Has anyone tried these batteries?
 

Odyssey Lightweight Batteries
http://rennline.com/product.php/sid/9/aid/86/auto/Porsche/prodid/108

Braille Racing Battery B2015 All Season Lightweight
http://www.brailleauto.com/ProductCart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=4&idproduct=13

I came across these and they are super light in weight so I was just curious as to how long they last. Any ever used anyone of these?

Cosco sells a battery that is maybe half as heavy as the stock battery. $48 the last time I bought one.

:cheers:

Hi,

Lately we've seen a lot of queries about adding this Go-Fast Part or Lightening this Part or adding different Springs, Shocks, Intakes, Air Filters and the like.

But, remember, your Car was Designed to work as it is, as an integrated unit. Porsche spent a lot of Time and Expense refining the Car to it's current Stock condition.

So, when altering your Car, take an overall approach. Change one thing (even something as innocuous as a lighter Battery), and it's effect on the Car overall could be detrimental. This is especially true if you simply tack on this piece or that and fail to appreciate it's contribution in concert with other Mods you may have made or expect to make. Too much power, too little weight, and you may upset the Balance Porsche has built into the Car.

Putting the Car on a Diet may adversely effect the Handling using the Stock Springs, Shocks and Bushings, even the alignment settings. Adding too much Power can negatively effect the Handling, over-power the Brakes, or Transmission and Clutch, even Safety.

I personally think Performance Modding a 2.5L Boxster to be pretty much a waste of time and money. There are few, if any, positive, objective, reports that any real gains are actually achieved. I don't consider the Butt Dyno or the anecdotal impressions of a person driving a Performance Car for the first time to be sufficient to justify spending my Time and Money to Mod MY Car.

I've been Owning and Driving Race Cars and Performance Sports Cars for over 30 years and I have seen all manner of Gizmos and Doodads in that time. Many were simply Marketing Gimmicks designed primarily to make more room in your Wallet - remember when STP® was all the Rage? Turned out to be nothing more than 90W Gear Oil and was actually bad for the Car.

Also, I consider the 2.5Ls to be the '64 Mustangs of their Breed - the future Classics. How many people will wish in the future that the car had remained in stock form? (especially for the minimal gains the Mods yielded?).

Of course, it's your Car and your Money, so you may do as you wish. But, if you are intent on Modding your Car, at least take a wholistic approach. One that phases in a complete, pre-planned Modding and looks beyond the current Mod that is burning a hole in your pocket or one which is merely the Flavor of the Month. You'll be happier with the Car and probably avoid spending money on unnecesary and ineffective changes.

As always, just my Humble $0.02...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Very well stated by Jim.

The only thing that I would add (and Jim, and others, have suggested this in other threads) is to take the monies you have available for mods, and invest that amount into driving classes/instruction that teaches you how to optimize the performance that is inherent and engineered into the car.

I wouldn't replace the battery unless it was dead or on its way. At that point, the Costco battery is a no-brainer.

:cheers:

My BMW convertible (e36) requires a "gel" battery, which combines with a special battery tray that acts as a damper of the low frequency vibrations characteristic of convertibles. This is stated in the manual.

Does the Box require or benefit from something similar? I don't recollect ever having read anything mentioning this and I haven't ever looked at the battery since the car's newish.

The guy's considering a battery. He's not wanting to do anything drastic. A light battery isn't going to upset some delicate balance.

I take the spare tire out when I auto-x my '01 S. Is that wrong?

I agree with the idea that Porsche designs cars with careful consideration, but they, like all manufacturers, have to make tradeoffs with price, weight, safety, and customer needs.

Do R compound tires upset the 'balance'? No, they allow the suspension to work on the track.

How about strut bars?

Of course you guys are right about a bunch of the mods not being worth much compared to a driving school.

Finally, one Boxster driver weighs 150lbs, one weighs 250. Who upsets the balance more? How about a passenger? Luggage? Those heavy 18" rims?

-James
Unmodded '01 Boxster S
with heavy rims

Jamscal made some very good points and I agree with him 100%. I don't see anything wrong with making the car a little lighter.

@Adam & jamscal,

If you read my post, nowhere did I say there was anything wrong with Modding your Car. Just that you need to treat it as an intergrated Unit and that any/all Mods need to be made in that context.

Too often, we see people adding Springs, or upsizing Wheels and Tires, or an AfterMarket Intake only to find a shimmy occur, a MAF Sensor blow, a CEL come on, or some other, less than expected consequence. Often these people have $500 in hand, so they buy $500 worth of Mods, stopping short of seeing it through properly.

All I'm cautioning is to think it through and not to go Willy-Nilly about it. Despite what some may think, there really isn't a great number people here who know more than Porsche does (and a number of people go about a Mod just because it was touted here by someone who may, or may not, actually know what they're talking about), and that applies to a number of AfterMarket Suppliers too. Considering the Time and Expense involved, I think it's appropriate to occaisionally add a word of caution...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

I did read the post, and have no disagreements with it, save this:

Change one thing (even something as innocuous as a lighter Battery), and it's effect on the Car overall could be detrimental. Emphasis mine.

You did qualify the statement with 'could', to be fair. It's just that a lighter battery is really a non-issue when you consider passenger/ luggage weight.

But that's neither here nor there. Your reply is a good general one, but would be better suited to a guy asking about some springs he found on ebay cheap than a guy looking to replace a standard part with a premium one.

-James