Anyone using lightweight batteries?

Odessey 680 here.
Been using it for over a year and had really good luck with it racing and multiple starts in the driveway. I can leave the aux. fan on for at least 20 min and have no drain. Oh, it helps me do wheelies too.
 
Looking at that Shorai Li-Ion battery in the NSX, I searched it quick and I don't see any charge protection built in to that battery. Run that one low and its a goner. Would be good to throw in a race car for track day but not on a car you drive often. You'd need to use their charger or disconnect it when not in use and keep an eye on it.

I looked at the Braille batteries but they seem way overpriced. Me and pacecarta are using the Deka ETX30L. Its the same one as the Braille battery for 1/3 of the price. At 400 cca its got enough reserve to work really well. I had the PC680 but at only 170 cca it doesn't have much juice and didn't work for me.

For a good Li-ion battery with protection, look at the Lithium Pros ones. The smaller ones are limited to 100A available from the alternator, so a 200A alternator may not be good. I considered getting one, but it wasn't worth $1,000+ dollars to save 14bs over the Deka.

One thing we learned with the smaller batteries is that they do drop voltage on startup, especially if they aren't fully charged. The XFI I have is very sensitive to this. Pacecarta finally figured out to hotwire the ignition lead to XFI (not the battery lead) for both our cars and this kicked up the voltage enough where there are no more starting issues. A really good thing about Li ion batteries though is that voltage output remains very steady until the battery is discharged. Startups are supposed to be great and they really shine for race cars with no alternator.
 
Any long term results on the Deka 30L? Thinking about getting one or just a smaller battery.
 
I've been running the small ones since around 2008 and have had great luck when the car was running.

Currently running an 18lb Shuriken BT28 at $100 and it was starting every Monday and Friday in the winter without a trickle until it got into the 10s degree wise. I was amazed how it would start even with all those days in between. The BT35 is in my Talon and it's a beast, really impressed in the winter and getting one for my 69 GTO.
 
Th shuriken looks similar to the Deka, what's the cranking amps? How did you configure the reverse terminals? Lie flat?
 
I still have the same Deka ETX30L. Car recently sat for almost 3 months without being on a trickle charger after I moved and started up no problem. Keeping it on a trickle charge over the winter and not letting it drain is probably why I’ve had good success. Its the longest I’ve had a single battery in the car since I got it. I still have my monster 50+ lb Diehard PC1500 too but its relegated to being an emergency power supply.
 
Here's a pic, it's been this way for a long time, this battery is stronger than the slightly smaller one I used to run in late late 2000s.
 

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