DillonInCO

Strangely couldn't find this by searching...battery is deader than dead in my '00 GT. Rather than just buying a behemoth stock replacement, I'm looking at getting a lightweight battery and relocating it to the trunk. The piece I can't seem to find is, what's the minimum cold cranking amps and amp hours for our cars? Convertibles in specific. Mine also has the Mach audio.

I figure that since I'll be making my own battery mount, I can use any size, and there ought to be something cheaper than the racing batteries out there---like this for instance, dry cell, and their website says 15 lbs.! But it's only 230 CCA, whereas the stock batteries are something like 540 CCA if I remember right. So, alternatively, any suggestions on lightweight batteries that don't cost hundreds of dollars would also be welcome!

unitedwestang

Let me start off by saying I am in no way a battery expert, so take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt. Just something to think about.

So what provides the energy in a battery? The cells. What makes up the majority of the mass of a battery? The cells. To lighten the battery what do you have to remove? The cells. With less cells you have what? Less energy.

My thought process is that the only reason expensive racing batteries provide the specs you want is because they are using some fancy magical expensive electrodes or whatnot in the cells. I just don't think you will be able to find the specs you are looking for in a cheaper battery using the typical components in your general automotive battery and be light.

Just something to think about...

DillonInCO

Not disagreeing, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask. I've heard stories of people using ATV or tractor batteries batteries, and I'd be open to that if they work. But the problem is, I don't know WHAT specs I want, because I don't know the minimum needed to start the car. If CCA is an issue then I'll just swap to a normal battery in the winter, or whenever I won't be going to the track.

unitedwestang

Gotcha. And like I said, I'm no battery expert. I was just figuring you were wanting a battery with stock specs, but lighter--but I guess that wouldn't make sense with your title, so my bad.