows for sharper steering response and improved turn in dynamics.

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We've designed this battery tray specifically to bolt into your FRS or BRZ without modifying your car. We package our trays with a Shorai LFX36L3-BS12 lithium iron battery which packs enough juice to start up even supercharged cars while maintaining an installed weight of only 6.75 pounds! The OEM spec battery weighs 29.5 pounds, which means you'd be dropping 22.75 pounds, which is a very significant reduction in weight from just 1 simple modification.

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These batteries are perfect for a daily driven car. We've also seen cars sit for as long as 14 days and have them start up with no problems. We do recommend using a charger if your car sits for longer than 10 days at a time. The battery can be used on a regular battery tender as long as it does not have a desulfate mode.

Lithium iron technology is extremely safe and does not exhibit the flammable properties that lithium ion batteries have.

Not suitable for extreme cold (-25 degree) weather, but we've tested it down to 0 degrees with no problems.

All hardware and terminals are included for an easy bolt on install!

Estimated install time: 30 minutes

More info:
Kinetic Custom Machine was founded by two lifelong friends, and we are a small machine shop in San Juan Capistrano, CA. We are just 2 people who are enthusiastic about our work, we both love cars, and have a mindset of lighter is better. You can read more about our machining escapades on our blog: www.kcmachine.com

I've personally had one of these batteries in my NSX for the past year, and it has been great. With the NSX, the way the battery is situated, and with how heavy the OEM spec battery is (47 pounds), steering response and sharpness have been noticeably improved with the new setup. Also, including this battery mod, I have reduced my NSX's weight by almost 200 pounds which is absolutely a perceptible change in overall driving performance.

We completed our NSXPrime group buy a few months ago, you can view the group buy here (take note of my customers talking about their setups near the end of the thread): http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showth...Direct-bolt-on
I've also started a new thread and am having my customers chime in on their impressions on the package: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showth...attery-Package

Lithium Iron:
Please note that these batteries are lithium iron (LiFePO4), not lithium ion (LiCoO2). Lithium iron batteries are much safer than lithium ion, and they won't catch fire like lithium ion batteries can.

Lithium iron technology is great because it is very powerful, very light, and also very safe.

Also, here is a video of a lithium iron battery being shorted (and also shot with a gun):

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrUYJCdW4yw"]LiFePO4 test - borrowed - YouTube[/ame]


Battery Tenders:
If you let your car sit for more than 10 days at a time, it is highly recommended to use a tender. These batteries can be used on normal battery tenders. As long as your battery tender DOES NOT have a desulfate mode, it will work with the battery. Battery Tender brand battery tenders are confirmed to work by Shorai and also through my own testing. Shorai does make their own battery charger, which works very well, especially for over-discharged batteries.

Shipping schedule:
We will be ordering batteries on a weekly basis, and dropping off the trays for anodizing every 2 weeks. The trays are made to order, which means there may be a 2-3 week lead time between shipments, as long as the batteries are in stock. There is a possibility that Shorai could run out of in-stock batteries which means we would have to wait for their next shipment if that happens.

Finally, here is a video of a 20 foot drop test we conducted, which equates to about 22 mph. We wanted to ensure that our tray would be safe in a crash situation. The tray performed up to our expectations, not letting go of the battery, and deforming only very slightly.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XWp8_jq4Eg"]Kinetic Custom Machine NSX Battery Tray Drop Test - YouTube[/ame]


Thanks for your time! Please leave any comments/questions/criticism/concerns in this thread, and do not hesitate to PM or email me: colin@kcmachine.com

Also, follow me on Instagram for lots of car pics: @KCMachine

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I've had a Shorai in my S2k for years. Highly recommended.

I've left the car sitting for extended periods of time (~6 weeks), and it started without any issue, and I'm actually using a LOWER capacity version of this battery.

I've ordered one for my STX car (http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48583). Colin has been great to work with and I can't wait to install this thing.

Like

How long will this group buy go for? I'm going to be on international travel for about a few weeks.

That's awesome, although your car must have crazy low parasitic draw!

Really looking forward to getting a package in your car!

I am extending it to January 31.

Stock + aftermarket alarm... :party0030:

YMMV of course.

I'll jump on this group buy if its extended to the new year. Perfect.

I've had a prototype version of this in my BRZ for just under 2 months now. I've beat it on by way of letting the car sit for 3 wks. Running the battery low thru music or lights or whatever and just last night I forgot to turn off the dome light (though I think the BRZ turns this off for us automatically?)

The battery has been amazing! What's better yet is that KC Machine have developed a very well thought out mounting bracket. This bracket is well designed guys.

Been very happy with this setup in my 86.

I'll post more later tonight. Will try to include photos also.

Do you guys allow local pick up?

Yes! PM me.

do u ship internationally?
more specifically australia

Yes we do!

RHD will probably require a battery with reversed terminals.

Very interested in this kit too.

interested to find out what other modifications will be needed, or would it simply be plug and play

I am pretty certain that no modification would be necessary to install our kit into a RHD vehicle!

To be 100%, if you could remove your current battery and take a pic of the battery tray area, I can tell just from the pic.

@KCMachine: This is so tempting. Do you allow local pick-up? I'm very close to San Juan Capistrano.

Absolutely, I'll be delivering a package to a customer at the weekly 86 meet once they are all ready.

Just order. Can't wait to receive it!

What kind of warranty do you get on the battery and if there is one do you cover warranty replacement?

It's been great talking with you, Derek!

The batteries themselves have a 3 year warranty, but since they are used in cars (these are technically large motorcycle batteries), the warranty is different. I've spoken to Shorai and warranty claims will be taken on a case by case basis, for instance, if the batteries have a blatant manufacturer defect, then it is clearly on them. But, if you over-discharge the battery, then it is the fault of the user. I bring this last part up because I've heard of Shorai offering no-questions-asked warranty replacements on motorcycle batteries, even if they've been improperly over-discharged.

Thanks for the orders!

We took a batch of trays to the anodizer last week. Unfortunately due to the Thanksgiving weekend they'll be delayed by a little bit. But we will soon have them in stock and ready to ship!

I'm interested in getting in on this. But my car is RHD and I'd need the battery with the terminals the other way around. Is this an option?

Feel free to PM me.

Thanks!

Awesome, it definitely is an option, I'll update the website to reflect that on Monday.

Thanks. If you can PM a price including shipping to Christchurch, New Zealand. Cheers.

It says Pre-Order on your website, are these ready to be shipped or not officially released yet??

I'll take one!

Can I get the postal code please? Also, I'm getting a reversed polarity battery in, once that happens I'll be able to take photos for the website and update it. I was thinking about just pshopping the photos I have up already, but decided against it.

We are waiting for our batch to get anodized. Unfortunately due to the holidays, it got a bit delayed. I am expecting to have them back at the end of the week.

Awesome, just order it off of our website :thumbsup:

www.lighterisbetter.com

Sure, New Zealand Post code 8052.

Bump bump. Any update on this yet?

The anodizer is being really slow due to the Thanksgiving holiday. I should have them back next week.

Booo, bad anodizer. =) Thanks for the update.

can this battery works in really bad snow weather? i mean leave the car below 0 degree for a day or two, will it still able start up?

It's been around 30-40F here lately. Car still fires up at 5am in the morning. Been in my car for 3 months now and counting.

To be completely honest I don't have data on those temperatures. I am going to say no, as the cranking power of (all) batteries is affected by very cold weather. You might be able to start it, but it will take some time, as these batteries have a warming procedure if they are in very cold weather conditions.

The procedure is to try to crank it. If it does not start up, you need to turn on your headlights to get electricity flowing through the battery to warm it up. After a couple minutes with your headlights on, try to start it again. If it does not work, repeat the procedure. The good thing about this battery chemistry is that successive cranks reduce the resistance, while with lead acid, successive cranks increase resistance. So, essentially, the battery will get stronger as you try to crank the car.

Picking up the anodizing today (finally!)

Orders will be going out next week.

I'm also offering free installs to SoCal buyers!

Colin

I've been running quotes on international shipping and the rates are actually quite affordable.

About $75 out to New Zealand, and $115 out to Austria, so international buyers, don't fret on the shipping!

Also, I am changing the group buy a little bit, I didn't realize the titanium license plate screws won't fit the BRZ/FRS, so I'm removing those and adding an additional $10 off of the group buy price.

Had the pleasure of installing our package into Max's autox BRZ this past weekend!

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Thanks everyone!

Very high quality mount. Fitment and machining is absolutely perfect and Colin is a great guy to deal with. Very satisfied with this battery and mount. Thanks again!