Race Batteries, Any Good?

[evouk 0]

Anyone got experience on the red top race batteries that are available?

 

Anyone used them?

 

I presume there loads lighter than the standard ones.

 

I have to replace my std one as its had it!!!

 

Cheers

[hengti 2]

no personal exp, but do know that they're very expensive comparably - about 2-3 times more expensive than an ordinary battery ..

[evouk 0]

YES WAS EXPECTING THAT must be really light though!!! im googling now

[smckeown 1]

i use a red top 20, weights 4.9kgs. A significant saving. Only for track/race cars, i'd never use one for a road car

[evouk 0]

Why not on a road car ?

 

Just wondering

[smckeown 1]

it doesnt hold as much charge, therefore you wont get as many starts before re-charge. You find yourself charging it up a lot more. Pople even use trickle chargers to keep them full charged between events

[evouk 0]

got you.............

[chunkymonkey 0]

if your running a car with very little electrics.no stereo.etc. you maybe ok with a red top 40 on the road so ive been led to believe.

but they are about £160 ish i think?

[evouk 0]

yes they are.

 

i have only lights, horn and heater really.

[Anthony 1,003]

As said, defo not one for a road car in my experience - I had one on mine briefly, and it was pretty hopeless really and I had to jump start it frequently because the battery didn't have enough juice. Unless you're trying to lose every last kilo, I'd definately stick to a conventional battery on any car you use on the road!

 

For a dedicated race/track car it's not such an issue, but I'd keep a conventional battery and some jump leads handy.

[evouk 0]

yes i have heard there a bit of a pain also........

 

Will prob stick with std one

[chunkymonkey 0]

As said, defo not one for a road car in my experience - I had one on mine briefly, and it was pretty hopeless really and I had to jump start it frequently because the battery didn't have enough juice. Unless you're trying to lose every last kilo, I'd definately stick to a conventional battery on any car you use on the road!

 

For a dedicated race/track car it's not such an issue, but I'd keep a conventional battery and some jump leads handy.

nice to hear that anthony

what size redtop did you use? its something im pondering over at the moment you see.i was thinking red top 40 ?????

im sure ive read on here some where that the redtop 40 is good for cars with very little electrics

i think it was miles who said they are ok(miles forgive me if im wrong)

im trying to get weight down but i want the thing to start too!!!!

cheers gaz

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

If your having the battery inside I would use a sealed Lead acid type (No water) against a normal car battery, They can be bought pretty much any size,

Take a look here http://www.dmstech.co.uk/ or http://www.yuasa-battery.co.uk/

[chunkymonkey 0]

ive had a look on those sites cheers miles

their isnt enough information for my application though.

[jonnie205 1]

Think about what the battery has to do before deciding what rating you need. Remember that whilst the car is running the alternator does all the work. The battery is just there to start the car and provide help to the alternator at low RPMs and high electrical load (eg, using windows,heated screens,lights etc at idle). On a true track car you'd bin the alternator and just run a battery, calculated to last for x number of minites, then swap it and charge it off the car, but thats another story)

 

Therefore as long as your car has a tendancy to start well from cold you can go very low with battery capacity with no probs as you dont need lots of cold cranking time. Its this cold cranking figure you should be wary of, as long as this is high enough (anything over 200A is generally fine on a standardish engine) extra capacity is just wasted mass to carry around.

 

However, the worst thing you can do with a sealed gel type battery is leave them anything other than fully charged - this will seriously limit your batteries life, especially in cold weather. Like anything really, it justg needs looking after properly. And people dont, hence coupled with cost they arent standard on production cars.

 

Put it this way, we used to use 2 red top 40's to start an F1 car, thats a continuous 350A for about 30secs for oil pressure. Then short bursts for anther 15 secs then final cranking for 10secs to start it. Each battery pack would do five or six full starts before needing charge. dont underestimate these if used properly they are spot on

[chunkymonkey 0]

Think about what the battery has to do before deciding what rating you need. Remember that whilst the car is running the alternator does all the work. The battery is just there to start the car and provide help to the alternator at low RPMs and high electrical load (eg, using windows,heated screens,lights etc at idle). On a true track car you'd bin the alternator and just run a battery, calculated to last for x number of minites, then swap it and charge it off the car, but thats another story)

 

Therefore as long as your car has a tendancy to start well from cold you can go very low with battery capacity with no probs as you dont need lots of cold cranking time. Its this cold cranking figure you should be wary of, as long as this is high enough (anything over 200A is generally fine on a standardish engine) extra capacity is just wasted mass to carry around.

 

However, the worst thing you can do with a sealed gel type battery is leave them anything other than fully charged - this will seriously limit your batteries life, especially in cold weather. Like anything really, it justg needs looking after properly. And people dont, hence coupled with cost they arent standard on production cars.

 

Put it this way, we used to use 2 red top 40's to start an F1 car, thats a continuous 350A for about 30secs for oil pressure. Then short bursts for anther 15 secs then final cranking for 10secs to start it. Each battery pack would do five or six full starts before needing charge. dont underestimate these if used properly they are spot on

many thanks for that in depth review!! that has left me with more confidence regarding swapping my battery to a lighter model

thanks jonnie!!!!