Braille Batteries - Customer Service

[Lil bastard]

Originally Posted by edevlin

"How do you feel the 1.5-2% reduction in weight?"

I can feel the difference in how the car handles. As I said in the previous post, put a 50 lb bag of dog food in the front boot and see how the car feels when cornering agressively. I am not sure what the total weight savings is that I am running these days, something like:

20 lbs cat-back exhaust system

15 lbs lightweight flywheel

25 lbs battery

30 lbs spare tire

Thats about 90 lbs which is over a 3% weight reduction for my base boxster. Especially in the 2.5 and 2.7L cars, I suspect most folks would find a reduction in weight of that sort translates into improved performance when driving in a spirited fashion. I know my car feels noticably less responsive with a passenger in the car with me. Now, if I could only spring for some lightweight seats, I could save another 40 lbs or so.....

Ed

I don't disagree at all with your philosophy, but I'm not sure you've drawn the correct analogy.

The OEM battery weighs 50lbs., the Braille/Deka 15 or 21 lbs. So you're looking at a difference of 35/29lbs., not 50lbs.

Adding the 50lb. pet food bag (with an OEM battery) would equal OEM Curb Weight + 50, the car and it's suspension was not designed for this, so an adverse effect on handling would not be surprising. And, not at all the same as Curb Weight (-) 35 or 29lbs.

The only way for this to be valid is to already have the lightweight battery and add an additional 35 or 29lbs. and note any difference in handling. Plus, you have to be sure and add this weight on the centerline, just as the battery does. so you're not weight biasing one side or the other.

With a weight distribution of near 50/50, you have to be careful to balance the weight savings between the front and rear axles in terms of handling so you maintain the same weight distribution. Also, if you subtract many lbs. overall, you need to look at your tire pressures because you've changed the maximum load. If you don't address this, you're driving on over inflated tires.

[edevlin]

"I don't disagree at all with your philosophy, but I'm not sure you've drawn the correct analogy. The OEM battery weighs 50lbs., the Braille/Deka 15 or 21 lbs. So you're looking at a difference of 35/29lbs., not 50lbs."

Sorry, I was unclear on the 50 lb thing. The spare tire weighs about 29 lbs, so removing it and replacing the battery is where I came up with that number.

"Adding the 50lb. pet food bag (with an OEM battery) would equal OEM Curb Weight + 50, the car and it's suspension was not designed for this, so an adverse effect on handling would not be surprising. And, not at all the same as Curb Weight (-) 35 or 29lbs."

I was also concerned about the difference in weight in the front of the car. But I also lost 30-40 lbs in the rear with the flywheel and exhaust. I also had the car's suspension dialed into the new weight as best as possible when I installed Bilstein coilovers. All I noticed is the car is quite responsive and seems to have good balance.

"Also, if you subtract many lbs. overall, you eed to look at your tire pressures because you've changed the maximum load. If you don't address this, you're driving on over inflated tires."

Good point, I continue to play with tire pressures. I tend to run higher pressures when I am using the wheelset with Michellins on them. I have been running those higher pressures with my winter Falken tires (to try to get rid of sidewall flex) and am seeing more wear in the center of the tire.

Ed

[blinkwatt]

@ heyjae,


Any update or pics of your hold down set up?

[edevlin]

I had a custom hold-down made from a strap for the exhaust system from a Porsche Turbo. You can see a photo of it from "my car webpage" below. It has worked well.

Ed