Battery relocation question

In the process of building our chump car and per the rules we don't need a battery box for the relocation; but, what do most of your recommend? I went to a local hobby/surplus store to buy some materials but the 2 gauge wire was like $3.50 a foot. Summit has a decent relocation kit for like $90 with everything included and think that might be a decent deal and one for $165 with a box. Any recommendations?

advance has 2 gauge for $1.99 a foot. i asked for 17 feet and the end of the roll was 20, she gave it to me at 17 feet price saying nobody comes in for 3 feet of bulk battery cable.

the hold down in the summit kit is a joke, and their boxes kinda suck. i've broken 2 of them.

Go to the junkyard and yank the cable out of a rear battery car, unless it's budget exempt.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: Go to the junkyard and yank the cable out of a rear battery car, unless it's budget exempt.

When you get to the junkyard, ask them how much used battery cables are. Then pull the battery cables out of an E30 BMW.

I would make a custom bracket and screw it to the floor of the trunk, then use a universal tie down to keep it secure. Like this

It's more creative, and looks better than the relocation box. You can also use an E36 spec battery and use the E36 factory battery tie down. The E36 battery has a lip on the bottom of it.

looks like imma be doing some junkyard diving

And chump provides redtops.

I think I bought 0 gauge at Home Depot for $50 for 20 feet.

Nobody ever had problems with going too fat for the battery cables when they are that long.

thhn? what kind from lowes or home depot? sorry not the best electrician haha

For the first two years of racing my vintage MG Midget I had used one of those plastic marine boxes you get from Walmart tied down with a ratchet strap. Since it was in the passenger footwell it had to be enclosed, but it passed tech. Later my sanctioning group decided it had to be in the original location, so I put it under the hood and didn't need the box any more.

Woody wrote:

Kenny_McCormic wrote: Go to the junkyard and yank the cable out of a rear battery car, unless it's budget exempt.

When you get to the junkyard, ask them how much used battery cables are. Then pull the battery cables out of an E30 BMW.

or almost any BMW for that matter

DirtyBird222 wrote: And chump provides redtops.

Good luck on that front.

In reply to Basil Exposition:

I was just looking at the Walmart boxes the other day - with the idea to use one of those to relocate the battery to the bed on my 79 GMC

I use welding ground cable. Super flexible and usually cheap.

wvumtnbkr wrote: I use welding ground cable. Super flexible and usually cheap.

Welding cable has always been my first choice too.

ross2004 wrote:

DirtyBird222 wrote: And chump provides redtops.

Good luck on that front.

Ah missed my sarcasm.

ross2004 wrote:

DirtyBird222 wrote: And chump provides redtops.

Good luck on that front.

they make you run the sticker on your front fenders... that's almost as good as the battery that you might never get.. right?

i made my own battery tray out of some 1" angle iron and grade 5 threaded rod, and hooked it up with cables made from a 25 foot roll of 1 gauge cable and misc ends that i got for about $30 total at Mills Fleet Farm (the most wonderful store in the world...). i used marine battery terminals with the wing nuts on them just to make it easier to unhook the battery.

i did buy a $5 plastic battery box from Wal Mart to put around it, but it doesn't fit around the tray.. i might try to rework the box just to make it look better and contain errant battery acid and what not, but for now it just sits there in the car in my garage..

If your thinking about those Walmart battery boxes, take a walk over to the fishing section instead. They have hard plastic hinged top boxes for just about the same price as the flimsy plastic battery boxes. Think they are waterproof boxes for ammo or fishing lures or whatever. And.... they come in cammo as well as plain black.

http://www.jegs.com/i/Moroso/710/74005/10002/-1?CAWELAID=1710676237&CAGPSPN=pla&catargetid=230006180000848284&cadevice=c&gclid=Cj0KEQiAiO-kBRCNxtaJp4-En6sBEiQAnkvW3xsAH0OK7iXsJzrzAxzGl0pLKby9RlZaldWFUu_cYk0aAr3A8P8HAQ

$97 and it comes with the best terminals you'll find. They also have ones for top post batteries http://www.jegs.com/i/Moroso/710/74175/10002/-1?CAWELAID=1710537559&CAGPSPN=pla&catargetid=230006180000848668&cadevice=c&gclid=Cj0KEQiAiO-kBRCNxtaJp4-En6sBEiQAnkvW33s5Fiiw-TKSkXmUuJ--UXMvWlk-xtfyduqiYdLM7JUaAmgA8P8HAQ

Please, no wet batteries inside race cars!

bentwrench wrote: Please, no wet batteries inside race cars!

Although we did this for years and years before the modern jell battery's came to be I tend to agree.

bentwrench wrote: Please, no wet batteries inside race cars!

Why not?

I hate gel cell batteries with a passion. Finicky, short-lived, and they have a scary failure mode. I've never had smoke jet out of a non-AGM before.

Yeah, I was gonna say to get a gel-cell. I've got a non-gel battery in an aluminum box in the back of my Mustang, and I popped a cap off AX'ing. Not something you want sloshing around.

Knurled wrote:

bentwrench wrote: Please, no wet batteries inside race cars!

Why not? I hate gel cell batteries with a passion. Finicky, short-lived, and they have a scary failure mode. I've never had smoke jet out of a non-AGM before.

i got 8 years out of an Exide spiral cell battery (literally an Optima red top in a black case) in several different vehicles that i only got rid of because i forgot that it was in my 85 Ford F250 until after i sold it.. that battery was drawn dead for various reasons at least a half dozen times and sat outside for every brutal MN winter that i had it and it just wouldn't die.. i'd buy another one if they were still only $120..

I hear the quality on the Optima batteries dropped a lot when they quit making them in the US a few years ago.