View Full Version : 3 inch Downpipe & Battery
Darren H
30-04-08, 10:31 PM
Hi all
I have been searching for a few evenings now to try and find some information about smaller batteries that will fit where the standard battery fits now but keep drawing Blanks, some get mentioned but no details.
I have just finished making my 3 Inch downpipe including the top elbow and when i removed the Battery tray there does seem to be a lot of space left, surely some make or type of battery would fit here.
I will make a new low level battery tray to fit it in but wondered what battery to use, I think the owners manuel states a 62AH Battery but is it this or the cranking current that is important (current Battery is 540A), if I was to go for a Gell Battery how does this translate because some of those I have seen have a huge cranking current but very low AH.
Thanks for any response.:cheesy:
thesaabologist
30-04-08, 10:55 PM
you could try...
http://www.varleyredtop.com/products_25.htm
thesaabologist
30-04-08, 10:57 PM
I have read various mixed views on whether these batteries perform on a day to day basis -have not decided myself whether to go for. Albert Trout had one and maybe able to advise.
I installed a 5" wide battery. It is 500 cca which is more than enough. There's extra room but probably not enough for a JT 3" DP. I plan to make my own DP in the future.
Albert Trout
01-05-08, 10:29 AM
I had a the Varley Saabologist links to for over a year with no issues but I know a couple of people who did. If you've not got an alarm on the car then it should be OK. They don't like parasitic load. I also had the radio set to completely switch off with the ignition as well, just in case. Here's a photo of it in situ.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f144/albertrtrout/Downpipe002.jpg
TooMany2cvs
01-05-08, 11:00 AM
I think the owners manuel states a 62AH Battery but is it this or the cranking current that is important (current Battery is 540A), if I was to go for a Gell Battery how does this translate because some of those I have seen have a huge cranking current but very low AH.
CCA is what turns the starter motor on a winter's morning. 550A CCA will deliver a maximum of 550A at any given time.
Ah is what allows you to turn the starter motor after you've left the lights on overnight or the alarm set for a month. 62Ah will deliver 62A for an hour - or 31A for two hours, 15.5A for four hours - before being completely flat. Or 550A for just over six minutes...
Darren H
01-05-08, 12:25 PM
The Varley Red Top 25 only has 16AH rating would this be anywhere near enough for day to day running, the car does have a immobiliser and a radio.
With the battery tray removed the existing battery which is 70Ah would nearly fit with a bit of bodywork, I think I would rather do the work here than have all the hassle of wiring to the boot.
I have seen a Varley Blue Battery at 62 AH which was marginally smaller in length and width, perhaps some other make of more expensive battery would be smaller still but with the same amps.
Does anyone still have the battery up front with the big DP.
Albert Trout
01-05-08, 12:37 PM
Does anyone still have the battery up front with the big DP.
If you put in an FMIC and open air intake you can put the battery on the other side of the engine bay but you're just not going to fit a stock battery and a 3" downpipe in the stock location. If you can afford the 62aH battery then go ahead. It'll definitely do the job for you.
ludichris001
01-05-08, 12:40 PM
why dont you just relocate the battery to the boot???
it would seem much more logical and cheaper
and you wont have to worry about exhaust heat getting to the battery...
just a suggestion...
I ran with a 40Ah gel battery in the boot for a couple of years. Always started okay at weekends even with the alarm switched on.
Albert Trout
01-05-08, 01:45 PM
why dont you just relocate the battery to the boot???
it would seem much more logical and cheaper
and you wont have to worry about exhaust heat getting to the battery...
just a suggestion...
From my point of view, it's a PIA to move it to the boot and, call me old fashioned, but I don't like the idea of a big box of acid anywhere other than in the engine bay.
Darren H
01-05-08, 09:26 PM
Spent a bit of time tonight with a bosch catalogue and made a mock up battery of the best size for the job, a bit sad i know but it seems to have done its job.
The pipe i have made doesnt drop straight away it only bends and then drops thats why I seem to have enough room to fit a battery.
I have added some pics with my mockup battery installed it a bosch 61AH that measures 242Lx175Wx175H and is about 40mm below the pipe so it should be easy to insulate against heat. It looks close in the photo but the camera doesnt do it justice.
http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg89/99daz99/DSC02177.jpg
http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg89/99daz99/DSC02175.jpg
I would love to have tried a red top Gell battery but its a lot of money for it not to work. Is it true they can be damaged if they go flat at any time.
TooMany2cvs
01-05-08, 09:33 PM
Spent a bit of time tonight with a bosch catalogue and made a mock up battery of the best size for the job, a bit sad i know but it seems to have done its job.
The pipe i have made doesnt drop straight away it only bends and then drops thats why I seem to have enough room to fit a battery.
I have added some pics with my mockup battery installed it a bosch 61AH that measures 242Lx175Wx175H and is about 40mm below the pipe so it should be easy to insulate against heat. It looks close in the photo but the camera doesnt do it justice.
And the heat shield? Cables?
What about when you need to remove the battery for whatever reason...?
Strikes me that you're giving yourself a lot of headaches to avoid one.
How do you plan to get the battery in and out without tipping it up to get it past the exhaust pipe.
Darren H
01-05-08, 10:23 PM
Its a brand new bosch battery with a 3 year guarantee, why would it need to come out. The one that was there before has been in for 5 1/2 years and has never been out until now. I do intend to add a FMIC at some time and will move the battery to the other side of the engine bay when I do.
The mock up battery includes the battery posts and still has the 40mm clearance for a decent heat shield.
Albert Trout
01-05-08, 10:56 PM
Is it true they can be damaged if they go flat at any time.
No. Mine went flat messing around trying to start it up with MegaSquirt. Just recharged it with a bog standard Halford charger. Looks really dodgy in the pictures TBH but if you reckon you can get a heat shield in there, then wire in. Take it you'll take the DP off to put it all in?
Did you make the DP yourself BTW? Very nice if you did :cheesy: Well, nice even if you didn't. I miss my DP....
Darren H
02-05-08, 12:20 PM
I am still tempted with the Varley Red Top as it would make a much neater installation just a bit worried about the battery not coping, and as always the cost involved in a decent sized one.
What Ah do most people use with these as when i sell my Audi this month this will be my everyday driver for a while so it really needs to be able to cope.
I did make the DP myself except for the flange and lambda boss, I bought some straight tube and a couple of 90deg bends plus a 3 inch to 2.5 inch reducer, the parts have been sitting in my garage for about a year and a half before i got round to putting it all together last week. Its cost me about £45 in total for the bits.:cheesy:
Where do the years go, I never seem to have time to do these sort of things what with the kids and general life stuff.
Did you make the DP yourself BTW? Very nice if you did :cheesy: Well, nice even if you didn't. I miss my DP....
Its gone then? :(
Albert Trout
02-05-08, 01:50 PM
Its gone then? :(
No, no, no. Just not on the car Phil. I can't get the bloody wideband sensor out. I'm at my wits end with it.
TooMany2cvs
02-05-08, 01:53 PM
No, no, no. Just not on the car Phil. I can't get the bloody wideband sensor out. I'm at my wits end with it.
Cut the boss off the pipe, then cut the boss to get the sensor out of it?
Albert Trout
02-05-08, 01:58 PM
Guarantee I'd ruin both the DP and the sensor if I did that. It would take more patience than I have available to me. My big mistake was not taking it off while it was still in the car. Need a big vice but I don't have one, or access to one.
Oh right.. well I'd only be fitting another innovate sensor right back in there. Hmm.
Albert Trout
02-05-08, 02:04 PM
Oh right.. well I'd only be fitting another innovate sensor right back in there. Hmm.
Swapsy's? :D
I'm mapping the car at the moment, but could indeed post over the sensor after I've fitted the new DP. ( and moved the battery first! ) I have 5m of battery cable, need to figure out how to join it to the existing battery cable, and run it through the car.
Albert Trout
02-05-08, 02:13 PM
I'm mapping the car at the moment, but could indeed post over the sensor after I've fitted the new DP. ( and moved the battery first! ) I have 5m of battery cable, need to figure out how to join it to the existing battery cable, and run it through the car.
Good for me. Just going to flog it on ebay anyway, so no hurry for it.
You tried here for connector's etc ?
http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/VWP-onlinestore/battconns/batttermls.php#butt
Got the cable from vwp, and a ground cable from battery to chassis in boot, but neglected to order connectors. Ground cable looks a bit weedy... Looking at the battery terminals on that page, I wonder how on earth you crimp a connector that large. My soldering iron might not be powerful enough either. Need to have a look in the engine bay and see what to do. Time to dig up some threads on the subject also.
TooMany2cvs
02-05-08, 03:24 PM
Looking at the battery terminals on that page, I wonder how on earth you crimp a connector that large.
A pair of waterpump pliers...? A bit of subtlety to get the crimps started right, then some brute force.
Need to have a look in the engine bay and see what to do.
<thinks> Isn't there a bolted +ve master connector on the RH inner wing?
Albert Trout
02-05-08, 03:26 PM
Looking at the battery terminals on that page, I wonder how on earth you crimp a connector that large..
A big tool. They're expensive, so if you know any sparks, that's your best bet.
Got the cable from vwp, and a ground cable from battery to chassis in boot, but neglected to order connectors. Ground cable looks a bit weedy... Looking at the battery terminals on that page, I wonder how on earth you crimp a connector that large. My soldering iron might not be powerful enough either. Need to have a look in the engine bay and see what to do. Time to dig up some threads on the subject also.
A hammer and a blunt narrow object work well enough.