I have a few questions and am not much of a whiz when it comes to anything electrical so here it goes. Besides weight, what are the pros and cons of a Braile (sp?) battery? Which size battery would be needed (CCA, etc)? Are there any places to buy beefy battery cables and /or grounding kits for my Scirocco? Any nudges, pushes, or swift kicks in the right direction are very much appreciated.
Battery, Grounds, etc......Mk1
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
'20 R1250 GSA, '19 A7 Prestige, 06 Saleen Mustang Coupe, '89 Tristar Syncro TDi, '80 Scirocco "S"
Joined
·
21,802 Posts
Re: Battery, Grounds, etc......Mk1 (DrewL)
We ought to page Scott Williams to the thread shouldn't we?
![]()
In my very limited opinion the Braille battery will probably work fine in a racing and autocross application and you should be able to get by with as little as 400 cca as your basis. There are tons of batteries in that range that are about as compact and probably a tad bit more powerful when you start to explore the idea of looking at other applications such as high-torque high compression motorcycle batteries but the Braille is about the lightest battery you can get away with.
As far as a remote battery kit to relocate the battery to the hatch area there are several generic kits available through speed shops that can accomplish this. I am actually going to be going down this same road in a couple of weeks and thought about exploring the idea of getting the battery cable out of a late model BMW (my wife's X5 as an example) because the cable has a terminal that resides in the engine compartment that would allow you to jump the battery from the engine compartment. If you think about where most of your accessories like lighting, gauges, and stereo stuff terminates it is mostly on the driver's inside fenderwell just shy of the battery so you could probably create some sort of power distribution block off of the termination point so that you could run your headlights and accessories without too much trouble.
I would also suggest that you invest in a battery box; as a late teenager I was the victim of an exploding car battery and I would never wish that experience upon anyone and having the battery aft of the firewall is a dicey proposition.
![]()
| Quote, originally posted by DrewL » |
| I have a few questions and am not much of a whiz when it comes to anything electrical so here it goes. Besides weight, what are the pros and cons of a Braile (sp?) battery? Which size battery would be needed (CCA, etc)? Are there any places to buy beefy battery cables and /or grounding kits for my Scirocco? Any nudges, pushes, or swift kicks in the right direction are very much appreciated. |
We ought to page Scott Williams to the thread shouldn't we?
In my very limited opinion the Braille battery will probably work fine in a racing and autocross application and you should be able to get by with as little as 400 cca as your basis. There are tons of batteries in that range that are about as compact and probably a tad bit more powerful when you start to explore the idea of looking at other applications such as high-torque high compression motorcycle batteries but the Braille is about the lightest battery you can get away with.
As far as a remote battery kit to relocate the battery to the hatch area there are several generic kits available through speed shops that can accomplish this. I am actually going to be going down this same road in a couple of weeks and thought about exploring the idea of getting the battery cable out of a late model BMW (my wife's X5 as an example) because the cable has a terminal that resides in the engine compartment that would allow you to jump the battery from the engine compartment. If you think about where most of your accessories like lighting, gauges, and stereo stuff terminates it is mostly on the driver's inside fenderwell just shy of the battery so you could probably create some sort of power distribution block off of the termination point so that you could run your headlights and accessories without too much trouble.
I would also suggest that you invest in a battery box; as a late teenager I was the victim of an exploding car battery and I would never wish that experience upon anyone and having the battery aft of the firewall is a dicey proposition.
Re: Battery, Grounds, etc......Mk1 ([email protected])
Thanks Paul. Do you feel the Braille battery can support a street driven car as well as a limited duty track car? Battery box is a must in my eyes and thought it was necessity by law. I would also like to re-do the grounds on the vehicle and wasn't sure if there was a kit or if it would have to be a "homebrew special". Being so new to the scene, I am trying to find out what is out there (if anything) along these lines. If you do dive into your project in the next few weeks, I would love to see how you do it as well as the results.
Thanks Paul. Do you feel the Braille battery can support a street driven car as well as a limited duty track car? Battery box is a must in my eyes and thought it was necessity by law. I would also like to re-do the grounds on the vehicle and wasn't sure if there was a kit or if it would have to be a "homebrew special". Being so new to the scene, I am trying to find out what is out there (if anything) along these lines. If you do dive into your project in the next few weeks, I would love to see how you do it as well as the results.
'20 R1250 GSA, '19 A7 Prestige, 06 Saleen Mustang Coupe, '89 Tristar Syncro TDi, '80 Scirocco "S"
Joined
·
21,802 Posts
Re: Battery, Grounds, etc......Mk1 (DrewL)
Absolutely. I recently redid the power and ground cables to and from my battery to the ground side as well as to the starter, etc and it made a huge difference in my charging cycles on my Mk1; before I was lucky to run at an indicated 12.75 or thereabouts volts with no fan or lights on and after the new $12 cable set I am now at or around 14v in a steady charging scenario and above the 12.5/12.75 volt range with both the fan running and the lights on...
I may end up doing this sooner or later and will be glad to throw up some pics and thoughts. Does anyone else have some experiences to share?
| Quote, originally posted by DrewL » |
| Thanks Paul. Do you feel the Braille battery can support a street driven car as well as a limited duty track car? Battery box is a must in my eyes and thought it was necessity by law. I would also like to re-do the grounds on the vehicle and wasn't sure if there was a kit or if it would have to be a "homebrew special". Being so new to the scene, I am trying to find out what is out there (if anything) along these lines. If you do dive into your project in the next few weeks, I would love to see how you do it as well as the results. |
Absolutely. I recently redid the power and ground cables to and from my battery to the ground side as well as to the starter, etc and it made a huge difference in my charging cycles on my Mk1; before I was lucky to run at an indicated 12.75 or thereabouts volts with no fan or lights on and after the new $12 cable set I am now at or around 14v in a steady charging scenario and above the 12.5/12.75 volt range with both the fan running and the lights on...
I may end up doing this sooner or later and will be glad to throw up some pics and thoughts. Does anyone else have some experiences to share?
Joined
·
9,710 Posts
Re: Battery, Grounds, etc......Mk1 ([email protected])
There is a grounding scheme that netted me awesome results:
-Neg on battery to fender.
-Fender to transmission bolt
-Valve cover to raintray ( one of the coil bracket bolts)
- Back side of alternator to empty engine block bolt
-Engine block to pass. fender
Just doing that netted me a volt and a half of charging!
There is a grounding scheme that netted me awesome results:
-Neg on battery to fender.
-Fender to transmission bolt
-Valve cover to raintray ( one of the coil bracket bolts)
- Back side of alternator to empty engine block bolt
-Engine block to pass. fender
Just doing that netted me a volt and a half of charging!
Joined
·
3,410 Posts
Re: Battery, Grounds, etc......Mk1 (DrewL)
No 'kit' is needed just head to your local parts store and pick up some heavy guage battery cables in the appropriate lengths. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif
No 'kit' is needed just head to your local parts store and pick up some heavy guage battery cables in the appropriate lengths. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif
Re: Battery, Grounds, etc......Mk1 (XchesapeakebaysidegliX)
Cool. I was not sure wether or not there was a difference between battery cables, or there were some specific to certain vehicles. I have never owned a car quite this old so it is something that I have never explored.
Cool. I was not sure wether or not there was a difference between battery cables, or there were some specific to certain vehicles. I have never owned a car quite this old so it is something that I have never explored.
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
