Lightweight Battery Tray

[smg1138]

I'm looking at getting a Shorai battery this season. Should remove about 30 lbs compared to the boat anchor I'm using now. Thing is I'm not sure how I'm going to actually mount it yet. Can the stock battery tray be used for such a small battery? If not, what are some good aftermarket trays to consider? Would like to find something that does the job without breaking the bank.

[Roadcone]

depends on what is okay to you. a lot of people end up with spacers on a factory tiedown. There's the JDM oem small battery tray parts that are cheap but you still need the spacers to make that work.

From what i've seen if you want it to look nice you have to spend a chunk of change.

[Elliotw]

I did the p tuning small battery tray. It's real nice and works great. Doesn't work well with shori battery tender. So if you're going the super lightweight one that could be a big negative. You can check out pictures in my journal. But it's ~130. So spendy. There isn't a lot of options which sucks. A lot of people build their own with good success. Cost them 30 bucks or less. I'd prolly attempt to build my own if I did it again.

[smg1138]

Originally Posted by Roadcone

a lot of people end up with spacers on a factory tiedown.

What kind of spacers would I need for the factory tie down to work?

[14stu]

I have 2 half inch zip ties around the battery fed through the old battery tray mounting support (the metal part on the car, not the plastic tray).

The Shorai is a solid battery, so a tray doesn't do anything for it. I first tried the spacers route but the battery is so small that without fabricating something all my attempts were less secure than I wanted. My giant zip ties have worked flawless for over a year, 30+ autox events, and 12+ trackdays.

I think these are the pack I'm using: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerci...D-10/203531933

they are rated to 175lbs and are more than sufficient to hold a 2lb battery securely.

[bmacfrs]

There's a few idea's I found when trying to do the same:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32544

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120937

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110285

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100268

[Simmons]

I have a Shorai LFX14L2-BS12 for sale if you are interested.

Simmons

[smg1138]

Originally Posted by 14stu

I have 2 half inch zip ties around the battery fed through the old battery tray mounting support (the metal part on the car, not the plastic tray).

The Shorai is a solid battery, so a tray doesn't do anything for it. I first tried the spacers route but the battery is so small that without fabricating something all my attempts were less secure than I wanted. My giant zip ties have worked flawless for over a year, 30+ autox events, and 12+ trackdays.

I think these are the pack I'm using: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerci...D-10/203531933

they are rated to 175lbs and are more than sufficient to hold a 2lb battery securely.

So, it passed tech being tied down with zip ties? That’s my main concern.

[14stu]

Originally Posted by smg1138

So, it passed tech being tied down with zip ties? That’s my main concern.

I've passed tech with 3 different autox groups, and annual tech for my region's SCCA (our chief of tech runs tech for Pro Solos and has been a tech inspector at nationals, and is super stringent).

The battery isn't going anywhere, and those zip ties are too thick to cut with scissors without significant difficulty (I use tin snips to cut them).

The batteries are solid state, so it's not like anyone is worried about them leaking and the size is small enough that there isn't anything within 4" of the battery.

You could go with a worm gear setup or fabricate a bracket if you are worried but I haven't had any issues after a year (30+ autocrosses and 15 trackdays).

[SuperTom]

Originally Posted by bmacfrs

There's a few idea's I found when trying to do the same:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32544

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120937

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110285

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100268

Yep the second link is what I did last year with some simple home depot parts. Super solid with this setup and only adds about a 1lb to the battery.